Richie Hawtin has been the subject of adulation and sometimes seemingly-random scorn by readers of this site — blame the passions of the Internet. But amidst that noise has been a clear signal: bring back Plastikman.

Richie is a terrifically talented DJ, but for many of us it’s his work as a producer that we love. And for all m-nus has done over the years, the handful of work that comes from Richie’s Plastikman persona remains significant. He’s announced he’s bringing Plastikman back, and has a survey to match. Don’t worry – this isn’t something like “What’s your favorite bpm,” or “specify preferred filter cutoff frequencies.” It’s more along the lines of whether you’d see a show in Santiago or Perth. But there are indications of a new live show and re-releases. (I’m not clear whether the “new project” includes a new release, but I do hope so, and it does talk about “creative process.”)

When considering the various aspects of Richie Hawtin’s persona, it seems fans reserve a special place in their hearts for Plastikman. So it’s only right that as we prepare for a new Plastikman project next year, you should have some input and control over exactly what you see and hear.

http://www.plastikman.com/survey09/

Richie Hawtin and the also-excellent Ambivalent reflected on music making with technology at DubSpot here in New York over the summer. I think they had some really good things to say, even if your own music tends in other directions or genres, so now is the ideal time to share that. Both Richie and Kevin spoke about the need to incorporate physical gestures into digital music making, whether it was drawing on the performance (for Ambivalent) or locking oneself into the studio and getting physical with the gear (for Hawtin). That made something like Maschine important to Richie’s newer work, he said. DubSpot has video of this conversation (led by an audience Q&A of Ableton users), as well as a private conversation with Richie about his work.

Videos via the DubSpot blog.

Thoughts? Care to disagree, for that matter, with their take on performance and what matters? (I think there’s plenty to discuss here in an open conversation.)

We talk about tools a lot, but it’s really learning how to make tools expressive in your productions and performances that matters. DubSpot, the music tech production and DJ educational center here in New York, brings its multi-city Ableton Live Sessions tour to its hometown for several days of parties and workshops. If you’re in NYC and on a budget, we have a discount on the paid events and also some free events you can check out. If you’re not in NYC, we’re working on bringing free video coverage to the global CDM community shortly after the event.

This really isn’t a pitch for Live, either – part of why I’m excited to be able to hang out for the weekend is that I expect to learn quite a lot from some of the world’s most skilled Live users and producers.

Headlining the event is none other than global techno star Richie Hawtin – the Minus impresario some of our readers love to love and others love to hate. I hope we get to hear more about his unique Plastikman live rig – see the controller at top, with more details from our friends at visualist corps Derivative, whose TouchDesigner live visual tool powers 3D imagery in those sets. Hawtin will join in a conversation with Ambivalent about what the Minus musical process is about. Hawtin and friends will also play a real gem of New York’s club scene, Love on MacDougal Street – it’s a fantastic space that lives up to its name.

On the dub side, Scientist aka Overton Brown, one of the world’s real stars of dub, a King Tubby protégé out of Jamaica, will return us to the roots of electronic dance music and show off his own take on the use of this technology. Scientist and Dub is a Weapon play Le Poisson Rouge and Scientist will close out the Live Sessions with a dub battle versus Badawi.

KJ Sawka – Hell, Yes, Chops

Before we get into the lineup, here’s just an example of how cool the faculty of this event is – KJ Sawka. Sawka is, of course, what we dream of in live laptop music. His musicianship is fantastic unplugged (see a rooftop set video, apparently sponsored by PBR), so the laptop becomes simply an extension of that.

KJ Sawka will have a full Drums workshop on Saturday as part of the paid program. If you’re new to Live, though, he’s doing a free intro on Thursday evening.

Here’s what to see and how to get the exclusive CDM discount.

By the way, if you’re in Los Angeles, that’s the next stop on this tour; stay tuned for details.

Schedule, Free Events, and Discounts

Thursday

7-9p, FREE KJ Sawka Live 8 clinic, 675 Bar
9p Funk Aid for Africa benefit release party, 675 Bar

Friday: Richie Hawtin @ Love

Saturday

11-6: Ableton Live and Production Sessions: The first day focuses on moving a project through the production process, with KJ Sawka talking live recording of drums, DJ Kiva and Jon Margulies on developing and finishing materials, and veteran engineer Daniel Wyatt on mixing and mastering. The day finishes up with a chat with Richie Hawtin and Ambivalent.

