Customer Reviews

De9: Closer to the Edit

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Minimal techno master Richie Hawtin really delivers the goods with this one. His previous mix cd gave heart to all of us who thought the man had abandoned the dancefloor for the gallery/lecture hall. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but Hawtin has always impressed with his ability to delver maximum funk with minimal means. You all know the story by now: 300 loops culled from 70 records, mixed live on a laptop. Like the "Decks, Fx, and 909" disc, this mix takes you on a journey, from ultra-spare Berlin dubtech, through epic Detroit floorfillers, and into quirky Cologne pop n' slide grooves, with weirdos like Baby Ford and Thomas Brinkmann thrown in along the way. Let's keep this "eclecticism" in perspective, however, lest any Digweed yuppies or Hardware e-tards set themselves up for disappointment. Being the brainchild of the Plastikman, this mix is quite minimal throughout: no filler, no fat, just tasty techno grooves where the funk is as much in the spaces as in the sounds. The bits and beats themselves are varied and always interesting, with many different timbral and tonal qualities creating multihued dots and smears within the skeletal arrangements. Although restricted to a driving 4-on-the-floor pulse, the overlying polyrhythms explore a wide assortment of variations on basic dancefloor bump. All chinstroking aside, Hawtin manages to stake out new dancefloor territory, while never neglecting the needs of the feet or posterior, er..funkwise. Ok, just bump it and get down. Simple as that.

By now, Richie Hawtin is easily one of the best known musicians and DJs in electronic music, with a cult following as large as his reputation. Originally from Windsor, Ontario, this Canadian had an early curiosity in the early developments in Detroit techno across the river. Within the early 1990s, Hawtin was reponsible for several musical experiments including FUSE, Cybersonik (in collaboration with fellow experimentalist Dan Bell), From Within (with Fax/Germany's Pete Namlook), and the now infamous Plastikman. Hawtin has always maintained a steadfast adherence to strong musical concepts, and has insisted on looking for new directions in electronic music. Even the events hosted by his labels Plus 8 and now M-nus and THX are grounded in conceptual undercurrents.

Though the author of several significant contributions to acid techno, ambient, and searing minimal techno, Hawtin has never really taken the time to rest on his proverbial laurels. His earlier Decks, EFX & 909 mix (released by Mute and M-nus) showcased his fluid mastery of three turntables, effects processors, and a drum machine, in a rapid-fire slew of 38 tracks. With Closer to the Edit, Hawtin essentially redfines the role of the DJ: the term "remix" takes on a whole new dimension. Here, he selects some 300 different loops, beats, phrases, and noises from 70 different tracks, and pieces them together into what he calls a musical jigsaw puzzle, with the use of effects and Final Scratch software to assemble the parts. The result is a mind-boggling, layered pastiche of solid techno beats and "futuristic" funk. Hawtin skillfully infuses just enough "melody" and warm tones to round out the mix. The assembly feels like a single composition, mutating and shifting throughout the 53 or so minutes, with elements of up to four or five tracks playing at the same time. Though it is impossible to pinpoint individual tracks through this reinterpretation, Hawtin draws upon sounds from Rino Cerrone, Stewart Walker, the German label Perlon, and others--a much wider range of sounds and rhythms than in the first mix.

This mix, as well as the earlier Decks, EFX & 909, is highly recommended, especially if one has not had the chance to see Hawtin's ability in a live setting. Hawtin, though surrounded by machines and software, has proven that yes, there is a human behind the so-called machine-music--techno has made yet another step forward.

Hawtin demonstrated with Decks EFX & 909 that he has a supernatural control of rhythm and timber. DE9 takes it to the next level. This may be called minimal tech, but it's minimal in name only, but not at all by nature. He layers patterns on top of patterns with such amazing speed and dexterity that I had to rewind it dozens and dozens of times just to see if my ears decieved me... they did not.

Subtlety is one of the strongest points of this CD. Unlike almost every other mix CD, it's almost impossible to tell when he starts mixing from one track into the next. He rarely ever lets the music go for over 30 seconds without tweaking the beats here, adding a kick drum there. The beats ebb and flow with a syncopated, organic brilliance. The music takes on a life of it's own.

For the full effect, listen to the CD on high-quality headphones, this way you will be able to hear every quite little nuance.

Richie Hawtin is a genius, and this is one of his many masterpieces. It does NOT get any better than this.

