CREDIT: MELANIE ANDERSON
German DJ/Producer Loco Dice demonstrates his DJ style to a packed Mustang Lounge at Western University.

Richie Hawtin, Loco Dice and other guests visited Western University and played at the London Music Hall on November 6 as a part of their North American tour "CNTRL: Beyond EDM." The events focused on the technology aspects of modern-day electronic music.

Their goal wasn't just to play amazing shows in university towns across North America, but to educate and engage students about the music. Using a panel set-up, the DJs spent their days giving lectures about the history of the global movement and demonstrating what the future of music technology and performance can become.

"I hope we inspire and give a little bit of what we are doing and give our culture to the kids," said Dice. Loco Dice held a 10-year residency at Tribehouse in his hometown Düsseldorf, Germany and played at DC-10 in Ibiza from 2002 to 2006. He's known for being unpredictable and using his imagination to make an artistic reality for listeners. Through his influential record label Deolat, his own accomplished production catalogue and his legendary DJ sets, Dice has joined a band of elite underground DJs.

He stressed the importance of being unique, "What we tell them is keep your style and define your style. You come to our club and you hear us playing this certain music, (it) doesn't mean you have to follow this; bring your own style — please motivate us, please inspire us. Only because of this does our genre stay alive."

Headlining act Richie Hawtin grew up in Windsor and was a driving force for minimal techno in the '90s. Hawtin is widely known as an innovator and one of the most technologically advanced artists in electronic music. Having experienced the short-lived rise of electronic music in the '90s, these DJs are hoping that the rise in popularity of electronic music is here to stay.

"What we tell the people is that mainstream is too simple, it's too easy and it can die right away," said Dice, "because mainstream comes with the hype of the media and the hype of culture. It's difficult to find something that will stay forever. Hip-hop is here forever because it took its time to develop and become where it's standing now."

During the presentation at Western, Dice showed how oldstyle DJing can be done with modern equipment. He stood up and presented the crowd with a mini DJ lesson. "It's just a small demonstration," Dice said, "it's important for me to show them, 'Hey, in this technology world with all these computers, there's also something really basic like a turntable.' What I'm showing is nothing complicated; I just hope to motivate the kids."

After being in the business for over 20 years, Dice has noticed several changes in the industry, "Changed for sure (is) the technology, the movement; before it was you only had certain synthesizers and certain sounds you had to play with, now you go to studio and the possibilities are enormous."

Another message Loco is sending to up-and-coming DJs is to never give up on their dreams. "They should believe in themselves. In a hard world, especially in the music business, a lot of kids think there's not a lot of opportunities, there's no way to make something happen or you need a really good connection. We tell them, 'Look, you have friends around you who you can ask to help you make a website or to help you with promotions.'" He added that everyone has to start somewhere, "Go to a local bar and ask the local promoter, 'Give me a Wednesday night,' and invite your friends. This is how we started in this career. It needs to take time and everyone needs to be patient."

The group completed their Canadian tour dates with stops in Windsor and Toronto following their show in London. They wrapped up their tour on November 18 in Minneapolis.

For more information about the CNTRL tour, visit facebook.com/cntrlbeyondedm or cntrl.com.