DE:9 Transitions By Chris, 26 September 2005

Op NovaMute.com zijn twee nieuwe berichten verschenen over de nieuwe cd van Richie Hawtin. Eerder werden er al details over het nieuwe album onthuld, in de laatste berichten wordt nog meer bekend gemaakt. Behalve de geschiedenis van 'DE9' wordt meer verteld over de verschillende 'versies' van de release. Bij aanschaf van de DVD met de oorspronkelijke 96 minuten durende mix in 5.1 surround, krijg je ook een CD met een 22 minuten korter durende versie. Ook aan de mensen met een portable mp3 speler is gedacht: op de DVD staat ook een hoge kwaliteit mp3 met de volledige mix in stereo. Lees verder voor de volledige berichten en een preview van het cd hoesje…

Over de versies van DE9|Transitions:

In its original form, DE9 | Transitions was created to be a continuous 96 minute composition, which can be found on the Transitions DVD. However, as the CD is still the choice of many listeners (and because of the shortcomings of the Compact Disc format), I have included a shorter 74 minute CD only version along with the DVD.

As well, for those who listen to their music on their own portable devices, I have included (on the data portion of the DVD) a high quality mp3 of Transitions in its full original 96minute stereo version. However, as DE9 | Transitions is the effort of months of work, by dozens of people, I hope you will be kind enough to use this mp3 for your own personal use ;) And for those with DVD players and home theatre/surround systems, a whole other world of extra's are available, most importantly DE9 | Transitions in its full original, 96 minute 5.1 Dolby surround sound version.

Either way, in whatever circumstance or situation you find yourself listening to the mix, I hope you enjoy it.

rh 2005

From tinkering with his father's electronic equipment to religously taping The Wizard's mix shows on local Detroit radio and trying to get to grips with pal John Acquaviva's small home studio, Richie Hawtin is dreaming of the future yet again. More than 15 years after he began exploring new frontiers in electronic dance music, he is redefining the idea of what a DJ can be. From his stark techno tracks on the Plus-8 label to the spectral acid minimalism of his releases as Plastikman, Hawtin has always been, as he puts it, "searching for what’s next". Now his new mix album, DE9: Transitions, has made another quantum leap of the imagination.

DE9: Transitions has been realised in 5.1 surround sound, using the latest recording techology to create an immersive sonic experience: 95 minutes of altered perception. Hawtin has used Abelton Live and DigiDesign ProTools software to strip apart then reassemble his component tracks to make completely new compositions, combining multiple elements simultaneously into a constantly shifting collage of sound. Technique aside, DE9: Transitions is a powerful and compelling trip.

This is the third in the DE9 series which began in 1999 with the fiery, angular rhythms of Decks, EFX & 909 – reflecting Hawtin’s DJ sets using drum machines and effects as well as records – and continued in 2001 with the kinetic loop frenzy of DE9: Closer to the Edit. Over that period, he has refined his use of advanced technology to liberate himself from the more mundane tasks that DJs have to perform, enabling him to produce something that’s far more richly-textured than the sound of needle on spinning vinyl.

“DJing is more about performance now, it’s verging on a live show, and part of the progression towards that is moving further and further away from turntable technology and the idea of mechanically mixing two records together,” he explains. “We used to spend so much effort on getting records to stay in time with each other. But once you stop having to worry about that, you can really start thinking about what sounds work together, and you can get deeper into the structure of the mix.”

Vinyl fundamentalists might, he agrees, regard this as heresy. Even the superstar DJs of the international party circuit who’ve largely abandoned vinyl for more easily-portable CDs have gone nowhere near this far. Hawtin, typically, sees it as an opportunity: “The progressive people are thinking, if computer technologies automate one task, what can I now do better or what new task can I focus my attention on?” he says. “That’s the big question behind all the DE9 CDs – what can I do now with the technology and how can I push in a new direction to further the experimentation and heighten the experience?”

DE9: Transitions combines everything from original Hawtin productions to unreleased tracks straight from the studios of cutting-edge producers like Ricardo Villalobos, Marc Houle, Daniel Bell, Alex Under et al and adds flashes of classic techno moments including Robert Hood, K. Alexi, Sahko, Pan Sonic etc, which inspired him when he was a young clubber. But most of the tracks are fundamentally transformed from their original states. Some fade in and out over a period of minutes, others are reduced to one single sampled note. The on-screen read-out on the DVD version of DE9: Transitions illustrates that its smoothly shape-shifting outline, this is a remarkably complex project. In fact the tracks are so close to becoming entirely new compositions that Hawtin has made the decision to give them his own names.

“It’s taking a chance, doing a mix CD and giving the tracks my own titles representing what these pieces have become,” he admits. “But I believe it’s gone far enough that I can do that. Some people might get pissed about it; we’ll see. The CD artwork plays with that, it’s a picture of my face which is totally made up of these track names, so it shows you that although this is made by me, I’m no greater or lesser than the information I’m using.”

In 2003, after leaving Canada to spend a year in New York, he moved to Berlin – which has been the world’s second techno city since the fall of the Wall opened up creative spaces in derelict buildings left abandoned by the march of history. It’s an environment he’s found genuinely inspiring.

“I’d always wanted to move to Europe,” he says. “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 for people who think different.”

Hawtin has sometimes been portrayed as some kind of scientist-intellectual figure within techno culture, partly because of his innovative use of music technology. And yet there’s also something of the night about him. Berlin has amplified that, too. “I think I’m a little crazier now, perhaps I’ve let my hair down,” he says (with a grin). “I’ve been dancing a lot, listening a lot, going to crazy parties with a bunch of really good friends – being part of the scene and really enjoying what I’m hearing.”

Hawtin was the force behind some truly twisted warehouse parties in the Detroit area in the 1990s, until a local clampdown cooled the ardour. He now does his own club nights in Berlin, although much of his time is taken up crossing contintents to play anywhere from 10,000-strong raves to tiny sweatboxes for 300 people.

The Plus-8 label still releases records sporadically, but Hawtin’s main label now is Minus, the nurturing environment for a new generation of minimalist techno composers and DJs. He has also done a number of projects which fall well outside the traditional role of the club DJ, such as the music he’s composed for a choreographed piece which will form part of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Turin next year.

Hawtin talks a lot about experimenting, but it would be incorrect to characterise him purely as some kind of electronic lab technician. What he does has a sharply defined purpose: “It would be so easy to make something so extreme and so out-there that people would say it was crazy and experimental, but they wouldn’t really like it,” he says. “As much as I like experimenting and pushing forward, I also like partying, so I’m always trying to find a way to communicate my furthest-out ideas in a way people can comprehend at this moment. It’s forward thinking and futuristic but it’s not far-fetched.”

He concludes with a phrase that sums up his mission: “I want to entertain people, but I want to take them somewhere they’ve never been before.” DE9: Transitions certainly fits the bill.

Afbeelding in groot formaat