Canadian minimalist Liquid Room

Techno DJ Richie Hawtin looks to be a busy man this coming weekend, with a set at Fuji Rock Festival to be preceded by a headlining appearance at Liquid Room for the second installment in the club' Extremes series.

Growing up just over the border from Detroit in Windsor, Ontario, Hawtin came under the spell of the legendary Detroit "Bellevue Three" techno innovators, Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson.

Launching his own club in his hometown, Hawtin was soon DJing across the river in Detroit at The Shelter. There he was fully exposed to the developing Detroit scene and began showcasing his own talents as well.

Not content simply with DJing, Hawtin soon hooked up with the like-minded Kenny Larkin. The pair began laying down tracks, and Hawtin soon founded the Plus 8 label as a vehicle for his minimalist, techno compositions.

Plus 8 in 1993 inked a deal with London-based NovaMute records for his debut album. Released under his Plastikman moniker, Sheet One - with its brutal, alien percussion assault and trance-inducing repetitiveness - created the blueprint for the minimalist techno to come.

Musik followed in 1994, and a 1995 Glastonbury festival appearance introduced Hawtin to the world. In recent years, he has become one of the most respected DJs on the circuit, including a storming set at last fall's Electraglide event at the giant Makuhari Messe convention center near Tokyo that featured a live performance based on last year's Decks, EFX & 909 album.

Maniac Love veteran DJ Wada

At Liquid Room Hawtin will be in fine company, with Maniac Love stalwart DJ Wada (Reel Musiq) also well capable of working a crowd into a lather. A professional DJ for 21 years and master of ceremonies at Maniac Love's long-running Saturday Cycle events, Wada has also been pushing the envelope of techno with live sets as part of his Co-Fusion duo, at Liquid Room and abroad as well.

Also on the bill will be respected DJ Shufflemaster (Subvoice/Tresor). The DJ's most recent release is EXP on Germany's Tresor label, an album about which he commented: "The album EXP does not contain just one theme or concept. Events in life and the factors that surround the musical styles could be expressed by words such as expansion, experience, experiment, exploration, explosion, exposure and express."

Extremes@Liquid Room, 7/27, 9pm, JY3500 (adv), JY4000 (door). Tel: 03-3200-6831. www.liquidroom.net