Underground Resistance Asks Detroit For Laxer Nightlife Laws

…and America’s home for drag racing.

Underground Resistance and a host of other seminal figures in Detroit’s electronic music scene are behind an ambitious new plan to revive the city’s economic fortunes through techno and drag racing. During a meeting at Submerge—the city’s UR-associated techno museum—Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan met with UR figureheads Mike Banks and Cornelius Harris, as well as Theo Parrish and Omar S to discuss the proposal.

The proposal attempts to capitalize on Detroit’s historic role as both a car manufacturer and the birthplace of techno music. Taking cues from Berlin, which has created an estimated $900 million per year market as Europe’s electronic music powerhouse, the UR crew is advocating for a loosening of bar and club restrictions and extra support in the renovation of industrial lots into creative spaces. A second proposal involves creating a permanent race track at City Airport to help take drag racing off the streets—though this might seem somewhat unrelated, many of the aforementioned artists are deep into amateur car racing culture.

Speaking about the plan, UR label manager Cornelius Harris has noted that, “Around the world, when you ask people about Detroit … what they say is cars and music. Electronic music is a $6.5 billion industry globally. It was created here. The question is, of course, how much of that money makes its way back into the city? And the answer is very little.” Watch this space as more developments unfold. You can read more about the meeting here.

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