The 30th Anniversary vinyl edition of the Plastikman album “Musik”, the second studio album by Richie Hawtin as Plastikman, is out now on NovaMute. The album, originally released via NovaMute / Plus 8, followed 1993’s “Sheet One” and literally propelled Hawtin into international success.

“Musik”, which featured tracks such as “Freek”, “Kriket”, “Fuk” and “Marbles”, has now been remastered from the original tapes.

Listen to the full album below.

About Richie Hawtin aka Plastikman

Born in Oxfordshire, Hawtin moved to Canada at age nine. Growing up, he was heavily influenced by his father’s diverse record collection and developed a deep curiosity for electronics. As a child, he watched his father dismantle, rebuild, and modify various devices, which sparked his interest in technology.

His love for music, technology, and computers naturally came together. Upon hearing early Detroit Techno and Chicago Acid House on Jeff Mills’ late ’80s Detroit radio show, Hawtin found his path. Traveling between his hometown of Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, he (as Plastikman) became a key figure in some of the most intense underground electronic music parties.

Last year marked the 30th anniversary of his debut Plastikman album, “Sheet One”, and “Dimension Intrusion” under his F.U.S.E. alias for WARP’s Artificial Intelligence series. He also co-heads the Plus 8 label with John Acquaviva, runs the M_nus label, and co-founded the PLAYdifferently mixer/technology company. Alongside his music career, he’s expanding into the sake industry with his ENTER.Sake brand and the Sake 36 emporium in Berlin.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Out on Mute / NovaMute on 6 December is a reissue of Richie Hawtin’s second album as Plastikman, “Musik”, in a remastered version from the original tapes.

The album, originally released via NovaMute / Plus 8, followed 1993’s “Sheet One” and pushed Hawtin into international success. Before the full album hit the shelves, “Plastique” was released offering a teaser of the more dance floor friendly album.

You can listen to listen to an excerpt of “Plastique” below.

The vinyl release, just like “Sheet One”, will be out on bio-vinyl.

About Richie Hawtin aka Plastikman

Born in Oxfordshire, Hawtin moved to Canada at age nine. Growing up, he was heavily influenced by his father’s diverse record collection and developed a deep curiosity for electronics. As a child, he watched his father dismantle, rebuild, and modify various devices, which sparked his interest in technology.

His love for music, technology, and computers naturally came together. Upon hearing early Detroit Techno and Chicago Acid House on Jeff Mills’ late ’80s Detroit radio show, Hawtin found his path. Traveling between his hometown of Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, he (as Plastikman) became a key figure in some of the most intense underground electronic music parties.

Last year marked the 30th anniversary of his debut Plastikman album, “Sheet One”, and “Dimension Intrusion” under his F.U.S.E. alias for WARP’s Artificial Intelligence series. He also co-heads the Plus 8 label with John Acquaviva, runs the M_nus label, and co-founded the PLAYdifferently mixer/technology company. Alongside his music career, he’s expanding into the sake industry with his ENTER.Sake brand and the Sake 36 emporium in Berlin.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Richie Hawtin and Mute have announced the 30th anniversary edition of the Plastikman debut album, “Sheet One”, set for release on BioVinyl, remastered from the original masters and available via sublabel NovaMute on double vinyl on 1 December 2023 with a December 15th release in the US and Canada. The release has also been remastered for digital re-release, courtesy of Manmade Mastering from Berlin.

And BioVinyl? Well those are vinyl records made from bio-based PVC.

Plastikman is one of Richie Hawtin’s alter egos, and “Sheet One” was the first in a series of releases. The album was the beginning of a long creative relationship between Richie Hawtin and Mute resulting in six albums offering contemporary electronic music. The series of Plastikman vinyl reissues will continue in 2024.

