Campaign starts to rebuild one of Detroit's most famous techno sound systems
The iconic Club Heaven was vital to Detroit's LGBT scene as well as in the growth of house and techno...
A Detroit-based non-profit is seeking to rebuild one of the city's most famous sound systems from the ‘80s.
The Detroit Sound Conservatory, a non-profit started with the intention of preserving Detroit’s musical legacies, launched a Kickstarter campaign with the hope of rebuilding the sound system from the iconic venue Club Heaven.
Heaven was a pivotal club in the formative years of house and techno in Detroit as well as being a crucial LGBT space witin the city. Despite only being open for 10 years (1984 - 1994), Heaven was a vital space for youth culture, and restoring its sound system is seen as an ideal way of celebrating the club’s essential legacy.
"Since our founding in 2012, Detroit Sound Conservancy has preserved and celebrated Detroit music history from below,” said a representative for the DSC of their work. “This means we spend our time telling stories that have rarely been heard outside of our own neighborhoods and local communities and have yet to be included in standard depictions of Detroit's musical history. This includes stories of Detroit's queer dance ecosystem from the late 1960s to the present day in which Club Heaven is a key moment."
Having been stored, unused, in a basement for over 20 years, Heaven’s sound system was donated to the DSC by Detroit figureheads Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson last year.
Now, the DSC is hoping to raise $15,000 for a full restoration of the iconic sound system which “helped produce the emergence of house and techno music, as well as global recognition of vogue dancing and ballroom culture.”
Read more and contribute to the system’s restoration here.
