Richard Hawtin (born June 4, 1970,
BanburyBanbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
,
OxfordshireOxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
) is an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-
CanadianCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
electronic musicElectronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
ian and
DJA disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
who was an influential part of
Detroit technoDetroit techno is an early style of electronic music beginning in the 1980s. Detroit, Michigan has been cited as the birthplace of techno music. Prominent Detroit Techno artists include Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson...
's second wave of artists in the early 1990s and a leading exponent of
Minimal technoMinimal techno is a minimalist sub-genre of techno. It is characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition, and understated development. This style of dance music production generally adheres to the motto less is more; a principle that has been previously utilized, to...
since the mid 1990s. He is best known for his abstract, minimal works under the alias
Plastikman, a pseudonym he still uses today.
Hawtin is known for DJing
minimal technoMinimal techno is a minimalist sub-genre of techno. It is characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition, and understated development. This style of dance music production generally adheres to the motto less is more; a principle that has been previously utilized, to...
sets making use of laptop computers and digital mixing equipment. In May 1990, Hawtin and fellow second-waver
John AcquavivaJohn Acquaviva is an Italian-born Canadian second-wave techno artist and club DJ from London, Ontario. His friend Richie Hawtin co-founded the Plus 8 record label with him in 1990.In 2006, Acquaviva reached #22 on the ....
founded the
Plus 8Plus 8 is a Canadian techno record label, based in Windsor, Ontario and founded in 1990 by DJs Richie Hawtin and John Acquaviva. Initial releases were by the pair themselves and their friends using aliases such as States of Mind and Cybersonik, along with other Detroit-based musicians such as...
record labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, which they named after their turntable's pitch adjust function. In 1998, Hawtin launched
MinusMinus or M-nus is a recording label based in Berlin, Germany and Windsor, Canada. It was created in 1998 by Richie Hawtin when Plus 8, a label previously created by Hawtin, was put on hold...
records.
Biography
Hawtin was born in
BanburyBanbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
,
OxfordshireOxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, England, but moved when he was aged nine to
LaSalle, OntarioLaSalle is a town in Essex County, Ontario, Canada, on the Detroit River. It is a bedroom community of the City of Windsor and part of the Windsor Census Metropolitan Area, and is located south of that city. LaSalle, along with Windsor, is the oldest French settlement area in Southwestern Ontario,...
, a suburb of
Windsor, OntarioWindsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, and just across the river from Detroit, the birthplace of
technoTechno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
. His father worked as a robotics technician at
General MotorsGeneral Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
, and was a fan of electronic music, introducing his son to
KraftwerkKraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
and
Tangerine DreamTangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
at an early age. He has one brother, Matthew, who is a visual artist and
ambient musicAmbient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
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 musicHouse music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and techno.
With Canadian DJ
John AcquavivaJohn Acquaviva is an Italian-born Canadian second-wave techno artist and club DJ from London, Ontario. His friend Richie Hawtin co-founded the Plus 8 record label with him in 1990.In 2006, Acquaviva reached #22 on the ....
he formed the label
Plus 8Plus 8 is a Canadian techno record label, based in Windsor, Ontario and founded in 1990 by DJs Richie Hawtin and John Acquaviva. Initial releases were by the pair themselves and their friends using aliases such as States of Mind and Cybersonik, along with other Detroit-based musicians such as...
in 1990 to release his own tracks under the name
F.U.S.E. 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."
Career
Hawtin has recorded music under the aliases Plastikman, F.U.S.E., Concept 1, Forcept 1, Circuit Breaker, Robotman, Chrome, Spark, Xenon, R.H.X., Jack Master, Richard Michaels and UP!.
