Lately I've been having a huge craving to dance to pure, full-on techno, but it's been hard to come by. I long to be swept away in a sea of electronic madness and thrown against the mechanical rocks. Most of what you hear in clubs these days seems to come from house purists, which is all good, but if I hear any more Chic-inspired guitar licks, diva vocals, or conga explorations, I just might take my five bucks and pay someone to drive broken record shards under my fingernails. My friend from Detroit is always complaining, "I don't want to dance to big gay ol' house--I want techno!" With her gritty Motor City roots, she never gets enough to fill her appetite... but ask and ye shall receive, girlfriend!
Second-wave techno visionary Richie Hawtin (a.k.a. Plastikman) has been perfecting his production and performance skills for well over a decade. Coming from Windsor, Ontario, Hawtin used his relationship with Detroit, as many do, to inspire explorations into minimalist, post-industrial landscapes as a direct route to the future. Co-founding the seminal Plus 8 record label with John Acquaviva, Hawtin is inspired by peers like Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, and Juan Atkins, but he also looks to new artists in order to reach an audience on a global scale.
Hawtin is a master of building up stripped-down loops, rhythms, and counterrhythms, locking together layers of lush electronic tones into one pulsing mass. Then again, he understands the fundamentals--you take a lifeless piece of equipment, put the human touch to it, and coax out a rhythm and tone, and you can make it sound as organic as a piece of bone hitting wood and as natural as a heartbeat.
On recent tours, Hawtin has said he's trying to show people that his music doesn't have to be played in abandoned, cracked-out warehouses to be legitimate. With the demise of raves and warehouse parties, the only place to find techno is in the clubs, which is fine by me. Torchbearers of the underground may wince at this comment, but electronic music will inevitably progress, just as rock 'n' roll did. Most artists enjoy a consistent work environment where they can get the job done without exterior worries.
Hawtin has the tracks, the label, and the reputation, and now he has the venue, too. And he's definitely got the audience, ready to satiate their craving for techno, Detroit-style! NICOLAE WHITE
Richie Hawtin w/Wesley Holmes and Dave Zam, Sat July 6 at the Showbox, 1426 First Ave, 628-3151, 10 pm, 21+, $15 adv/$20 day of show.
