Richie Hawtin is perhaps the most influential act in modern electronic music. As a DJ he’s probably the biggest name in techno: a man who turned a whole generation of dance music fans on to his unique emptied, out no frills sound. However, unlike many of his peers, he’s constantly pushed the boundaries of what electronic music can and should be. Whether that’s changing the way DJ’s play records by inventing digital DJ systems or evolving the mix CD with his ‘Closer To The Edit’ project. His label, Minus, set the tone for underground club music throughout the noughties: while his Contakt world tour has gone down as an era defining moment.Yet as important as all his recent work has been, it’s perhaps Richie Hawtin’s music as Plastikman during the ‘90’s that still remains his most mysterious and alluring. Psychedelic, visceral and meticulously stripped down, the music Hawtin made as Plastikman drove the more cerebral end of dance music forward relentlessly. This summer saw Richie Hawtin resurrect his Plastikman alias for a series of highly celebrated live shows. Bridging technology, music and visuals into a startlingly unique experience, Plastikman live set a new standard for live electronic performance.
We talked to Richie about his recent Plastikman shows, his favourite new bands, and how he hopes to one day hope to facilitate two week long virtual reality shows. Read more…
Ever the one for high concepts and pushing new boundaries, Richie Hawtin’s ‘Closer To The Edit’ was a startlingly ambitious project that that fused the role of DJ and producer like never before. The compilation combined elements of over 123 tracks, mixing them together live at a furious turntablist-esque pace using Final Scratch: a then brand new computer program that allowed DJ’s to play digital files on vinyl like never before. Much of the time only tiny snippets of records were used in the mix, perhaps a hiss of high hat or rumble of sub bass, but the overall effect was to create a seamless collage of spacious futuristic techno. Many of the tracks played on the album where edited by Hawtin himself before they were played – further blurring the lines to whether ‘Closer To The Edit’ can be called a DJ mix album, remix album or entirely original composition. Although ‘Closer To The Edit’ was highly conceptual and faced criticism from some vinyl traditionalists at the time; the move to digital DJ systems was one of the key factors that drove dance music on throughout the noughties as programs like Ableton helped DJ’s and producers perform their music in ways unimaginable in the ‘90’s.
The music too on ‘Closer To The Edit’ was an interesting turning point in the evolution of electronic music. Featuring much slower Techno sounds than Hawtin’s previous album, ‘Decks EFX & 909’s’, the shift to more sparse, hypnotic and stripped down sounds would pre-empt the minimal techno surge of the mid noughties which would see acts like Ricardo Villalobos and Matthew Dear become some of the most world’s most celebrated underground artists. Released in 2001, ‘Closer To The Edit’ perfectly encapsulates Techno’s love of the forward thinking and helped mark Richie Hawtin as one of the shining lights of the electronic scene for the next 9 years.
There seems to be a new trend among filmmakers all over the world to set their eyes on the DJ world, with an increasing number of high-profile projects being launched. Last year we enjoyed the Soulwax documentary “Part of the Weekend Never Dies”, and more recently Romuald Karmakar presented at the Venice Film Festival the third instalment of his electronic music trilogy, dedicated to the works of Ricardo Villalobos.
Now it’s the turn for Detroit’s minimal techno master Richie Hawtin and the artists from his label Minus Records. The imprint celebrated its 10th Anniversary by hitting the road with the CONTAKT world tour, a series of shows focused on free flow DJ improvisation and state of the art visuals. Hawtin himself has directed alongside Ali Demirel a documentary that follows the show’s ups and downs across some of the globe’s most happening cities.
The Contakt documentary will be previewed, followed with a Q&A session with DJ and director, at London’s ICA on 25 September; one day before the 02 Academy in Brixton hosts the much anticipated London Contakt Special event.
Driving to the middle of no-where, getting caked in mud and then having to face a soul destroying trip back to the City is for many part and parcel of what makes a festival. However, for some the effort and cost of traipsing across the country is too much, thus the rise of the ‘City Festival’ – all the fun of a full day in a field but with the prospect of a shower and warm bed only a bus ride away. One of the more established of these events is South West Four, which is now giving larger weekend festivals such as Global Gathering and Creamfields a run for their money. Mixing mainstream acts such as David Guetta and Armand Van Burren with cutting edge electronic artists such as Richie Hawtin and Timo Mass; SW4 has put together an enticing bill that includes some of the top names in dance music. This year the event sold out and record time and with tickets selling at around £100 on the black-market demand would still seem to be remarkably strong for the event. Fortunately, the organisers of SW4 are putting on a mega after show party that should allow those without a ticket to get their fill of rave madness. Featuring the talents of international chart topper Eric Prydz and taking place in London’s Coronet, the party is likely to be just as raucous as the day time event with four rooms of music from around 20 acts. For a taste of what to expect check out this exclusive Eric Prydz interview.
