I.T. Radio: Samhain with Amber Gillen

The inimitable Detroit techno crew celebrates the ancient Celtic holiday Samhain – what we now call Halloween.

In the early ‘90s, around the same time he visited the original Tresor in Berlin for the first time, BMG had an otherworldly experience at an ancient fort on an island off the coast of Ireland that put him in dialogue with entities from another realm. These voices ultimately convinced him to change course and set off down his current path: Thus the name “Interdimensional Transmissions,” and his passion for techno has long been infused with an appreciation for the occult. It’s no surprise that Samhain, the ancient Celtic celebration that corresponds to what we now call Halloween, is a pretty big deal for IT, and the crew has a long tradition of throwing parties in its honor (in past years they’ve hosted the likes of DJ Godfather and Wolf Eyes). With their broadcast from Red Bull Radio’s Detroit studio falling on October 31, they’ll be devoting the full two hours to this singular take on techno, with a focus on the contributions of Amber Gillen, a veteran of Ann Arbor’s DIY art scene whose scenic transformations of venues have helped define IT’s Samhain parties (along with the iconic parachutes-and-netting motif of IT events like No Way Back). Amber will present a selection of music in celebration of the holiday and share stories of how she creates the striking aesthetic of these distinctive parties.