Rimarkable Carries Detroit With Her Wherever She Goes

4 days ago 2

At Movement Detroit 2026, Rimarkable reflected on legacy, her new label, and why the dancefloor should leave people feeling better than when they arrived.

For anyone experiencing Movement Detroit for the first time, one thing becomes clear almost immediately: Detroit doesn’t treat dance music like entertainment. It treats it like culture.

The city that gave the world techno continues to shape music through a lineage that extends far beyond a single sound. Jazz, funk, soul, gospel, rock, house, and techno all live in conversation with one another here.

That history could be felt everywhere during the festival. From the veterans who helped build the scene to the next generation carrying it forward, their mixed energies created something — no pun intended — moving.

And very few artists embody that spirit quite like Detroit-born DJ, educator, and new label owner Maria Garcia, known as Rimarkable. Fresh off a set at Hart Plaza, she reflected on what it means to perform in a city where musical standards are extremely high and every artist is measured against decades of innovation.

“I think there’s more pressure,” she said with a laugh. “We have such high standards here, and we don’t play around with our music. We don’t play around with DJing.”

For Rimarkable, that pressure isn’t a burden. It’s a great responsibility. “I want to represent my city, and I have a sense of pride,” she explained. “It’s a responsibility to really carry the legacy of Detroit.”

That heritage extends far beyond techno, too. While much of the dance music world associates the city with the genre, locals understand that Motor City’s musical DNA runs much deeper. During our conversation, Rimarkable spoke passionately about growing up immersed in Detroit’s musical landscape, from gospel and classical music to rock, funk, and the eclectic programming of legendary radio personality Electrifying Mojo.

“Growing up in Detroit, our radio station was badass,” she said. “Mojo would play everything from Prince to the B-52s to Talking Heads to Cybotron. I grew up hearing everything.”

That openness to sound remains central to Rimarkable’s identity today. While the attempt to neatly place artists into categories is hard for artists to dodge, she has little interest in staying in one lane.

“Don’t just book me for techno. Don’t just book me for house,” she said. “I’m gonna give you everything.”

That philosophy was evident during her Movement performance at the Star Gate stage. Rather than approaching a festival set as a collection of tracks, she views DJing as an important journey.

“I played for the people in front of me, and I took them on a journey,” she said. “That’s actually the way I was raised in nightlife.”

What makes Rimarkable particularly compelling is somehow more profound than her technical skill or deep musical knowledge. It’s the seriousness with which she approaches the emotional impact of dance music. Throughout our conversation, she repeatedly returned to ideas of spirit, healing, and intention.

When asked about the emotional quality of her sets, which often feel more like communal experiences than performances, she immediately connected that energy back to her upbringing. “I grew up in church,” she said.

While her relationship with religion has evolved over time, many of the values she learned there continue to shape her approach to music. “The intentionality and the message about freedom, peace, love, hope, rejoicing, and honoring the Most High, that’s super important to me,” she explained. “That’s at the foundation of everything I do.”

She doesn’t see the dancefloor as just a place for escapism, but somewhere people arrive carrying the weight of their lives. “I know that when people walk on the dance floor, they’re carrying something,” she said. “We’re all carrying some shit.”

Years of experience have sharpened her ability to read a crowd, but she describes the process as something deeper than simply reacting to energy. That understanding informs how she builds her sets in real time.

“I’m so locked in spiritually and emotionally that I can anticipate what is needed,” she said. “The drum invokes spirit, and once that subconscious is open, you have to be responsible for that.”

DJing remains an act of care for the Detroit local. The responsibility she feels toward her audience extends beyond entertainment. “You need to walk away feeling better,” she said, “or what’s the point?”

That same sense of purpose is now informing the next chapter of her career. This Juneteenth, Rimarkable will officially launch her own imprint, Betty Jean’s Dream, a project rooted in family, freedom, and self-determination. The label’s name honors her mother, a classically trained pianist who raised five children as a single parent.

“Betty Jean is my mother,” she explained. “And I named it after her because I am her dream.” The statement carried visible emotion.

“She didn’t get to live her life as an artist that she truly deserved,” Rimarkable continued. “I’ve always felt like I lived the life that she wished she could have.”

After nearly three decades in music, Rimarkable says she struggled to find a home that fully aligned with her vision. The label represents both tribute and liberation, allowing her to create on her own terms.

“I haven’t quite found the right fit,” she said. “It’s because I’m not supposed to fit in a box. I’m free from the shackles of feeling like I had to be under someone else.”

The decision to launch on Juneteenth was also deliberate. “I bring my ancestors everywhere I go,” she said.

That intentionality appears throughout every aspect of the project. Rimarkable spoke extensively about integrity and refusing to rush recordings that don’t meet her standards. “I’ve been sitting on music for almost three years that I haven’t released because I don’t feel like it’s excellent.”

For her, this doesn’t mean chasing charts or trends. It is about honoring the values passed down by her mother and ancestors. Those same values also guide her work as an educator.

Beyond her touring schedule, Rimarkable serves as an adjunct professor at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute and teaches through fellow Detroit artist Waajeed‘s Underground Music Academy. Long before either role became official, she had already been developing her own curriculum, The Alchemy of the DJ, which she first began teaching in 2010. As DJ technology became increasingly accessible, she recognized both opportunity and risk.

“Everybody’s going to become a DJ,” she recalled thinking. “If you’re gonna do this, you’ve got to do it properly.”

Whether she’s teaching students, leading a dancefloor, or building a record label, her mission remains remarkably consistent: honor the craft, respect the culture, and leave people better than you found them. That mission feels especially urgent when discussing visibility as a queer, Afro-Puerto Rican woman navigating the dance music landscape.

“Visibility is super important,” she said. “We have to be louder. We have to be more vocal. We need to take up more space.”

Looking ahead, her ambitions extend beyond releases and festival appearances. Rimarkable hopes to return to producing and curating her own events, creating spaces that prioritize community and musical integrity.

“Everything is about who’s more famous,” she said of many modern lineups. “I didn’t come up like that.”

So, true to form, she’s charting her own path forward. As our conversation came to a close, I asked what she would say to aspiring BIPOC and queer DJs seeking their place in dance music. She answered quickly.

“Do it,” she said. “Because it needs to be done, and we need to be seen.” Then she paused. “You could be saving someone’s life, including your own.”

At a festival built on Detroit’s enduring legacy of innovation and resistance, it felt like the perfect reminder of what dance music can still be at its best. It’s not just a soundtrack, but a lifeline.