Not long ago, THUMP brought you the pretty wonderful story of Grandma Techno, a regular character at Detroit's Movement festival. Patricia Lay Dorsey has been attending Movement for ten years, discovering a late-blooming affinity for all things 4/4. Dorsey is now no secret, having a documentary made and countless features written about her, she has become a true silver-haired icon of the dance world.Well, in an exciting turn of events, it has emerged she may have a rival (or a partner depending on how PLUR she is feeling). Thanks to the world famous quip platform and meme peddler 'the internet', footage has emerged of Grandma Techno's counterpart on the continent: Grandpa Techno. Shot at Edit Festival in Haarlem (fully facilitating any Haarlem Shake joke you want to make), the video depicts an un-named 83 year engaging in a pretty aggressive shuffle to some clanging industrial beats.I'm not sure exactly what you'd call the dance he is doing. At points it's all post-three-brandy's Grandfather at a wedding, then he suddenly flips into this glitchy Thriller-era Michael Jackson shit. To mess with your head even more, his feet are popping off with some proper deep house shuffling, which in turns flicks up into a hop so lit he gets about 3 feet of air. The whole thing is truly awesome in scope and ambition.It's surprising in some respects, but there is something overwhelmingly heartwarming about an octogenarian skanking to techno. Perhaps it speaks of the universal threads that run through all music. We view linear structures of generational cultures, whereas in reality the indefinable spirit that inspires the creation of, and celebration through, music is a force that knows no time-frame, no beginning and no end. While we worry about relevance, trends, the real truth is that the only goal worth aspiring to is human connection. It is only through this personal intimacy that any artist can hope to achieve timelessness. Also, lol: old man dancing.Follow Angus on Twitter.
Advertisement