Worthless Technology on Richie Hawtin’s Desk
Richie Hawtin 2008 DJ Setup from Dean Koch on Vimeo
There’s a ton of technological wonderment in this behind-the-scenes video of Richie Hawtin’s setup. Behind this board of chips, wires and software he can be seen DJing live sets for thousands of sweaty people all over the earth. Watch as he introduces his mixer, two controllers and two Macbook Pro computers (one running effects and one running a program called Traktor which allows him to sync four different tracks). The process for syncing the tracks is automated, such that Hawtin doesn’t need to match transitions like DJs do with more traditional setups. This type of automation has drawn scorn from loyalists who feel the syncing of music is “cheating.”
But forget the technology, bold as it is. Hawtin looks at his setup in a different light—it’s simply there to get him to the next point in his mental roadmap. He’d probably use an old shoe if it got him closer to his end goal. The technology, in effect, is worthless.
Hawtin says technology “allows an artist to delve into a different area of creativity.”
I love things that use technology only in support of some greater mission. The ingredients and methods can change (and often do). These are classics because they’re always innovating. The outsider (me) only sees a small slice of time, attempting to study what’s happening today when in reality these people / groups are already two or three steps down the road. They constantly innovate and for that reason I love them:
- F1 racing
- Madonna
- Apple stuff
- Todd Osborn
- Sochiro Honda
- Frank Zappa
- Japanese technology culture
- Whatever they have on special at Streetside Seafood in Birmingham, MI
But there are things I love because they stay the same. The story behind the idea is the critical factor. People don’t like it to change. They want to know it’s the same, or very close to the same. This is stuff like:
- Thanksgiving dinner (if it went from turkey and stuffing to McDonalds and Hi-C it just wouldn’t be the same)
- Funeral ceremonies (bad when ferris wheels are incorporated)
- The Special Salad at Greek Islands in SE Michigan (have it if you’ve never)
- organized religion (RTFM, essentially)
- Willie Nelson, Bob Seger, Elliott Smith
- Magnolia Cupcakes (would be awful without whatever crack they put in those things)
- Baseball (the stats, tradition matter. If we changed it to 4 innings it wouldn’t work)
Relationships that develop for this latter category are close and complex; if the ingredients or methods change it’s difficult for some people to accept. The former group, though, is saddled with the responsibility of constant innovation and reinvention. Both are heroic, just different.
