Review: Consumed was Richie Hawtin's brooding magnum opus as Plastikman from the late 90s, and this new version sees Chilly Gonzales provide piano accompaniment to the tracks. On "Contain", this contribution takes the form of keys that float over the original version's throbbing bass, while Gonzales splatters "Consume" with effortless, jazzy piano touches. While in some instances these additions augment the original version, at other times the new elements occupy the foreground and augment minimalist Hawtin compositions like "Cor Ten" or the rickety rhythms and resonating pulses of "Ekko" and "Converge". Understated in its approach and execution, Consumed (In Key) is a home listening masterpiece.
Review: Richie Hawtin's relationship with the 303 goes back a long way, most prominently through his Plastikman project. However, on Acid King, he looks to other sources for inspiration. The 'Bonus Beats' take is redolent of his Circuit Breaker work. Built on dense, grimy kicks and percussion so sharp it cuts like a scythe, it's Hawtin's most full-on release in years. Other side projects are also revived: his F.U.S.E moniker is deployed to turn in a version of "Acid King" that rages with the same acid intensity as "Substance Abuse", while Hawtin's love of vocal loops surfaces on the 'Vox' take. But it's the epic "Stripped", where Hawtin whips his acid box into a near ten-minute odyssey, that really impresses.
Review: Richie Hawtin's formidable F.U.S.E collaboration with brother Mathew returns for the first time following an expansive retrospective The Vinyl Factory put together in 2019. Still fresh from giving Prada its winter/fall soundtrack as Platsikman, this latest F.U.S.E. release presents a multi-layered audio & visual NFT collaboration. Taking listeners' minds back to the days of Plus 8, Probe and Warp Records, this Syntax EP harnesses melody and arpeggio driven Detroit techno that plays with a classic acid sound. Spiraling into something deep and gothic on the one side, the arps of Syntax also pull in a different direction on the other to create something more uplifting than menacing. Perfect syntax for your Detroit techno lexicon.
Review: Originally released back in 1995, this is the first time that Richie Hawtin's selection for Mixmag has been available as separate digital tracks. None of the featured tracks have aged a day, with the Plus 8 boss navigating a path through underground house and techno. There's tripped out acid from Lausen and his own Plastikman and FUSE material sitting side by side with pioneering minimalism from DBX and G-Man and the hypnotic pulses of Teste's eternal "The Wipe". Mixmag Live! also reveals a deeper side to Hawtin's oeuvre, and the trio of dubbed out tracks that the mix ends on - from Paul Hannah, Sensorama and Roman Flugel's Roman IV project - is nothing short of stunning.
Review: One of Richie Hawtin's early releases under the Jack Master alias from 1993 was originally released on Plus 8 sub label JACK and is now available digitally via Soma Recordings. A true zeitgeist of the early '90s techno sound as popularised by Jeff Mills, Joey Beltran, Mark Archer and Frankie Bones, this classic still gets hammered out today by the likes of Function. Its relentless and cavernous 909 workout beneath sonar bleeps and a jacking vocal refrain is the stuff of legend!
Review: Throughout the latter part of 2015, some anonymous Plus 8 white labels started to appear in Hard Wax, leading to some speculation. If the rumours were anything to go by, the legendary Richie Hawtin may have ventured back into the studio. And here we have it, a new album by Hawtin entitled "From My Mind To Yours" featuring some new material, the first in many years as well as some revised classics. Hawtin is said to have invested in and sought inspiration from the new AIRA series of Roland machines such as the TR-8 and the results speak for themselves. From the 13-minute long acid epic "No Way Back" to classic material from his old FUSE moniker featuring the rusty and high octane sounds of Detroit in the early nineties, there's some real gems on here. New Plastikman tracks such as "Purrkussiv" explore his stripped back rhythmic minimalism that he's famous for, while his new alias 80xx explores new acid capabilities like on the droning and hypnotic "Creatur" or "Grindr".
Nitzer Ebb/Richie Hawtin/Intermission - "Orange Minus 1/Orange Minus 2/Orange Minus 2/Let Your Body Lean/Orange Minus 1/What The Hell Was That?" - (5:47) 139 BPM
Heiko Laux/Baby Ford & Eon/Sawas Ysatis/Stewart S Walker - "Five/Dead Eye/Club Soda/It's Process Not Substance" - (4:28) 138 BPM