6:30-9p FREE CDM Live Lounge party Saturday evening, we meet up at former sex club / former horse stables (really) turned chilled-out Meatpacking District lounge 675 Bar. We’ll have some surprise unusual Live controller rigs and music.

Sunday

11-6: Performing with Live, Live Onstage: The second day of workshops focuses on live performance, with Jon Margulies, DJ Rupture, and myself talking about working with performance-ready live sets, controllers, and Akai’s APC40. (With Jon covering the APC, I’ll focus instead on alternative and unusual controllers.) Barry Cole of Blue Mountain Publishing will go a different direction entirely – how to understand licensing and distribution and actually make money on your tracks.

7-9p: Scientist will talk about miking and live setup with Dub is a Weapon – and will mix them live.

9p: DubSpot Sessions party, Le Poisson Rouge, with live and DJ performances from Scientist, Dub is a Weapon, Badawi, Kiva, Rupture, etc.

CDM DISCOUNT: Enter promo code ‘CDM’ for $25 off the tour, or follow this link:
http://www.dubspot.com/pages/abletontour.jsp?aff_ref=CDM

The weekend is US$225 for both days ($200 after our discount); $125 for one day.

Here’s a wrap of what happened in San Francisco:

And if you’re there, do come say hi! It’s always nice to meet readers.

I ask you: what is the foundation for rhythmic electronic music? I suggest that the humble step-sequencer is the backbone of many of today’s musical genres and memetic evolutions. To have electronic rhythm, you need to start with a clock and go from there, dividing it into fractions and multiples. Then start assigning sounds to those divisions and you’re pretty much there- techno is happening.

I’ve been working on prototyping a sequencer-synth and in doing research, I’ve come across numerous projects that tackle this idea with great enthusiasm. Because a sequencer can drive any type of electronics, projects tend to fall into two categories: audio, or visual. Additionally, I’m seeing two main drivers for the sequence itself: the nimble arduino, and the CMOS 4017 Decade counter IC. I’ll survey here some of the finished projects to give an idea of what’s possible. Come with me, won’t you, on an exploration of the world of DIY sequencers.

First up, a few excellent audio sequencers:

basic arduino sequencer from nikolaosh on Vimeo.

This “basic arduino sequencer” by Nikolaosh is undeniably fun. Looks like four potentiometers controlling software synth parameters, with the Arduino doing the sequencing as well. Basic, but effective nonetheless. You can see more details and grab the code here.

BeatSequencer 1.0 from Kamil Garbacz on Vimeo.

This “Beatsequencer” by Kamil Garbacz also uses Arduino to drive a matrix of LEDs. Looks like the top row indicates the position of the step, while the bottom 3 rows indicate on/off status for the beep assigned to that row. A matrix of switches turns each step on and off, 808-style. It’s a very compact design with a minimal interface, but it seems to work.

cigarduino punk console from frogstar on Vimeo.

This “Cigarduino Punk Console” from frogstar has a lot of great elements- nice pulsewave synthesis from the Arduino and a fun cigar-box case. It’s a little light on the LEDs though- don’t we all like our sequencers to have big banks of LEDs pusling through their paces?

In the 4017 category, we’ve got this nice little box from Note!. It nicely marries the Atari Punk console to the 4017 running as a 4-step sequencer. Good glitchy tones get put through their paces.

This sequencer from 9volts really opens up the possibilities here- he’s using the 4017 synched to a drum sampler, triggering circuit-bent devices and controlling gating and filtering. That’s what I’m talkin’ about right there.

Visual sequences:

PAN PC + 555 + 4017 from h.cosas on Vimeo.

This experiment from h.cosas uses the 4017 to drive an LCD display with interesting results. Dig those color bars!

This LED pattern sequencer by WootsPC is very nice to look at- this should give you an idea of what can be done with a basic sequencer, some LEDs, and an eye for animation.

What I take away from all of these projects is the idea that a sequencer can drive pretty much anything, and the most fun and interesting projects lie not in the sequencer itself, but in what is driven by the sequencer.

