Detroit Music. A Photographic Retrospective

Doug Coombe told me that the Detroit music scene keeps on reinventing itself. Sure, certain bands or artists seem to hang around, continuing to sing and slug and strum it out for years on end, but in the grander scope, one can detect nuanced waves, preciously fleeting moments of musical collaborations and creative collectives developing newer, weirder styles and sounds that blend, deconstruct or reinvent tired genres. When we step back to see this scene as a montage of images, we can notice the cascade of distinct faces, intriguing and eccentric personas, flamboyant and fierce stances   We can see the evolutions of our music scene.

-Whitdel Arts-

So, yeah, we have pride in our culture, in our city, because of the myriad styles of music that keep flowing through Detroit – blues, Motown, punk-rock, hip-hop, techno, garage-rock, electronica, and whatever the new-weird of next year will be We’ve all been told these stories, we’ve all heard these albums – but this time, we have a new and refreshing way of experiencing the story of Detroit Music – one that is inherently silent – as you’ll gaze upon soundless images. Perhaps the music will start playing in your head, that you’ll hear with your eyes. Perhaps you’ll hear the howl of the sweat-speckled punk rocker, or the hushed tones of the folk-dabbling burlesque singer. Perhaps you were at these shows and have your own blurry memories – how they’ll come rushing back to you now. Three distinct styles, Trever Long, the young gun of the group, tends to lean towards exploring how unique environments can augment the personality of the subject in portrait; Marvin Shaouni, the most musically-inclined, leans toward the impact of natural light and utilizing color; Doug Coombe, the tireless, savvy-show-goer, is attracted to the energy, he’s the action man, he’s the one who captures the moment right before the foot comes through the lens, the instant the guitar’s body shatters. All three share a passion for photography and a reverence for Detroit’s cultural community – this is how they see the scene. v This is what Detroit music looks like ...(Some of it, at least...)