DJ Spade—Derrick Lewis—is a Detroit techno and electro producer, veteran turntable artist, label executive, and technical systems builder. His work keeps Detroit’s independent music lineage connected to the raw rooms, machines, broadcasts, and people that shaped it.
Producer + turntable artist
Heavy low-end, direct rhythms, and an unfiltered Motor City perspective built for working sound systems rather than polished convention.
Label executive
Co-founder of Detroit Techno Records, established in 2009 with Mollison Folson to create a worldwide path for Detroit talent.
Systems builder
Custom computer hardware, streaming rigs, and technical support—the infrastructure behind the music is part of the practice.
Broadcast resident
Co-founding resident of The Bassment Detroit, helping define its underground313.com Sunday-night transmission.
The core story
Operating from techno’s global birthplace, DJ Spade is recognized for preserving the uncompromising, street-edged spirit of Detroit’s independent electronic music culture. The approach is multidisciplinary: records, turntables, label curation, hardware, streaming architecture, and live community all belong to the same signal.
Both sides of the console
Spade is known across the camp as the technical problem-solver—the person building and maintaining the computers and broadcast systems while also stepping behind the decks. That combination of artist and architect is central to the identity of the project.
The visual and musical language comes from actual rooms, equipment, collaborators, broadcasts, and lived Motor City experience.