Well that might explain it…I guess Detroit prides itself on being “old skool” or traditional. And there’s something to be said for that. I don’t know much about minimal/techno, but I know that techno pretty much IS the Detroit music scene, so it would make sense that among techno DJs, vinyl decks are still the norm. In many other genres, CDs replaced vinyl years ago. I’ve been to many parties overseas – Japan, Turkey, Amsterdam, and everyone is spinning CDs. It’s just much more practical, especially if you are traveling internationally. You can still scratch with CD decks (if that’s your thing), and you can increase or decrease the tempo without changing the pitch, so there’s not much reason to stick with vinyl, unless you already have a collection or are stuck in your ways, so to speak. Not to mention that you can have your entire library of 1,000+ tracks on your laptop and spin with turntables through Serato or Final Scratch, etc., and still have the feel of spinning vinyl. No need to carry around a bag with 50 records.
Actually the debate that is going on now between using a laptop & Serato versus using CD’s and digital turntables is the same debate that took place years ago between vinyl and CDs when CD turntables first came out – the traditionalists said spinning with CDs was not “real” DJing. Now there are CD DJs saying using a laptop and a mixing program is not “real” DJing. I myself have been resistant to start using a laptop and Serato (only because it’s just so easy to bring a CD wallet and headphones to a show instead of an expensive laptop), but I will probably make the switch in the next few years. It’s clearly the way of the future.
Hey Joey, is that mix you posted a techno mix? I’d like to check it out. There’s some good minimal coming out these days