Richie Hawtin comments like this: “After a few years of experimenting with equipment and techniques, I slowly started to find my own unique direction and sound by digging deep into the possibilities of the Roland TB303. The first crucial steps were the F.U.S.E. tracks ‘F.U.’ and ‘Substance Abuse,’ both throbbing dancefloor inspired physical work-outs. That led to my idea of taking the sound of my style of Acid deeper into a more cerebral long-form experiment that became the foundation of ‘Sheet One.’ Recorded mostly over an intense 48 hour period, the album came alive as I paired the Roland TR606 drum machine to the TB303 for my first time, which opened the doorway into this unique Hawtin trip! ”

Daniel Miller from Mute is clear about his appreciation of Hawtin: “(A) pure electronic music innovator!”

2023 is also the anniversary of “Dimension Intrusion” by his other alter ego F.U.S.E. for the Artificial Intelligence series on WARP (which gets a reissue on 10 November).

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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(Photo & Text by UK correspondent Simon Helm) If you are curating an exhibition on electronic music and design, how do you choose what to leave out?

You need to acknowledge the path from the theremin and experimental devices made by pioneering tinkerers to today’s digital synthesisers. You can’t drop Daphne Oram and early adopters of the Moog.

Subtitling the show, “From Kraftwerk to the Chemical Brothers,“ risks excluding essential artists working outside of those brackets.

Have some sympathy, therefore, for London’s Design Museum in their attempt to select materials for their new show, Electronic. After all, they did obtain a laser harp and build Jean-Michel Jarre’s dream studio. They also collected some awesome hardware, from the Korg MS20 to the Quadrantid Swarm. There is a lot of artwork for fans of Designers Republic and Peter Saville Associates.

The main focus of the show, however, is hinted at in the subtitle. What really lies between Kraftwerk (represented here by a 3D film) and the Chemical Brothers (who appear to have contributed an epilepsy test) is the story of Detroit techno and Chicago house.

“Say nice things about Detroit!” reads a slogan on a wall. By all means, let’s celebrate the Motor City personalities who built its influential techno scene – but for every Depeche Mode record cover there are three objects from DJ Jeff Mills. Better make that four.

First the US, then the UK

In the town where Mute Records was founded, there are only passing signs of the legacy the label’s founder, Daniel Miller, who was just as inspired by the Kling Klang sound as the Detroit/Windsor pioneers. There is part of a Synclavier – as used by Miller on many early Mute releases – in the hardware section, and there are smatterings of Mute artists included in the show; but, in Electronic, the UK’s main innovators play second fiddle to the US club scenes.

That just highlights the challenge of curating a show on electronic music. There is so much of it about, and pulling on any thread leads to another. Anyway, Mute has Kraftwerk and New Order, these days, and they feature prominently. The Chemicals presented Bernard Sumner with a lifetime achievement award a few months ago, so everything converges in the end.

The design elements have been organized to coincide with the sounds. Richie Hawtin (Plastikman) appears in a video. Underworld have a significant display of their cover art. Flyers, club membership cards, fashion and dance performances inspired by the music are carefully set out to capture the feelings of different scenes. The masks used in Aphex Twin’s “Window Licker” video are there behind glass.

There is less to look at for fans of Fad Gadget, Silicon Teens, Laurie Anderson or OMD. Stock, Aitken & Waterman, Front 242, Rational Youth, Skinny Puppy and a small army of influential disco producers could have used more attention, too. But, if the beats of underground techno are your thing, then there is Philip Topolovac’s scale model of Berghain, along with plenty of record covers and photographs, to look at. There are also dramatic light works to draw your attention and induce grand mal seizures.

Luckily there’s the gift shop

The balance is restored slightly in the gift shop. Merchandise includes books on Mute’s visual history, Kraftwerk (with Uwe Schütte’sexcellent book on prominent display), and the story of rave culture. In the vinyl record section, New Order are represented by Movement – their least club-friendly album, but also the launching pad for their turn towards dance music.

It is just a reminder that, as fascinating as many of the exhibits are at the Design Museum, the best story of electronic music is always going to be the one that is told by your own record collection.

What to expect visually?

Event details

• Electronic: from Kraftwerk to The Chemical Brothers
• Where: Design Museum, London
• When: On from 31 July 2020 to 14 February 2021 (advance booking essential)

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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