Initially after having listen to Richie's "Decks, EFX & 909", I tried this his eagerly awaited follow-up, and although a fantastic album, a slightly feeling of disappointment couldn't be escaped...due undoubtedly to my expectance of a Dancefloor / Home interchangeable like "Deck Efx...", but that was in 2001.....and approaching the album very recently, after coming in at the early hours of the morning, something upbeat, but low in volume was needed. Richie has systematically taken 30 tracks for artists such as "Basic Channel, Thomas Brinkmann, Stewart Walker", as well as some of his own tracks, and broken down each track to it most basic elements (i.e. basic instrument samples), leaving him with 70+ tracks...with which he intricately rebuilds and reinterprets the tracks, which he condenses into 31 tracks....and going back and listening to it no is a jaw dropping experience with Dub/Electro/Breaks/Electronica & obviously techno all reinvented with a very minimalist interpretation...that makes for some hypnotic listening, recognising how Richie starts very slowly with semi Dub-techno, and very intricately & methodically stepping up the tempo every so slightly track by track....possibly not Richie most recognised work, but certain his most technical.

Is Ritche a brilliant DJ? Sure. He was already amazing 10 years ago in Detroit. But he has gone so far beyond.....
Yet again, Ritche changes the entire construct by which we interpret dance music. I know that sounds like pompus crap, but its true. That being said, the CD FREAKING ROCKS! No muss, no fuss, no childish bubble gum dance garbage. Intense, minimal, very danceable techno. I listen to this in my car and find myself driving 85mph...It Rules.

The most innovative music that I ever heard, this cd is fantastic, only intelligent music for intelligent people... redefining the structure of the dj's music... here the best... only "click, cut and paste, this the future of the music....

Wow, and to think that I thought "Decks, EFX, and 909" was minimal. This is even more stripped-down and spartan than that, and it's not like the original DE9 was filled with cheesy floor-fillers and lush orchestration. Here, the tracks (assembled out of over 300 loops and notes and re-assembled via laptop) are tightly constructed, dense, austere pieces of "techno" in the purest sense of the word. If you want your music to have things like, um, choruses or the human voice, keep walking.

However, if you're patient and willing to truly listen, the ultra-minimal beats are every bit as funky and original as anything else out there. Minimal techno, when done well, is outrageously funky and energetic, and it accomplishes this with the smallest amount of instrumentation possible. Consider that, and the fact that this sets a new high-water mark for minimal techno, and you've got a must-listen disc on your hands. Also, the terms "minimal" and "austere" imply that the disc is a quiet chill-out disc, and that simply isn't true - this is every bit as danceable as the most bombastic electronic music around. It may require more patience, but "DE9: Closer to the Edit" is a remarkable mix album, and one that shows the power of both the Final Scratch software and spare, purist techno. Highly, highly recommended.

The majority of reviewers will agree that this cd is perhaps one of the BEST examples of wickedly detailed and technically rich minimal house out there. If that is a mouth-full, it should be. Richie Hawtin has defined the amazingly intricate form of "dance" that weaves clever beats into unusual and unexpected sounds to create a masterpiece of rhythmic movement and audio ecstacy. It's just that good!

From the beginning, as usual, he starts off slow and almost inaudible, and slowly builds with multiple climaxes and movements. He pulls together elevations of sounds that on the surface appear to be beats from your typical computer-driven tracks, but upon further examination, you will note that the sounds are multiple layers of simple "pops and squeaks" that have been so intricately woven, that they start and stop in a beautiful fabric of listening pleasure.

It is hard to distinguish when one track begins and another ends. You will be forced to just listen for when a particticular arrangement ends and evolves into the next. He pulls out all the stops in the last few tracks that force you to pay attention, remembering all the detail and hard-work thrown used to create the earlier tracks. Then, at the end, he lets you down easy so you can go about your life.

It is minimal house, even a bit of two-step, that is perfect for detailed listening -- far too amazing to merely have in the background. You have to focus, savor, and enjoy it.

A catchy, more up-beat album, Hawtin's Closer To The Edit is more akin to his seminal Decks, FX, and a 909 album. Cutting up pieces of his favorite tracks into minimal chunks, the album keeps a constant, smooth beat.

This album is subdued. It has a dance chill factor that is hard to describe. It is constant and does not let down. It is impossible to get board because of the changes involved. It doesn't exactly portray anything magically descriptive as with the darkness associated with the works of Dada Pogrom but what it does do is make you want to dance. It is perfect for the mix too. Richie Hawtin is in the groove and so shall you. It only makes sense if you like techno.