He also recorded and performed, in combination with other artists, under group names such as The Hard Brothers, Hard Trax (with his brother Matthew Hawtin), 0733, Cybersonik (with
Daniel BellDaniel Bell is an American minimal techno DJ. He was born in Sacramento, California, but grew up outside of Toronto, Canada, and later moved to Detroit where he collaborated with Richie Hawtin as Cybersonik for three years on Plus 8 records...
and
John AcquavivaJohn Acquaviva is an Italian-born Canadian second-wave techno artist and club DJ from London, Ontario. His friend Richie Hawtin co-founded the Plus 8 record label with him in 1990.In 2006, Acquaviva reached #22 on the ....
), Final Exposure (with
Joey BeltramJoey Beltram is an American DJ and record producer, best-known for the pioneering recordings "Energy Flash" and "Mentasm"....
and Mundo Muzique), Just For Fun (with Holger Wick), Narod Niki (with
AkufenMarc Leclair, better known by his stage name Akufen, is a Canadian electronic musician. His music is electronic music that is often described as minimal house, minimal techno, glitch, or microhouse....
, Cabanne, Dandy Jack,
Daniel BellDaniel Bell is an American minimal techno DJ. He was born in Sacramento, California, but grew up outside of Toronto, Canada, and later moved to Detroit where he collaborated with Richie Hawtin as Cybersonik for three years on Plus 8 records...
,
LucianoLuciano is a Jamaican second generation roots reggae artist and poet....
,
Ricardo VillalobosRicardo Villalobos is a Chilean-German electronic music producer and DJ. He is well-known for his work in the minimal techno and microhouse genres, and is one of the most significant figures in today's minimal techno scene....
,
Robert HenkeRobert B. Henke is a German computer music composer and professor of sound design at the Berlin University of the Arts. He is a co-developer of Ableton Live music software and founding member of the electronic music project Monolake...
and Thomas Franzmann), Two Guys In The Basement (with John Acquaviva), Spawn (with
Fred GiannelliFred Giannelli is an electronic musician born 1960 in Lowell, Massachusetts. He began experimenting with electronics in the late 1970s as Turning Shrines. In 1984, Giannelli met Psychic TV's Genesis P. Orridge while the group was in Boston for a gig. This led to Giannelli eventually flying to...
and Daniel Bell) and States Of Mind (with Acquaviva).
Additionally, Hawtin and
Pete NamlookPete Namlook is an ambient and electronic-music producer and composer. In 1992, he founded the German record label FAX +49-69/450464, which he oversees...
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 VäthSven Väth is a Frankfurt-based DJ who has produced an extensive range of work since his career began in 1982. From 1985, he was part of the band OFF which released the hit "Electrica Salsa" in 1986...
.
In 2006, Hawtin collaborated with choreographer
Enzo Cosimi-Achievements:Cosimi is most known for collaborating with DJ Richie Hawtin to create a piece called "9.20" for the 2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony.-References:...
on a composition called "9.20" for the
Winter OlympicsThe 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
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."
Slices magazine launched a series of biographies in 2007 called "Pioneers of Electronic Music"; their first issue was a 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 contains interviews with many colleagues and family members.
2011 saw the release of
Arkives 1993 - 2010, a massive box set containing everything Hawtin has released under his Plastikman moniker, as well as a new mixed set and previously unreleased material. The collection includes CDs, vinyl, digital downloads and a DVD.
Hawtin dismisses speculation as to the demise 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."
Albums
- F.U.S.E.: Dimension Intrusion
Dimension Intrusion is an album released by F.U.S.E., aka Richie Hawtin, as the fifth release on Warp's Artificial Intelligence series, in 1993.-Track listing:All tracks by Richie Hawtin#"A New Day" – 3:53#"F.U." – 7:45#"Slac" – 3:17...
, 1993
- Plastikman: Sheet One
Sheet One was the first Plastikman album, written by Richie Hawtin and released in October 1993 on Novamute Records. Hawtin had previously released a first album, Dimension Intrusion, under the alias "F.U.S.E.". The front inlay of the album was perforated, giving it the look of a wall of LSD tabs...
