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Richie Hawtin

 
Artist: Richie Hawtin
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Similar Artists:

Dan Curtin, Stacey Pullen, Kenny Larkin, Vapourspace, Josh Wink, Wolfgang Ewing, Oliver Ho, Carl Craig

Followers:

Matthew Dear, Kit Clayton, Magda, Deepchord, Tomas Jirku, Richard Turner, Utility Plastics, Exos, Sandra Collins

Performed Songs By:

D. Meier

Formal Connection With:

From Within, John Acquaviva, Loco Dice, Richard Harvey, Chris McNamara
  • Born: June 04, 1970
  • Active: '90s, 2000s
  • Genres: Electronica
  • Instrument: Producer, Compilation
  • Representative Albums: "Decks, EFX & 909," "MixMag Live!, Vol. 1," "DE9: Transitions"

Biography

Although of English and Canadian origins, Plastikman's Richie Hawtin is closely connected with the Detroit techno scene associated with figures such as Kenny Larkin, Stacey Pullen, Eddie Fowlkes, and Derrick May. His Plus 8 label -- co-owned and operated with John Acquaviva -- is one of the most influential experimental dance music imprints, and Hawtin's own tracks recorded as Plastikman and F.U.S.E. are highly regarded as faithful, intelligent, forward-stepping updates of the Detroit sound. A DJ of renown and growing in repute as a remixer, Hawtin has seen his visibility as one of experimental dance music's more important and innovative figures rise ever since the release of his debut Plastikman album, Sheet One.

Hawtin was born in the English borough of Windsor in the early '70s, and when he was nine moved with his parents to Canada. An early interest in electronic-based pop and dance music turned serious when Hawtin discovered the tracks being pumped out of his neighbor across the river, Detroit. Beginning as a DJ in 1987, Hawtin quickly became involved in composition through his direct involvement in Detroit's tight-knit community of musicians and producers. Combining early influences from European synth pop groups like Kraftwerk and New Order with the stripped-down techno futurism of Detroit innovators such as Juan Atkins and Derrick May, Hawtin's tracks are as steeped in Motor City tradition as they deviate from it in terms of texture and rhythmic complexity.

Although 12" releases issued through Plus 8 and the European NovaMute label have all been pretty dancefloor-oriented, Hawtin's attention to techno-based listening music has been just as focused through his full-length albums. His ambitious series of mix albums -- including 1995's MixMag Live!, 1999's Decks, EFX & 909, 2001's DE9: Closer to the Edit, and 2005's DE9: Transitions -- has emboldened his reputation as a conceptualist DJ. ~ Sean Cooper, All Music Guide
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Wikipedia: Richie Hawtin
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Richie Hawtin

Background information
Birth name Richard Hawtin
Born June 4, 1970 (1970-06-04) (age 39)
Oxfordshire, England
Origin Windsor, Ontario
Genres Minimal techno
Labels Plus 8, M-nus, Warp
Website plastikman.com

Richard (Richie) Hawtin (born June 4, 1970, Banbury, Oxfordshire, England) is a English-Canadian electronic musician and internationally-touring DJ who was an influential part of Detroit techno's second wave of artists in the early 1990s. Hawtin is best known for his abstract, minimal works under the alias Plastikman, a moniker he continued to use into the mid 2000s.

Hawtin is known for DJing minimal techno sets making use of laptop computers and digital mixing equipment. In May 1990, Hawtin fellow second-waver John Acquaviva founded the Plus 8 record label, which they named after their turntable's pitch adjust function.[1] In 1998, Hawtin launched Minus records, a label he uses primarily as a launch pad for his own projects.[2]

Contents

Biography

Hawtin was born in Banbury, Oxfordshire in England, but moved when he was aged 9 to LaSalle, Ontario, a suburb of Windsor, Ontario, and just across the river from Detroit, the birthplace of techno. His father worked as a robotics technician at General Motors, and was a fan of electronic music, introducing his son to Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream at an early age. He has one brother, Matthew, who is a visual artist and ambient music DJ. Hawtin attended Sandwich Secondary High School in LaSalle. He began to DJ in clubs in Detroit at 17, and his early style was a mix of house music and techno.[3]

In 1990, along with Canadian DJ John Acquaviva, he formed the label Plus-8 in order to release his own tracks under the name FUSE.[3] Hawtin was billed for DJ appearances under the name Richie Rich, a name also used by an American hip hop music DJ who was a member of 3rd Bass, and also a UK house music DJ who was actively producing remixes around the same time.

