Richie Hawtin’s legacy as one of electronic music’s most important artists cannot be overstated. If not for his rolling, textural and genre-defining techno releases and live shows, or for his influence and innovations as a technological maestro, then it’s his impact as a label owner and tastemaker that makes the man a living legend. Coming up across the border from Detroit, the city’s musical landscape influenced a young Hawtin to sonically shape and carve his sets, blending and twisting the music to create a captivating canvas of frequencies. Since, along with label and investment partner John Acquaviva, he revolutionised the DJ booth forever by bringing timecode DVS to the mainstream and with it, the laptop became a staple DJ tool. He changed the game again as an early investor and champion of Beatport, which went on to define the success of so many DJs at the height of its popularity. Later, his CNTRL tour influenced thousands of young producers, encouraging sonic spontaneity in the studio and on stage. Now, his new innovative live show ‘Close’ and his own performance mixer MODEL 1 continue to define a man who rarely sits still, 25 years into his career. “This has easily been the busiest year of my career!” Richie tells DJ Mag. “I added 20 more gigs than last year, have been constantly on tour playing music, doing tastings and events for ENTER.Sake and in between continuing to develop my CLOSE Live show by spending more time in the studio than ever perfecting the best set-up to unlock an even better performance.”
Richie Hawtin’s legacy as one of electronic music’s most important artists cannot be overstated. If not for his rolling, textural and genre-defining techno releases and live shows, or for his influence and innovations as a technological maestro, then it’s his impact as a label owner and tastemaker that makes the man a living legend. Coming up across the border from Detroit, the city’s musical landscape influenced a young Hawtin to sonically shape and carve his sets, blending and twisting the music to create a captivating canvas of frequencies.
Since, along with label and investment partner John Acquaviva, he revolutionised the DJ booth forever by bringing timecode DVS to the mainstream and with it, the laptop became a staple DJ tool. He changed the game again as an early investor and champion of Beatport, which went on to define the success of so many DJs at the height of its popularity. Later, his CNTRL tour influenced thousands of young producers, encouraging sonic spontaneity in the studio and on stage.
Now, his new innovative live show ‘Close’ and his own performance mixer MODEL 1 continue to define a man who rarely sits still, 25 years into his career.
“This has easily been the busiest year of my career!” Richie tells DJ Mag. “I added 20 more gigs than last year, have been constantly on tour playing music, doing tastings and events for ENTER.Sake and in between continuing to develop my CLOSE Live show by spending more time in the studio than ever perfecting the best set-up to unlock an even better performance.”