Full Circle with Richie Hawtin, From Ibiza to Canada

Photograph courtesy of Barbara Klein

When Richie Hawtin treads, he does not tread lightly. In an age where there is more noise in the music industry than ever, for an artist to completely steal the attention of a major metropolitan city in such a fashion is quite a feat. Especially during Canada's longest running trademark music and technology festival, Mutek. Really, it's a feat that only someone like Richie Hawtin could pull off. For 36 hours last week, Richie Hawtin held the city of Montreal tightly in his palm. We were lucky enough to catch up with Richie and his team for a few minutes after his free #dotUP party, and we didn't talk about EDM. (Or Seth Troxler's op-ed.) Instead, we talked about the essence of ENTER. and the life and times of Richie Hawtin—past, present, and future. While fans waited around for pictures and signatures we dove headfirst into conversation, right in the DJ booth, as Richie's team was unplugging his setup.

When asked about bringing ENTER. to Canada, Richie explained: "I like to bring everything back to Canada eventually. Whenever I'm working on a new project like ENTER. or Plastikman, at one point I bring it back here because it's important to me to show the love and respect to Canada for giving me my start. I think Canada has a really good place in the world of techno for the amount of people here and the size of the country in the world. Canada has a lot of power. I hope I'm a part of that and I also hope that I've even helped it."

In many ways it was a homecoming for the techno superstar. And with him he brought his baby—the esteemed ENTER. brand—for its Canadian debut.

ENTER. is really the partier's party. No cheese, no bullshit, no gimmicks. Proper music, perfect sound, and stunning visuals that don't take away from the music, but enhance it. It's a well thought out, heavily detailed puzzle that is put together by the best minds in the business. This attention to detail is one of the reasons the ENTER. brand has seen so much success in their run.

Speaking with Richie made one thing strikingly clear. He's in it for the music, for the fans, and for the shared experience. He genuinely wants to see the scene prosper, grow, and evolve. He doesn't have to play a free show, but he does. That's why three thousand people came out Wednesday afternoon for two hours of great music, and it's why he fits so well with Mutek, as well as Red Bull Music Academy's culture. Both camps push forward the boundaries of live musical experience, day in and day out, on the streets, in clubs, or elsewhere. Given Toronto's recent debacles with dance music concerts, it was refreshing to see a large-scale outdoor event organized so easily (and successfully) on a whim.

I wanted to know what his approach was with ENTER., and how he always manages to build on his success in business as well as music. "It's about keeping the wheels of electronic music turning. That's why we say 'take the next step.' There's always another step into the things that we feel close to. We could be friends for 20 years, but there's always the possibility that we could get closer. That's what I feel about electronic music—if I didn't feel the ability to get closer to the artists and the music around it, I would have gotten bored 20 years ago and wouldn't be a part of it."

This approach simply works. "It becomes more than just a normal party in Montreal. This is what I'm all about. When we were doing parties in the early days in Detroit, when we're doing Plastikman live, we try to put something into the city so that it becomes such an event that it creates excitement and anticipation. It becomes more than just me coming—it takes a life onto its own."

And that it did. Richie packed one of Montreal's biggest venues, Metropolis, and brought a bounty of techno heaters to a full house after Marc Houle finished a captivating live set. Bart Skils' latest track blew up the club, while the reaction to Matador and Shaded's new material was extraordinary. The ENTER. Mutek visuals were out of this world. It was easy to tell that the night was not just ordinarily planned, but curated to high standards. Each element was handpicked to complement another, creating a true synergy where the product was greater than the sum of its parts.

The human connection is what fuels Richie's approach. "It's about shared experiences," he explains. "We really believe in what we're doing, we like to bring friends together, like-minded people. We're honest about what we do and I think people can feel that. There are so many other parties in the world these days that are about money, and there is no feeling to it. We try to stay true to the scene and true to why we got into it."

And interestingly enough, that's where Richie tied sake into the conversation. His self-proclaimed favourite alcoholic beverage, he's single handedly made sake cool again. "Sake is exactly like that—you're pouring drinks for each person, you're enjoying it, and coming together. On a greater business level, the sake community is built up of about a thousand different companies, but also families. They're taking rice and water, and putting it together. I'm using a 909, we're all using technology, basically the same shit but we all try to come up with our own individuality. Over the last 20 years we've created a tradition, what I would call houses of music: Minus, Cocoon, etc. The sake industry is the same. They're working in family traditions of tastes, and we're working in family traditions of sounds."

As the fans find themselves deeper in ENTER.'s wormhole, so does Richie himself. In fact, it almost seems like he never really leaves it. Running an internationally renowned techno brand is a full-time job, on top of everything else the Canadian has accomplished in his career. When asked about his ENTER. preparations, Richie explained that it's a year-round gig. You can't just unplug once you've come this far. "I'm listening to DJs and reading everything throughout the whole year. In December and January I go through shitloads of downloadable mixes, I'm at BPM watching people play, and I just try to suck it all in. I think about the concept of that year and try to create a programming that makes sense altogether, but also makes sense in each room. I try to create a program that represents, for me, the world of electronic music at this very point."

As we talked, the conversation began to move towards technology. A pioneer in the world of Traktor and music tech, Richie and his team has been trendsetters in the association of DJing and forward-thinking music technology from the beginning. He actually spoke on a Mutek Ableton panel before his show at Metropolis.

"Let's get away from how you play or how you listen. It's about the experience of taking music in." Richie commented. "That's one of the problems right now. It's not about the delivery mechanism—doesn't matter if its on CD, or vinyl, or digital, or a cassette—if it's a good piece of music and you put your heart into it, and you try to do something which is a little bit different than what's been done before, it could hit, and it's a bomb."

And that's really one of the issues in today's music space, isn't it? There's a lot of 'the same' going around, and very few innovators taking it to the next level. For everyone changing the rules of the game, there seems to be a handful of people cutting corners and holding it back.

Richie continued, "Some people can play vinyl and do something cool, and touch all the people in front of them—I could do that—but the problem is that I did that 20 years ago. I felt that I had gotten to a point where I needed to progress beyond that. You have to find something that you feel is the best conduit for your creativity that you can channel yourself through. For me, that's computers. I continue to try to evolve and find a way that technology allows me to play, and perform, and interact with people in a new, interesting and exciting way."

At the end of the day, that really is the answer. Richie and his team have organically created a unique space for music lovers to have an experience, individually as well as communally. They are constantly evolving, iterating, and improving on their past performances. That's how you can draw three thousand people to a park in downtown Montreal with 24 hours notice, and that's how you take your brand on internationally renowned tours. "Music is what binds the whole scene together. It's what binds me to these people, and everything else comes after" Richie explains, as fans are calling out his name.

ENTER. truly means something different to everyone, which is why I think it sees to much success. An escape, a rave, a musical odyssey, or something entirely different. So next time Mr. Hawtin brings his show to a city near you, go ahead and take the next step. You won't be disappointed.

You can follow Zack on Twitter: @zackrota

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