thaught some of you might like this. scotto
----- Original Message ----- From: "manzana thump" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, August 03, 2001 9:56 PM Subject: [amtrak] richie hawtin Q&A > this was done over the phone, 8/2/01. a longer version should be up on > www.ytic.com soon, 'til then, i figured i'd make some use of it! > apple > > AR: What's your current set up? > RH: Two turntables and mixer-- an Allen & Heath modified with a couple > extras, you know, bells and whistles. The Final Scratch computer system, a > hardware box, an Eletrix repeater loop-based sampler, a Lexicon effects box > (which I use to add delays and weird effects), the Roland 909 drum machine > (used to create new rythms over records), a Pioneer CDJ700--I use that to > play samples and voice loops, it has a great looping mechanism. > > AR: What's the most you've had going on at once? > RH: Usually three or four components--there are some things going on at > once, and it's a little hairy at times. I have a master control in case I > need to get out of there! > > AR: Can you explain in layman's terms how Final Scratch works? > RH: It's a computer system which hooks up to any turntable and any mixer. > It's a small interface box and a record. Everything you normally do to a > record, like cue, scratch, pitch adjusting, playing backwards--all those > things get sent to the computer and it does that action to the same digital > file of your choice. It is a way to interact with digital music files by > simulating with vinyl. There hasn't been a way to interact with digital > files that is as physical or intuitive as [when you interact with] vinyl. > You can't do these things with a mouse or computer or even a keyboard. That > record just becomes a controller. It's hardware and software. It totally > integrates with normal vinyl culture. > > AR: Upon completion, what will be the market price of Final Scratch? > RH: They want to keep it accessible. It's aimed towards everybody, not just > highly paid performers who can afford high-end equipment. I think it will be > around $500. It's aimed to strengthen the abilities of up-and-coming bedroom > DJs, DJs of all statuses and calibers. > > AR: Do you think you are a DJ or a musician first, or do you think the > titles are > synonomous? > RH: I think those terms are becoming synonomous--and that's what I'm more > interested in. The initial idea of DJing was playing back prerecorded > material. If i'm using all this equipment to modify what I'm doing, I've > actually changed a lot of the tracks. I reevalute, re-edit. It's started to > go beyond DJs, and that's where i'm headed--that's where the whole scene is > headed. If you're just in the corner of a bar playing records I'd say you're > already out of a job. You've become a human jukebox. There is arleady > technology that can DO that. I don't see any need for that. The people who > are gonna stand out from the pack in the future are those who can be more > than just a DJ or more than a perfomer, creating something only they can > create on the fly. The goal is to create an experience--to me, that's what a > good DJ does. I've always wanted more, grasping at the unknown. That's how > you have experiences. You don't create new things by reliving old > experiences. That's not forward thinking, it's not progressive. It's not > going to leave me fulfilled. I want something new. > > AR: What's the best club you've played? > RH: There are good clubs everywhere, like in Frankfurt Germany (Omen, > 260)--there are so many amazing places. But I do have a favorite place. > Detroit. The parties I've done in the Detroit area for the past 11 > years--those have always been some of the most incredible experiences in my > life. DJing, hanging out and dancing. > > AR: Can you ever listen to a song at face value? > RH: I definitely can enjoy a song. There is a part of me that likes to pull > things apart and analyze, but I think you have to have balance. I still love > music and a great song, but I also love the idea of seeing technology move > so far forward that we can reinvent that song if we want to. We have a > choice now--in the past, once we recorded something that was it. I think the > end of time is now for that way of thinking. > > AR: Would you say that if a track isn't a progression that you'd have no > interest > in it? > RH: I'm not that much of a purist. Every time you make a step forward, you > have to look at what you have done in the past. There just has to be a > conscious movement forward. There are a lot of great tracks that are > reinterpreting the past, but they reevaluate it in a way that makes sense > today, not just yesterday. That's why i'm so excited by technology. I can't > sit here and say I'm coming up with new ideas all the time, but I am > reevaluating my past ideas with the technology that comes out today. It may > enable me to approach an idea in a slightly different way than I was able to > do before and hence a different outcome. > > AR: Do you approach other things in life with a similar attitude? Fashion? > Relationships? > RH: (laughs) Well I can't say relationships, my girlfriend would kill me! > But I think so. If I was that way with fashion I guess you'd call me trendy. > I like change. I get bored very quickly. Music is something I stuck with > because it IS always changing. That's why I enjoy traveling so much. When I > am at home for extended periods of time I go crazy. So, yes, I think it does > permeate a lot of areas of my life. I guess I am trendy. > > AR: So if you're always delirous for change, how do you keep the same > girlfriend? > RH: I've had the same girlfriend for the past seven years. With a life of > constant flux, you need a couple of things that are constant! > > AR: What makes a song fresh to you? New? Is that even possible today? > RH: It is increasingly hard to make a new song and come up with a different > take on an idea. There is always some type of inspiration [from something > done before]. > > AR: You say that in Windsor, during winter, the landscape and