Here's a review of "DE9 - Closer to the Edit" that I wrote for my website.
Richie Hawtin - DE9 The latest release from the man known to some as
Plastikman is another DJ mix taking up where Decks FX and 909 left off. This
time the concept of the turntables as an instrument is taken to a whole new
level. The music itself is righteously minimal to hard techno and as always
is a head banger.
It's the creation of this mix however that really makes it a stand-out
release. Richie comes through with a mix of 70 different tracks taken from
100 songs cut into 300 loops ranging in length from one to four bars. Using
this loops and a pre-release version of the much anticipated Final Scratch
tool, Richie is able to present us with an entirely new representation of an
entire genre of music.
In reality, techno tends to be rather boring to the ears when presented
outside of the club setting. It isn't much more than a series of simple
loops. When presented in the club this works great. It's repetitive dance
music and it's easy to get your groove on to something with a steady flow.
So along comes Richie Hawtin and takes out all the boredom from it by still
using the looping method but rather than one track with 16 bar loops he
takes many many many tracks with much shorter loops and creates new
interpretations of the music.
In a recent interview in Remix magazine, Richie extols the virtues of
Final Scratch by explaining that with the use of this tool he's finally able
to take the genre to a whole new level. No more worrying about how a certain
track could be perfect if only it had a slightly different structure. Now,
he can remix the track himself while still using the turntable as an
instrument. For those that don't know, Final Scratch is a device that when
using a computer and a special record will allow the playback of digital
files from your computer's hard drive. This for many is a godsend because
now we no longer have to worry about the limitations of a cd-only release or
vinyl that degrades over time or tracks that are no longer in print. What's
more, the DJ is no longer limited to the music of another, they can create
their own music, their own tracks, their own interpretations and fuse them
completely with someone else's while still mixing them in a traditional
manner.
As it would seem in the interviews I've read, this mix is really a
testament to the power of Final Scratch and more or less reads like an
advertisement for the product. It is not however ready for the mainstream as
it runs only on BeOS and is sold only as a package costing close to $3000. A
release for Linux users is scheduled for early 2002 which means we the
common people should realistically expect to get our hands on one of these
sometime in the next two years. For those that have been following n2it (the
creators of Final Scratch) we know this has been many many years of waiting.
It is finally a reality though and it's here and on this mix we witness it's
awesome capabilities.
Leave it to someone like Richie Hawtin to re-invent the way we listen to
music. The mix is great, the tracks are nice minimal techno fused with the
odd sample and the slice and dice method employed really creates an
interesting vibe. The last time I heard a mix I enjoyed this much was Claude
Young's DJ Kicks mix. On the inner sleeve of the CD cover is a partial
equipment list for this mix: Technics 1200's, Final Scratch, Vestax PMC55a,
Allen & Heath Zone62, Electrix Repeater, Roland TR909 & TR808, Ensoniq
Dp2/4, Digidesign Protools, Bias Peak, Sonic Foundry's Acid and Sound Forge,
Wintel PC, Apple Macintosh G4, Allen & Heath GL3000. Now for a bedroom DJ
such as myself this is just a staggering number of tools and certainly
raises the bar of what people are going to expect from DJ mixes in the
future.
At any rate, it's highly recommend for the techno buff and for those that
don't know or want more information, be sure to check out the Final Scratch
website which has video and interviews with Richie's partner John Aquaviva.
Shimone/Justes
http://www.staticbeats.com | Electronic Music
http://www.shimone.org | Digital Photography
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