I’d really like to see someone who combines these LED animations with a good sounding, nicely-interfaced sequenced synth that’s syncable to MIDI clock input, but I think I might have to build that one myself- I’m working on my own like-minded project, and I’ve realized I’ve got a ways to go before I’ll be satisfied with the results. In case you’re curious, here’s my little project as of two weeks ago. I’ve made some modifications since then, but you get the basic idea.

Is anyone else working on a sequencer project? Please post it in the comments and tell us what how it’s coming along.

Sound designer, technologist, and remix artist Francis Preve sends us some gifts of techno and technology to celebrate his first solo release. For your brain, we’ve compiled the tutorials he’s been working on for Beatportal, which together provide a really great look at some basic music production skills. For your ears, we have his new Ableton-produced single “Caboose” which, coupled with a Josh Gabriel remix – and a free iPhone ringtone exclusively provided to CDM by Josh’s label Different Pieces.

Being a technologist often makes actually finding time to make music a big challenge. But I’ve always been impressed at Fran’s ability to do both. Whether this is your type of music or not, it means that when he talks about techniques, he’s talking about stuff he actually applies in his work – and he has eight Billboard Top 10s to prove his remixing skills, including one for Justice. Here’s what he had to say to CDM about making Ableton Live into a way of reimagining just two samples into a whole track:

The interesting thing about the production of Caboose is that – with the exception of the drums – it was made entirely from two very short vocal samples, entirely in Live 7. There were no third-party plug-ins or softsynths. Every sound was either looped and effected, or placed in Simpler and sequenced, or ‘Sliced to MIDI’ and manipulated. Even the bass is that same vocal sample, tuned down two octaves, distorted, then filtered and compressed. The process itself was so much fun that I’ve since incorporated aspects of it into the follow- up tracks I’m working on now.

In the meantime, Francis has compiled for us a complete index to the tutorials he’s been developing for Beatportal, including synthesis, sampling, effects, Reason’s new Thor synth, and other skills:

Francis’ Tutorial Series for beatportal.com

Fran has worked as a sound designer on Ableton products and the Korg Legacy Collection and OASYS. Here, though, he starts at the beginning. Beatportal has indexed those stories before. But having made a giant map of the Kore tutorials we did recently – and planning to do similar “indexing” – I asked Fran to make a custom, compact list for us so you can easily get at what you need.

Subtractive and analog synthesis

• Introduction to Synthesizer Programming, Part 1
• Introduction to Synthesizer Programming, Part 2
• Some call it analog: How subtractive synthesizers work
• Oscillators: Essential Waveforms
• Oscillators: Mixing and Blending
• Filters: The Wow Factor
• Filters: Going Deeper
• Understanding Envelopes, Part 1
• Understanding Envelopes, Part 2
• Essential LFO facts
• Grasping MIDI Controllers

Introduction to sampling

• Sampling Essentials – Part 1
• Sampling Essentials – Part 2

Tutorials on Reason’s Thor synthesizer

• Stealing Thor’s Thunder – Part 1: Oscillators
• Stealing Thor’s Thunder – Part 2: Filters
• Stealing Thor’s Thunder – Part 3: Modulation

Introduction to effects (series in progress)

• Tutorial: How to use compression
• Tutorial: How to use a delay
• Tutorial: How to use a noise gate
• Tutorial: How to use reverb

Production Master Classes (tips/tricks roundtables with established producers, series in progress)

• Production Master Class: Intros and Outros
• Production Master Class: Kick and bass
• Production Master Class: Hi-hats and top-loops

See also Francis’ book, which I know at least some CDM readers have previously said they really enjoyed. (I have a copy here, it’s pretty excellent!)

Exclusive CDM Ringtone

You know you need some techno when someone calls your iPhone, so here’s an iTunes-format ringtone:

Caboose_The_Ringtone.m4r [Free download from CDM]

Enjoy!

If this economy is getting you down, our friends at MeatWater, the “high-efficiency survival beverage,” have a prescription. A prescription for techno:

MeatWater MP3 Techno Remix

Now, perhaps this is just a crass ploy for MeatWater to sell more of their MeatWater-protein drinks, which come in flavors like Gyros, Beef Stroganof, Hungarian BBQ, and Dirty Hot Dog. But if there’s one thing I believe in more than the health-giving power of proteins, it’s in the stimulating power of techno. I’m steps away from the stock market, so I may take this on a boom box and hold it out front of the exchange, Say Anything-style. Well, until I get stopped.

