by Don Crispy

Richie Hawtin

In a riposte to Kool’s massive Moon bash at Ageha last month featuring UK house duo Basement Jaxx, rival menthol tobacco giant Salem is hosting influential Canadian techno artist Richie Hawtin for the next installment of its Salem Innovation Nights at Womb.

The program also includes an invitation-only Innovation Session, where Hawtin is scheduled to talk about the Final Scratch DJ software/hardware system he’s been championing under the theme “Technology and the Future of Music.”

In a past visit to Tokyo, the DJ/producer explained exactly how the system works. “Final Scratch allows DJs to control digital media files with the use of a record. The setup uses a special record that contains some proprietary information that the computer is always listening to. When you put one on the turntable, the computer uses the information on the vinyl to control digital sound files.”

Hawtin says the system has had a liberating effect on him. “Now I need take only a laptop and a couple of records. In addition, once you have files in the digital domain, you can manipulate them. You can reedit them or change the arrangement, and play that new file like a record.”

He says he doesn’t think Final Scratch will detract from the vinyl culture at the heart of dance music. “You’re still mixing by hand and doing all controls on vinyl. You can also play a regular record, but now all that knowledge is transferred into the digital domain, so it starts to let you reevaluate music.”

A second-generation DJ of the minimalist Detroit school, Hawtin established his own Plus 8 label in 1992, releasing hits like “Cyber Sonic” and “Fuse,” to name but two.?Plus 8 in 1993 inked a deal with London-based Novamute, scoring Hawtin overseas distribution for his debut album.

Released under the moniker of Plastikman, Sheet One was an alien-sounding, trance-inducing assault on the senses that offered a blueprint for much of the minimal techno to come.

With his profile heightened, Hawtin began to make regular visits to Japan in the mid-’90s. Over the last decade, he’s spun at Liquid Room, the massive Electraglide raves at Makuhari Messe, and even at the Fuji Rock Festival. In recent years, he’s also been hosting New Year’s Eve parties at Womb with fellow techno veteran, German Sven Vath.

For the upcoming visit, Hawtin brings with him his latest release, last year’s daunting Closer album under his Plastikman name, as well as support in the form of emerging female Detroit techno DJ Magda.

Salem Innovation Nights@Womb, 6/26, 11pm, ¥4,000. Tel: 03-5459-0039.

credit: Womb