Music: Turntabilist DJ Seoul
Techno Militia DJ puts on an energetic show

Christian Czerwinski | NOISE

Turntablism -- the art of manipulating sounds by using turntables and a mixer -- has lost some of its thunder in recent years.

But Billy Stacy, aka DJ Seoul, isn't going anywhere. He's a devotee. As a new member of the Detroit Techno Militia, Stacy helps carry the torch of teaching the history of Detroit music by playing his brand of electro highlighted by hip-hop stylings and house influences.

His live show favors bouncing soulful rhythms, powerful drum beats and a king's ransom of cutting and scratching. Stacy says he brings a fresh style to mixing, but his mash-ups are a little retro and aimed at getting you to dance. If you like to breakdance, he has something for you too.

"My live show is full of energy and no slacking. I don't let records just play because I bring a fresh style of mixing to the classic art of DJing," Stacy, 33, said on the phone from Detroit.

Since he joined the Techno Militia in March, Stacy - who holds down four jobs - has played around the Midwest and at Movement, the electronic music festival during Memorial Day weekend in Detroit.

Despite electronic music's waning popularity in the United States, Stacy says he thinks there's still more talent in Detroit than anywhere in the world. And he thinks it can make a comeback.

"The best stuff I ever see is right here in my hometown. It kind of is (dying) but just in the sense there is a lot of watered-down talent," he said. "It has the potential to be at the forefront of the music community. One of the goals of the Detroit Techno Militia is to bring it back there again."

Stacy started playing drums in 1985. A few years later, he'd go to parties and found it intriguing to be a part of what controls the music. He credits Terrence Parker, Kenny Dixon Jr., Mike Clark and Theo Parrish as early influences.

In 1995, he started playing seriously, and in 1996, co-founded Bang Tech 12, a DJ booking agency.

To the untrained ear, techno might sound like random beats, but aficionados such as Stacy know otherwise. Stacy is proud of his city and its signature sound -- which he describes as Kraftwerk and Parliament in an elevator -- and its funk influences. And that sound couldn't help but rub off on his approach and live show.

"Detroit techno is like industrial noises coming from empty warehouses," he said, "but with some serious soul behind it."

Quick hits

• How many records are in your collection? 4,000 or 5,000.

• What's your most precious one? Computer Games by Yellow Magic Orchestra.

• Favorite DJ from the past 10 years? Jeff Mills (techno); Terrance Parker (house)

• What's your favorite rock band? Operation Ivy.

• What's your favorite place to hang out in Detroit? The FiNite.

• What's the biggest misconception about the Motor City? That it's dilapidated, desolate and dangerous.

• What's the lamest band on your iPod? They Might Be Giants.