Hailing from Detroit, Joshua Tree is a Dj-producer and a Live performer. Known for his hypnotic sound, he recently released “Music for Planetariums Vol. 1” on Calder City Development Corp. With more than twenty years of underground event production, the vinyl enthusiast shares with us his involvement in the spread of the electronic movement and looks back at the Detroit Electronic Music Festival after-parties he teamed up with Juan Atkins,  the concept behind his FourFour SoundSystem project, the opening of his own venue Metro Grand Rapids in 2020 bridging old school and modern dance culture in a city still hypersegregated; and his residency named The Original Crush in the renowned Orange Room at SPKRBOX Detroit, amongst others. 

Welcome Joshua Tree! A glass of?
Rum and cola please!

How was your childhood environment? 
I was born in the Detroit area and spent the first 17 years of my life there, really growing up in the suburbs while going to the city for events, parties, and general mischief. I wouldn't describe my family as artistic or musical necessarily at all, but the sounds of Motown, Detroit "oldies", and 90's pop icons like Michael Jackson and Tina Turner were a fixture in the car and on the home stereo. I began piano lessons at a relatively young age, and later picked up the bass guitar, but never rose above novice ability on these instruments. 

What about your first influences?
Musically speaking, I've always enjoyed a variety of music from many genres, and I could list hundreds of modern electronic musicians I find inspiring, but I've done the math on this and I think it all really comes down to The Temptations. It all comes back to Detroit, and the primarily Black and African American artists that paved the way and crafted timeless music that would change the world. Generally, the early sounds of Motown had a very big impact on my development and musical taste, it needs that soul. 

How did you discover electronic music?
Friends of mine in high school were first generation Detroit ravers who went to parties under the bridge, at the chop shop and Packard plant in the 90's. We were young but caught onto the music and began listening to a lot of mix tapes and CDs in our basements before ever seeing a Dj or live act. But being brought to a Detroit rave in the early 2000's, 01 or 02 I believe, would change everything. My first party was actually on 8 mile in Detroit in a backroom behind a strip club at a party called "Bodies". Long story short, it was a proper rave and I never looked back. The sounds of Detroit and Chicago - with further influences from New York and Europe - underground would dominate my listening for the next several years.

How many vinyls do you have in your private collection? 
Estimated 3000.

Do you remember the first vinyl you bought?
Bought? No, not for sure. But I remember my first crate very well. I am very fortunate to have the most caring and generous mother on the planet and shortly after discovering my new obsession with electronic music, our family fell on hard times and we had to move about two hours west of Detroit to the other side of the state. Struggling with the new circumstances, my mother got me my first Dj setup for my birthday, complete with a crate of house and disco records. It included two Angel Alanis records and a Paul Johnson record "Get on My Camel and Ride" which I still keep in rotation today. 

Could you speak about your Detroit Electronic Music Festival after parties alongside Juan Atkins? 
Of course! I provided a sound system, which I bought with my high school graduation money, for the Metroplex booth at the festival and after parties we would throw in lofts or warehouses around the city. This is really where I cut my teeth in the underground: this is where I learned how to throw a rave. Not everyone we put on was successful, in fact most of them were not ; this is important to remember if you're just starting out. We would attempt an after party each of the 3 days of the festival, and basically hope that one of them popped off. Some of them did. A highlight for me is definitely the last year we did this, which would have been 2007, where the lineup was myself, DJ Buzz Goree, Kai Alexi, A Guy Called Gerald (live) and Juan Atkins. Juan played at sunrise, I provided all the sound and audio tech for this event, I was 22 at the time; so obviously it's a night I'll never forget.

