Richie Hawtin to Release New Plastikman Album in Over Decade

Last fall, Richie Hawtin performed for Raf Owens and Dior at an annual fundraiser held at NYC's landmark Guggenheim Museum. Then December came and it was reported that Richie had gotten over a creative drought and recorded an entirely new Plastikman album in just five days. Now this coming July, that specialness is being released for wide-distribution in the form of a new Plastikman album—the first in over a decade.

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Image via Complex Original
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Last fall, Richie Hawtin performed for Raf Owens and Dior at an annual fundraiser held at NYC's landmark Guggenheim Museum. Then December came and it was reported that Richie had gotten over a creative drought and recorded an entirely new Plastikman album in just five days. Now this coming July, that specialness is being released for wide-distribution in the form of a new Plastikman album—the first in over a decade.

The album, Ex, is slated to come out via Mute Records on June 10 and with it a special limited-edition bundle pack with SubPac.  For Richie it seems, the confluence of his experience performing for Raf at the Guggenheim and the new Plastikman album are exactly tied at the hip

"I knew that Raf was a long time Plastikman fan so by accepting his offer to perform at the Dior event at the Guggenheim I knew I’d set myself up to a huge challenge.  Although Raf was happy to have the already complete Plastikman Live 1.5 show, I locked myself away in a series of intense studio sessions and quickly recorded enough new material for the performance and realized I might also have enough for a complete new album.  The music came out of me effortlessly as I was very inspired by the opportunity to play in this beautiful architectural space renowned more for art than music.  The location also allowed me to step far away from the dancefloor, giving me a huge amount of freedom to EXplore any sonic ideas that I had.  Art, music, architecture, painting, sculpture – these mediums are supposed to live together.

More then just the album and its release, Hawtin espouses the positives of including a SubPac explaining just how integral the physical component is in fully registering his music and creating a deeper appreciation.

By introducing the physical dimension of sound, the SubPac creates a direct connection between the fan and the music in its purest form, allowing a deeper appreciation for the music we all love. As with all Plastikman albums, there is a lot of sonic information in the lower frequency range, that make the SubPac a perfect listening accompaniment in order to fully appreciate the experience.”

At this point, I'm neither that familiar with Richie Hawtin's Plastikman work and I have never tried a SubPac (though I definitely have been trying to get my hands on one ever since its KickStarter days and seeing DMZ's Mala talk about it), so perhaps this might be the time it finally happens.  The album's digitial release is on June 10, but a there's also a "vinyl, CD and limited edition SubPac bundle on 14 July."  According to the PR DAD got today,  "In addition to the vinyl, CD and digital releases, Plastikman has teamed up with SubPac to create a Limited Edition Premium Bundle. The album will be presented on vinyl, with a signed certificate of authenticity and a custom Plastikman edition of the SubPac S1. SubPac is a unique portable bass system that allows an immersive music experience. When you’re using the SubPac, the powerful bass and sub-bass frequencies – the sensations you usually only get in a club situation – are reproduced meaning you can actually FEEL the music."

Shiver me timbers, this seems like something we can all get a little excited about, techno or not!

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