I mean, who can feel anything but bullish as four beats pound confidently on the … floor?

By the way, if you’re wondering, just … don’t. There’s not really a rational explanation.

You can talk to the bottles on Twitter. They like German. (send them some German techno, okay?)

Among the treasures found in the archive is a short track of what could easily pass for an IDM cut released last year – except it was produced by Derbyshire in the late 60s, using far more primitive equipment, at a time when nothing sounded like that. When Paul Hartnoll of Orbital tells the BBC “This could be coming out next week on Warp Records,” he’s not exaagerating. Sci fi fanboyhood aside, I still think the endurance of the Doctor Who theme is partly because nothing sounds like it even today.

And there’s more – Hamlet sound design, original compositions, her signature bell tones. Even saying it’s forward looking isn’t really adequate. Other Derbyshire sounds, with their wailing electronic instruments and wooshes of synthesized noise, sound as though they were unearthed from some ancient era of electronica. Blue Veils and Golden Sands, a documentary about the Sahara, could pass for the music the aliens played on their spaceship hi-fis when they visited Earth and told people how to build the pyramids. (I’m kidding, but you get the point.)

I’m working on finding out what the plans are for the full archive as they evolve.

Lost tapes of the Dr Who composer [BBC News, via Radio 4’s Nigel Wrench]

Thanks to Ben Rogerson from MusicRadar for pointing to this first and sending it my way, and to Jim Warrier for the tip.

I’m Chicago-bound this week, and really excited about the events I’m part of, in case you’re in the area:

Wednesday – Re:vivify audiovisual social: Eco-conscious setting and cocktails, all live audiovisual sets. I don’t know these folks, but looking forward to meeting them! “Alexander Bassett going away party, plus live sets by Release, Lokua, Radius, Unkle Garo, with Glen Stephani visuals, Nikki Magdalena readings, Zac Franzoni painting + more.” Expect to spot CDM’s Mike Una making a cameo. I’ll be doing a full live audiovisual set. And Moment Sound, the powerful musical collective, will be showcasing.

Wed., 9p-2a, Grand Blue Line Stop (722 W. Grand Ave. Chicago, Butterfly Social Club)

[ Re:vivify @ Psymbolic + rsvp | going.com ]

Thursday – Andy Vaz meets CDM’s Peter and Liz at Ramp Chicago: The legendary Andy Vaz, the man largely credited with spearheading minimal techno, meets CDM’s own Liz Revision, largely credited with spearheading amazing parties in Chicago, meets me, largely credited with spearheading CDM and distracting you with shiny gadgets in time you should be spearheading some new musical movement. I’m obscenely excited for this one. Eat your heart out, Berlin. And it’s free. I’d say, hey, if you’re in Rockford, Milwaukee, Gary, Indiana, perhaps even Madison or Champaign-Urbana, change those Thursday night plans and come toast with us!

Thurs. 9p-2a, Damen Blue Line stop (1575 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, Debonair Social Club)

[ going.com | facebook | rampchicago.com ]

Flyers and more details …

CHICAGO IL— Andy Vaz, the Dj/Producer, largely credited with spearheading the so-called minimal movement in European dance music, performs at Debonair Social Club in Chicago, June 26 for a very special date on a four city mini-tour of the USA.

A long time presence in the European techno community, Vaz, introduced the world to the complexities offered by the minimal techno genre in its various regional forms, exposing the world to some of the premiere releases by artists such as Akufen, Geoff White, Deadbeat, Stewart Walker, Sutekh and Oliver Hacke through his highly innovative Background Records label. The Dusseldorf native and now Cologne resident has also made an impact on the global house music scene with his highly influential A Touch of Class imprint, on which Vaz’s keen ear for deep house met his minimal production sensibilities.

Currently Vaz’s work has focused on a new label project, Yore records, which brings Detroit and Chicago house producers such as Terrence Dixon and Rick Wade along with Vaz giving these artists a means to further explore their sounds, transcending their usual classifications as “old school.”

Vaz will be joined by NYC based composer and legendary music technology blogger Peter Kirn, of createdigitalmusic.com fame, as well as Ramp Chicago resident DJ Liz Revision.

Video of Andy Vaz live in Vienna…