For one weekend at the end of May Detroit is transformed into the place to be for all techno music fans and globe-trotting industry workers who come from as far as Europe to party, celebrate the global techno subculture and make business connections. This year marked the 10th anniversary of Movement Festival, Detroit's annual electronic music festival and to celebrate, they hosted a special live headliner - a Canadian – the techno icon Plastikman, a.k.a. Windsor born Richie Hawtin.
The Plastikman Live show was highly-anticipated. It was received by an enthusiastic crowd in Heart Plaza with thousands of people dancing. Countless tweets went out over the course of the three-day event, with lots of praise for the Plastikman Live show. “The Plastikman show is unlike anything I've ever witnessed,” tweeted Montreal hip-hop DJ, A-trak, who also performed at the festival. During the Movement Festival, Toronto film maker Peter Mettler - renowned for his films such as Petropolis (2010) and Gambling, Gods and LSD (2000) - filmed the momentous Plastikman Live show. (No word yet on where the film will appear.)
The Plastikman Live show is an audio-visual showcase that integrates visual representations of elements of the songs. Although audio-visual technicians ensure the system is up and running during the show, Plastikman's cues on stage trigger variations in the visuals. He has full control of the audio visual system as he performs. Spread over several large LED panels, the show features unique visuals for each of Plastikman's popular tracks and the crowd watches as the visuals are synched perfectly with the music – changing dynamically with each song. Hawtin and the M-nus record label team – a crew of about 15 people - are currently almost half way through their 15-date Plastikman Live tour to music festivals and large venues in North America and Europe. M-nus is working with Derivative, a Toronto company that specializes in live visual architecture.
Derivative has worked with many popular artists and corporate clients, including the band Rush for their 2004 tour, the architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron for the Prada store in Tokyo and film giant Disney in Los Angeles. In the months that led up to the first Plastikman Live show in Mannheim on March 27, 2010, M-nus art director and video director Ali Demirel worked with the Derivative team and used their Touch Designer software. They tested the show and did many rehearsals to work out the kinks. “However, it's a work in progress that we still work on to perfect the show,” explains Demirel.
(Ali Demirel photo courtesy of Minus.)
Detroit has a special significance for Hawtin, since he grew up across the river in Windsor. Detroit was the birthplace of a burgeoning techno sound and it was where he found his largest audience in the early years of his DJ career. Plastikman Live has evolved considerably since the show's first incarnations. Back in 2004, Plastikman Live did a show during the Mutek electronic and digital arts festival in Montreal. Although that show received mixed reviews, since then things have become easier because of hardware and software developments. “The visual software TouchDesigner that we use for the show is much more flexible and stable. Now we can perform with a laptop whereas [in 2004] we had to build a huge custom computer,” explains Demirel.
Demirel adds that developments in LED technology have made it possible to create an interesting visual stage design. Plus, the communication possibilities between the visual and music software, such as Ableton Live with Max4Live, make it possible for the visuals to be fully integrated into Richie Hawtin's audio set. Demirel and Hawtin have been working together for nearly 6 years.
Demirel says that he and Hawtin already had similar tastes in visuals before they met, but together developed their artistic style further over time. “We also learned a lot about technically realizing more advanced shows and performing for different types of environments and setups,” explains Demirel.
To gain a better understanding of how live visuals have evolved over time, following the history and evolution of the Plastikman Live show is a good start. “My first design didn't have any integration with [Richie's] setup,” says Demirel. “I was feeling his musical direction and performing everything manually. I didn't even use any live visual software... But through the years I discovered what I needed for synchronizing our performance and I [incorporated] some new tools,” says Demirel.By now, “with Derivative's TouchDesigner, everything is designed so perfectly in sync to Richie Hawtin's performance,” explains Demirel, “I don't even touch a button!”
Over time, Demirel has also learned a few surprising things about the techno icon, Plastikman. “I would have called myself one of the most perfectionistic people until I experienced working with [Richie Hawtin]!” says Demirel. “He never gets tired and never rests, and he adds more elements and details to the project even when you think it [is] enough!” But, he adds, “He [Hawtin] is open to collaborating with each person [each from different fields] involved in the project and [he is] capable of giving creative feedback and directions to all of them.”
In the Plastikman Live show the artistic creation is more important than the personalities. The live show is constructed in a way that obscures Plastikman behind the visual screen, rather than showcasing him in the normal pop music icon fashion. Demirel says, “This show is not about a star personality... We don't want the audience to come there to see the person who makes the music, but rather we want them to experience his audio-visual artistic creation.”


