Twonz aka The Techno Terrorist
Twonz (born
Antwon Faulkner 1971) is the prototype of the modern DJ. Growing up in
the church, playing music and dancing through his childhood in Detroit,
he found his passion for music early. In his late teens he discovered a
new religion…..a religion created and perpetuated in the predominately
black urban wasteland of Detroit, Michigan…..Techno. It was a religion
to which he has become an evangelist and devoted his life to.
Growing up in the heart of Detroit allowed him to see first hand the
early development of artists like Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Kevin
Saunderson, Claude Young, Jeff Mills, ‘Mad’ Mike Banks and other famous
luminaries of Detroit. Unlike Chicago where the creators of house could
stay and blossom, Detroit’s Innovators had to go across the seas to
spread the gospel of the music machine. For the last 10 years,
Detroit’s notorious underground techno scene was perpetuated and
expanded not by those who have now made the city famous, but by those
who remained there in the trenches – the unsung heroes of Detroit
Techno. Twonz was there at the forefront driving the bull that pulled
the bandwagon by it’s horns, bangin’ out pulsing polyrhythms and
grinding funked out beats that juxtaposed the unusual landscape of the
abandoned burned out homes and monolithic ruins of the fabled
automotive industry. Techno is the soul of Detroit and Twonz is at the
heart of Detroit Techno.
As a DJ, his style is unmatched.
He’s taken his influences from the world’s acclaimed turntable masters
and molded them into an awe inspiring blend of turntablism and
programming mastery. His hands never stop moving, gliding nimbly and
accurately across the tables and mixers taking crowds on an intense
journey that makes you feel like you’re in a nightclub in Blade Runner
or Neuromancer. His Sets are best described as the audio equivalent of
a one-night stand with a super model. They build intensely from
beginning to end, full of changing tempos and styles rising to thumping
peaks then dropping back into electro–flavored holding patterns. Each
tease pulls you down to a groove bob and then when you least expect it
hammers back with a pounding resonance that causes the body to shake
and pound to perfect rhythm. The beats ebb and flow with increasing
intensity, building to a massive crescendo that reflects the most
inherently primal elements in our psyche.
On the production
side of things Twonz rips out the bangin’ tracks intertwined with heady
cuts that you can dance to or just sit and chill with. Following his
predecessors he uses his simple music machines to make some of the most
complex and deepest beats around. Think Blade Runner. He also runs his
own label, Hijacked Records, which has turned many heads in the techno
world that is awaiting his next release.