What was decisive to launch FourFour SoundSystem? 
You did your research! After the DEMF/Movement afterparties, I took a break from the music business, actually for several years while I focused on raising my son and having a normal life and job. About 5 years went by while I was living in Grand Rapids, MI, and the "EDM revolution" happened while I was essentially asleep on new music all together. Tuning back into the scene, especially in West Michigan, was incredibly jarring. It was in that climate that I formed FourFour SoundSystem. The intention was to introduce the more conservative and shut-in Grand Rapids to the sounds and concepts of underground Detroit and Chicago, especially from a 90's - early 2000's "old school" perspective. We played records when everyone else at the time was on a laptop, it was almost like our "gimmick" in that atmosphere. We also didn't have any interest in appealing to the establishment Djs, promoters, or venues in the city at that time. I had learned in Detroit that I had everything I needed to throw a party, but now I was older, wiser, and more experienced. I began a grassroots "get 5 friends to tell 5 friends" program to spread the word of autonomous dance parties in abandoned or forgotten spaces. I would even busk and just set up on the sidewalk or in a park outside of a festival if necessary. This strategy started getting traction right away, something that never really happened in the previous attempt at a Dj career. This was the spark that got me to where I am today.   

How did you meet Myles Sergé - interview here - and decide to work together? 
It was actually the 4-year anniversary of FourFour SoundSystem where we booked Terrence Parker at a union hall in Grand Rapids that Myles first introduced himself to me. I knew him only by reputation at the time, and his reputation was substantial. I want to say there was a mutual respect established from that first meeting, something I struggled to find from other artists in the area, especially at that time. Soon after this Myles would come to me looking for help booking The Bunker New York in Grand Rapids, a very big deal as far as I was concerned, and the lineup included my old hero Angel (this would be our first introduction), he just needed a venue for the booking. It just so happened I had recently acquired a new, yet untested underground space in a notorious warehouse location in the city. I offered the "virgin venue" to Myles for the "fee" of an opening slot on the lineup. We haven't stopped working together since. This was 2017. 

Speaking of which, you recently released “Music for Planetariums Vol. 1” on his label Calder City Development Corp. Could you tell us a bit more about it please? (Stream below)
So this album has been in the works for almost a decade. There was a release planned for after the show at the Planetarium that never came to fruition, and things sort of stalled out through COVID and up until recently when Myles really reignited the project, gave it a home for release on Calder City Development Corp, and found our remixers Santiago Salazar, Afrozoid, and Brandon Moeller. It's been an honor to hear their interpretations of this music, which was specifically made for a non dance-floor environment. Now, we have a really complete and diverse release that still maintains a pretty distinct sound, and is also dancefloor friendly. I'm very proud of the project, which took a very long time to come to fruition.

Could you define your sound in a few words?
While my production has always leaned more ambient, spacey, and maintained an analog techno sound in my recent releases on Calder City Development Corp especially, my DJing is more soulful, emotive, evolving, and vocal. I'm certainly a story teller in the old school tradition of DJs. 

What kind of gears do you prefer to use for production? 
Hardware wise my first synth was an MS-20 mini and I always keep one around, along with a few Kaos pads. I always have a Moog in the lineup, currently a Sub 37. I also have a Prophet 12 desktop and a Vermona DRM-1. Software, I've been an Ableton user since version 3, and I was always a fan of Reason but I haven't been on that one in a while. That's really it currently but I'm sure the collection will grow.

Do you remember your first Live act and what is your current Live setup? 
My first live performances slowly evolved very shortly after my first years DJing in the early 2000's. I had an early version of Ableton Live, when it just played loops really, version 3 I believe. I would do the sound design and sampling in Reason mostly at this time. My first show was at a benefit concert I organized in Grand Rapids during my college years. At this time I would perform at live sequence open mics in the area called Your Input Here; this was a place to experiment and perform with local likeminded synthesizer nerds. Later, I'd organize a show at the Masonic Temple in Grand Rapids, and eventually book the Roger B. Planetarium for a mostly analog hardware based live performance in 2017. By this time my setup had evolved into a Moog Voyager, Prophet 12 desktop, and Vermona DRM-1 with a tape player and Kaos pad for samples. The music made in preparation for this event became the foundation for the EP "Music for Planetariums".