enviroment > really affect your production. Do you draw inspiration from other > environments? > RH: Perhaps it would, but I haven't tried. [Windsor is] one of my other > constants. I keep recording in the same damn place. Perhaps I'm scared to > try doing it somewhere else. I think environment has a lot to do with who we > are. The starkness and the emptiness of the Detroit/Windsor area has > affected my music. If I was in Barcelona I bet my music would be happier and > more colorful. It's funny you asked that because I have been so tied down > recording that I am looking at doing a project that takes me different areas > of the world while recording just to see what the outcome is. I want that > answer. > > AR: I read your holiday Christmas excerpt where you went scuba diving. What > do you hear when you're underwater? > RH: The problem with scuba is that there is so much noise because of tanks > and bubbles and breathing--but there is a sense of silence, but only within > the mind. I find it a way just to really relax and get away from the > overabundance of other sounds. There is a device that makes [scuba] silent, > all you hear is slight breathing. I think that could be a really > intreresting experience. > > AR:On "DE9" you use no more than four bars of any song. Don't you think > that's excessive? Why not just write a 53 minute song of your own? > RH: Well, I've done a number of my own albums and created things from > scratch. In a way, [the new album is] very similar because when you start > with your own album, you start with a bunch of components--drum machine, > synthesizers with extras and sounds. It really comes down to you re-sorting > and re-filtering that information into something of your own. That's exactly > what this album is. Instead of buying a drum machine and synth, I had to buy > these records and filter through these records and get the right components > out. I've never created an album this way and I hadn't heard anything else > that's been done like it. That was the challenge. Although it seemed like an > overwhelming thing to do, it was something where I wouldn't know exactly > what would happen if i started taking bits and pieces of these tracks and > mixing and matching them with other ones. It was like taking hundreds of of > jigsaw puzzles and taking a piece from each and making them fit. Sometimes > challenges go terribly wrong (laughs), but not this time. > > AR: I heard a rumour about Detroit, something to the effect of your peers > disliking what you were doing with techno. Is there any truth to that? > RH: Yes, there were a lot of musicians and techno artists in Detroit [when I > started], and we had a lot of success quite early on. I can say that > whenever I get myself into something I go full-barge ahead. If I want > something I'm going to do it to the best of my ability. That kind of > thinking and attitude might be enabled me to have that kind of success, but > it is also what might have made other Detroit artists uncomfortable. > > AR: Have you ever considered returning to filmmaking? How much of a hand to > you have in the art direction of you albums and other materials? > RH: I have full control over every aspect. From the album covers to the > photos--everything is an idea that I've had or a collaboration with a friend > of mine. Because of being involved with film early on, I've always seen both > sides of the coin--video and audio. We don't just percieve from what we see > and hear. There are other aspects.If it can tie into a project I'm working > on, I think it has to be explored. If there are other things you can use to > get your point across I think they should be used. I have been looking into > shooting smaller films and doing some soundtracks. There is interest on that > side. Some audio/visual projects can acheive interesing outcomes. I think > "PI" was very interesting. > > AR: What's the last book you read? > RH: I'm just finishing what I call my geek book, "The First Quarter." I only > read biographies, autobiograhpies--something I can get facts from, otherwise > I feel like I'm wasting my time. This book is about video game history, from > the late '60s to the '90s, and how the whole explosion took us to where we > are now. Back when I had my Commodore 64 I was making video games myself! > > AR: Last album you bought? > RH: Missy Elliot. > > AR: Last thing you ate? > RH: (laughs) I don't even know! (Hawtin is currently in Turkey). Some weird > quiche! > > AR: What DJs do you like to listen to? > RH: The best experience I've had with a DJ in the past three years is Danny > Tenaglia. I've had some great experiences with Sven Vath and Carl Cox too, > but definitely Danny Tenaglia. He's all about the experience, which is > important. > > AR: Do you ever go clubbing when you're not playing? > RH: I was at Space in Miami dancing to Tenaglia three months ago so I would > say yes (laughs), but it's definitely not the norm. I'm always in clubs so > when I have free time I try not to spend it in them. > > AR: How do you feel about Washington, DC? Do you know of any techno rumbling > here? > RH: I'd be surprised if there was any techno scene there. I've very rarely > had a good time in DC. The last time I was there, though, I was impressed. > There were some supporters there who were there for me and the crowd that > was there just to be there seemed really receptive to what I was doing. I > didn't change my sound or what I do. Really impressive. It put a much better > taste in my mouth than the last time. > > AR: What did you charge to play last NYE? > RH: Do I have to answer that?! (Gives answer he asks to be struck). Just say > "stupid money." New Years Eve is always a disappointment. I look at what's > gonna pay me the most money and what's gonna put me in the part of the world > I want to vacation in with that money. The only NYE that did make sense to > me was the 2000 crossover, 'cause that year I chose to stay home and play in > Detroit, so I was close to my family and friends. > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