He spent part of 2002 and 2003 living in New York City, and has since moved to Berlin, Germany. He said, "I’d always wanted to move to Europe. I needed somewhere that was inspiring and where there were like-minded musicians and artists, somewhere you could still experiment with music and with life. Berlin is so liberal in so many different ways; there’s an amazing club scene, there’s a great development software tech scene, there are so many resources here."[3]

Career
"Substance Abuse"
"Substance Abuse" was released in 1991 under the F.U.S.E pseudonym
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
"Ping Pong"

File:Plastikman ping pong.ogg
The minimalist track "Ping Pong" was recorded under the Plastikman alias
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Hawtin has recorded music under the aliases Plastikman, F.U.S.E., Concept 1, Circuit Breaker, The Hard Brothers, Hard Trax, Jack Master, and UP!. He also recorded and performed, in combination with other artists, under group names such as 0733, Cybersonik, Final Exposure, Spawn (with Fred Giannelli and Daniel Bell) and States Of Mind. Additionally, Hawtin and Pete Namlook collaborated to produce the From Within series of albums which blend minimal techno and ambient. He has also released an album Sounds of the Third Season with Sven Väth.[4]

In 2006, Hawtin collaborated with choreographer Enzo Cosimi to create a composition called "9.20" for the Winter Olympics opening ceremony. He said, "Enzo and I are very much interested in pushing boundaries, both as artists and for our audiences. Working together for the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Games delivers the creative endeavor to not only entertain a huge audience, but to also introduce them to sights and sounds that they may have never experienced before."[5]

Slices magazine launched a series of biographies in 2007 called "Pioneers of Electronic Music", with the first issue being a roughly 60 minute biographical documentary on Hawtin. The film follows his career from his early days crossing the border to Detroit to his current life in Berlin, and hold interviews many colleagues and family members.

Hawtin dismisses speculation as to the death of dance music. In an interview he said, "In the last few years, the interest in electronic music has gone back up, the quality of the music has gone back up, there’s a buzz which reminds you of the early days,” he insists. “From where I’m sitting right now, dance music is more vibrant than ever. In some countries you’ll always have the press saying it’s going down and writing it off, but somewhere else the interest level is soaring and people are discovering this music for the first time, like in South America, where it’s completely kicking off – it’s unbelievable down there. There are some great festivals and parties in Europe, and over the last five years I’ve seen Ibiza go from complete cheesy shite music to the resurgence of a number of different types of progressive electronic music."[3]

Selected discography

  • F.U.S.E.: Dimension Intrusion, 1993
  • Plastikman: Sheet One, 1993
  • Plastikman: Musik, 1994
  • Plastikman: Recycled Plastik, 1994
  • Richie Hawtin: Concept 1 96 VR, 1998
  • Richie Hawtin: Concept 1 96 CD, 1998
  • Plastikman: Consumed, 1998
  • Plastikman: Artifakts [bc], 1998
  • Richie Hawtin: Decks, EFX & 909, 1999
  • Richie Hawtin: DE9: Closer to the Edit, 2001
  • Richie Hawtin and Sven Väth: Sound of the Third Season , 2002
  • Plastikman: Closer, 2003
  • Richie Hawtin and Ricardo Villalobos Live at the Robert Johnson, Offenbach, Germany. 2004
  • Richie Hawtin: DE9 | Transitions, 2005
  • Richie Hawtin: DE9 lite: Electronic Adventures (Produced with MixMag) , 2006
  • Richie Hawtin : Minus Orange 1 Decks, EFX & 909 , 2007
  • Richie Hawtin : Sounds From Can Elles , (DJMAG) 2008

References

  1. ^ Reynolds, Simon. "Generation Ecstasy". London: Routledge, 1999. 225-226. ISBN 0-4159-2373--5
  2. ^ "ten weeks of silence". richiehawtin.com. Retrieved on March 6, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d "Richie Hawtin: Biography". Mute records. Retrieved on April 5, 2009.
  4. ^ "Richie Hawtin & Sven Väth". Mute Records. Retrieved on March 6, 2009.
  5. ^ "Richie Hawtin creates 9:20 for the XXth Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony". Resident Advisor, January 16, 2006. Retrieved on April 5, 2009.

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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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