What makes your Metro Grand Rapids so special? 
Honestly what makes that club special is that it ever opened at all and it continues running to this day. It was a miracle that business ever got off the ground in the first place with the setbacks and obstacles we faced from top to bottom. As a result, the artistic direction has had to change several times during our life in order to adapt, a trend that began before we ever opened the doors frankly. While the initial intention was to be a refuge for underground electronic music, and we have hosted artists like Norm Talley, DJ Funk, Alan Oldham (interview here), and Angel Alanis - me going B2B with my old hero there was certainly a highlight - , ultimately in order for the business to stay open and viable, we had to largely let go of "underground" and "electronic" music in that location. So, for what Metro has become, it's Grand Rapids only legal, licensed, and fully above ground Black nightclub playing rap and hip hop in the city. Grand Rapids still suffers from pretty serious segregation, violence, and discrimination so simply providing a safe place for the community to come out and dance, regardless of the style of music, has been the pride of our work there. 

What are the main difficulties to head Metro Grand Rapids? 
There have been many, for us it started with the fact the city just doesn't like dancing or nightlife and doesn't want any nightclubs and told us straight away before we began renovation "if we could stop this project (legally) we would". So instead they made it extremely difficult for us. Balloon "project creep" and construction costs killed our opening day operational budget, and ultimately, we were in a neighborhood the mainstream of the city considered "undesirable" or even dangerous. We considered ourselves part of an early revitalization effort, however it was only a year after our opening that COVID hit and we had to shut down for a year. We had issues of neighborhood violence spilling into our doors, including a drunk driver from a bar down the road plowing through our front door at 60mph shortly after opening. So, like I said, it's really a miracle and testament to the steadfast and tireless work of our staff and team that Metro remains open and a consistent nightlife option in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

What comes to your mind if I mention AI?
Annoyance. I'll admit I've used it from time to time for "menial tasks" and it can be helpful, but just like technology has killed the art of DJing that vinyl maintained, AI is likely going to kill the art of production if we continue down this current path. Not to mention dystopian implications of AI integration in everyday life. It's scary, I think artists are wise to avoid it in their expressions.  

Your top 3 venues or festivals in West Michigan? 
I probably don't have 3 in West Michigan. They literally just ended Festival of the Arts which was the best GR festival. Rumors is the only nightclub I would shout out and encourage people to support while it lasts - it's scheduled to close soon. Otherwise just go to Metro Grand Rapids and maybe the Hispanic Festival. But if you're looking for electronic music and nightlife and you're not already in West Michigan, certainly don't go there for it. Just go to Detroit, where I recommend SPKRBOX especially on the 3rd Friday of the month when I have my residency, but they have great underground electronic music there 7 days a week. 

A banger in 3 words?
You know immediately.

Your top 5 new releases?
- Myles Sergé "Shoplifter" (Nuntius Noctus Remix)
- ZentaSkai "Jimmy"
- A. Garcia. "A Different Time"
- Joshua Tree "Skater" (S2's Hunuvat Chiy'a Remix)
- Tim Xavier "Kaufland Gurl"

Your top 5 oldies? 
- The Temptations "Just My Imagination" 
- Stevie Wonder "Do Like You"
- Ben E. King "Stand By Me"
- Brian Eno "Sky Saw"
- The Jacksons "Can You Feel It?"

If you could have a short conversation with an artist…
Any artist, living or dead? Probably Salvador Dali. Living musical artist: Brian Eno.

What makes you proud of yourself today? 
Awww schucks, what a nice question! Mostly when I look at my son. When I look at the man he's become, I'm very proud. Musically I'm proud simply of the adversity I've survived without letting it stop me, every accomplishment has really just been a step in becoming who I am today, and I am proud of that. 

Your projects?
We're coming up on our 3-year anniversary of The Original Crush which is my DJ residency below SPKRBOX in The Orange Room, a mini speakeasy style nightclub with a Void soundsystem in downtown Detroit. That's very exciting, we play every third Friday of the month down there. I'm also throwing underground parties in Detroit again, and considering the formation of a new promo label - FourFour SoundSystem was really just a Grand Rapids project, so I'll need a new brand to stand in that place - so people just need to keep an eye out for that. I'm also working on more productions and remixes. I have an upcoming remix on Ooof! Music, Adam Ortiz's label out of West Michigan which should be coming out soon. Additionally, I'll have some more releases coming out on Calder City Development Corp sometime next year. 

Finally, who is the current Joshua Tree?
Your new favorite!

Interviewed by Sabrina Bouzidi / Photo header by Tim Xavier and footer by Intersection.