, 1993
- Plastikman: Musik
Musik is the second studio album by the Canadian electronic music artist Richie Hawtin as Plastikman. It was released on November 8th, 1994 through Plus 8 records and Novamute records. Musik was received to wide critical acclaim and is by many considered to be Richie Hawtin's best album as Plastikman...
, 1994
- Plastikman: Recycled Plastik
Recycled Plastik is a mini-album by then-Detroit and minimal techno DJ Richie Hawtin, under his alias Plastikman. It was released on Novamute Records in 1994, and comes in a slim jewel case of the type usually used for singles rather than albums...
, 1994
- Plastikman: Sickness (EP), 1997
- Concept 1: 96:CD, 1998
- Concept 1: 96:VR, 1998 (remixed by Thomas Brinkmann)
- Plastikman: Consumed
Consumed is the third studio album by the Canadian electronic music artist Richie Hawtin as Plastikman. The album is an exploration of Plastikman's ambient side and features none of the frantic Detroit techno experiments he was chiefly renowned for at the time...
, 1998
- Plastikman: Artifakts [bc
Artifakts [bc] is the fourth album by the Canadian electronic music artist Richie Hawtin as Plastikman. It is a compilation of material left from Musik's recording as well as an unfinished album called Klinik.- CD :# "Korridor" – 5:49...
], 1998
- Plastikman: Closer
Closer is the fifth full length studio album by the electronic music artist Richie Hawtin as Plastikman. Musically it expands further on the work of 1998's Consumed and, for the first time, prominently features Richie Hawtin's own voice....
, 2003
- Plastikman: Kompilation, 2010
- Plastikman: Arkives, 2011
DJ mix compilations
- Richie Hawtin: Decks, EFX & 909
Decks, EFX & 909 is an influential Detroit techno compilation album mixed by Richie Hawtin. The album is also known to as "DE9", the header for used for all his subsequent releases, such as DE9: Transitions."909" refers to the Roland TR-909....
, 1999 (DJ mix album)
- Richie Hawtin: DE9: Closer to the Edit
DE9 Closer to the Edit is an album by minimal and Detroit Techno artist Richie Hawtin. It was released in 2001 under Novamute Records.- Track listing :# "Range/Smart Card?/10 Strikes to 2001" – 3:50...
, 2001 (DJ mix album)
- Richie Hawtin and Sven Väth: Sound of the Third Season, 2002 (DJ mix album)
- Richie Hawtin and Ricardo Villalobos Live at the Robert Johnson, Offenbach, Germany, 2004 (11 hour DJ set)
- Richie Hawtin: DE9
DE9 Transitions is an album released by Detroit techno and minimal artist Richie Hawtin. It contained a CD and a special edition DVD, with multimedia, such as videos.-Track listing:The CD includes tracks 1-21...
