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I have never been a huge fan of guest lists, until I found myself on this one. Richie Hawtin, Ambivalent, Seth Troxler and Dubfire (all Minus Records) turning the tables on a Thursday afternoon, during ADE, at a secret location and on top of all that, for Boiler Room TV. Are you kidding me? As a die hard and electro head l drooled. And after an afternoon of going wild in an abandoned office space, waving into the camera for the couch potatoes watching us via livestream while our booze was gradually running out, I caught up with Richie Hawtin for a quick chat.
This is the Amsterdam Dance Event. For many of us this means radical sleep deprivation, junk food for breakfast and getting abs in return from our mad dancing sessions. You’ve been in this industry for more than 20 years now. How do you manage to survive?
Richie Hawtin (grins): “Well, unfortunately I can’t destroy myself like you guys can. I do this kind of ADE thing every weekend, so I have to be very selective about where I go crazy. People that go out save up all their energy for this moment and then they freak out or just sleep in the next day. I almost never sleep in. I think I’m actually most creative at nights. I do try to go crazy with the crowd, but I’m also holding myself back.”
Is there anything you always do when you’re in Amsterdam?
“I love Amsterdam’s galleries, I’m a huge fan of art. I really wish I had more time to enjoy the city while I’m here. My biggest problem is that I don’t have any time whatsoever. That’s why my stays in Amsterdam consist of taking the cab to the club and back to the hotel. But there is one thing I wouldn’t want to miss in Amsterdam: my yearly gig at Paradiso. It’s probably my favourite place in Amsterdam.”
Why do you choose to live in Berlin?
He explains: “I’ve been all around the globe and I love the vibe in Amsterdam, but I enjoy living in Berlin. For me, it’s just the ultimate centre of electronic music and a great place to live. There is an insane amount of record labels, start-ups, DJs and clubs and what I like about Berlin’s scale is that I can just disappear there among a million other people in the industry.”
Where in the world do you find the craziest crowd?
Hawtin, without hesitation: “Tokyo. You have no idea how crazy Japanese people get. I don’t know what it is, but they are just wild and I love it. Even Berlin is nothing compared to that, but I guess that’s because it’s too cool. Hey, but Amsterdam is pretty crazy too as you guys proved again today.”
Yes, he’s right. It was pretty wild. Just when I want to continue talking to Richie, two guys from Ibiza make their way through and confess their everlasting admiration to him in a tipsy, but charming Spanish accent. “Eeeh, Richie. You’re amazing, man. Can you put us on da list for da club tomorrow?” No big deal. Richie grabs his iPhone and puts them on the list. I didn’t ask Richie to do the same for me, but it seems like you can achieve almost anything if you just ask for it. And after all, I think I’m actually starting to like this whole guest list thing.
Boiler Room TV is a radio station located in London, UK. Its ADE special Minus Takeover with Richie Hawtin was organised in cooperation with Audio Culture and Boston Strip. Broadcasted live on October 20th from 1500–1900 (CET), 1400–1800 (GMT). Check out the show here (online in a few days) : http://boilerroom.tv/
Feature image by We are Void.
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