, 2005 (DJ mix album)
- Richie Hawtin: DE9 lite: Electronic Adventures, 2006 (DJ mix album, produced with MixMag)
- Richie Hawtin: Sounds from Can Elles, 2008 (unmixed various artist compilation, free with DJ Magazine issue 467)
Awards
| YEAR | COMPANY | RANK | AWARD | COUNTRY | LINK |
| 2011 |
MixMag |
02 |
Greatest DJ of all time |
UK |
Website |
| 2010 |
DJ Awards |
Nominated |
Best Techno DJ |
Ibiza, Spain |
Website |
| 2010 |
DJ Awards |
Nominated |
Best International DJ |
Ibiza, Spain |
Website |
| 2010 |
Resident Advisor |
02 |
Top 100 DJs of 2010 |
Worldwide |
Website |
| 2010 |
Raveline Magazine |
Winner |
Best International DJ |
Germany |
Website |
| 2010 |
Golden Gnome Awards (ADE) |
Winner |
Favorite International DJ |
Amsterdam, The Netherlands |
Website |
| 2010 |
DJ Magazine |
31 |
Top 100 Best Djs of 2010 |
UK |
Website |
| 2010 |
KlubTerapia |
Winner |
Best International DJ |
Poland |
| 2010 |
KlubTerapia |
Winner |
Best Live Act (Plastikman) |
Poland |
| 2010 |
Resident Advisor |
Winner |
Best Live Act (Plastikman) |
Worldwide |
Website |
| 2009 |
DJ Awards |
Nominated |
Best Techno DJ |
Ibiza, Spain |
Website |
| 2009 |
Resident Advisor |
Winner |
Top 100 DJs of 2009 |
Worldwide |
Website |
| 2009 |
Raveline Magazine |
Winner |
Best International DJ |
Germany |
Website |
| 2009 |
DJ Magazine |
28 |
Top 100 Best DJs of 2009 |
UK |
Website |
| 2008 |
DJ Awards |
Winner |
Best Techno DJ |
Ibiza, Spain |
Website |
| 2008 |
Resident Advisor |
02 |
Top 100 DJs of 2008 |
Worldwide |
Website |
| 2008 |
DJ Magazine |
15 |
Top 100 Best DJs of 2008 |
UK |
Website |
| 2007 |
Resident Advisor |
05 |
Top 10 DJs of 2007 |
Worldwide |
Website |
| 2007 |
DJ Magazine |
19 |
Top 100 BEst DJs of 2007 |
UK |
Website |
| 2006 |
DJ Awards |
Winner |
Best Techno DJ |
Ibiza, Spain |
Website |
| 2006 |
Resident Advisor |
03 |
Top 10 DJs of 2006 |
Worldwide |
Website |
| 2006 |
DJ Magazine |
33 |
Top 250 Best DJs of 2006 |
UK |
Website |
| 2006 |
International Dance Music Awards (WMC) |
Nominated |
Best Global DJ Award |
Miami, USA |
| 2005 |
DJ Awards |
Nominated |
Best Techno DJ |
Ibiza, Spain |
Website |
| 2005 |
Raveline Magazine |
Winner |
Best International DJ |
Germany |
Website |
| 2005 |
DJ Magazine |
12 |
Top 250 Best DJs of 2005 |
UK |
Website |
| 2004 |
DJ Magazine |
44 |
Top 100 Best DJs of 2004 |
UK |
Website |
| 2004 |
Groove Magazine |
Winner |
Best International DJ |
Germany |
| 2003 |
DJ Awards |
Nominated |
Best Techno DJ |
Ibiza, Spain |
Website |
| 2003 |
DJ Magazine |
33 |
Top 100 Best DJs of 2003 |
UK |
Website |
| 2003 |
Groove Magazine |
Winner |
Best International DJ |
Germany |
| 2002 |
DJ Awards |
Winner |
Best Techno DJ |
Ibiza, Spain |
Website |
| 2002 |
Groove Magazine |
Winner |
Best International DJ |
Germany |
| 2001 |
DJ Awards |
Nominated |
Best Techno DJ |
Ibiza, Spain |
Website |
| 2001 |
Wired Magazine Rave Awards |
Nominated |
Most Wired Musician |
San Francisco, USA |
| 2000 |
DJ Awards |
Nominated |
Best DJ Innovator |
Ibiza, Spain |
Website |
| 2000 |
Musik und Maschine Congress |
Winner |
Best International DJ |
Berlin, Germany |
| 2000 |
Detroit Music Awards |
Winner |
Outstanding Electronic Musician |
Detroit, USA |
| 1999 |
DJ Awards |
Nominated |
Best DJ Innovator |
Ibiza, Spain |
Website |
| 1999 |
Prix Ars Electronica |
Honorable Mention |
Digital Music |
Austria |
| 1998 |
DJ Awards |
Nominated |
Best DJ Innovator |
Ibiza, Spain |
Website |
| 1998 |
Festival du Cinema et Media |
Winner |
Best New Media Work |
Montreal, Canada |
External links