Richie Hawtin performing during Detroit’s Movement Electronic Music Festival 2014 (Nick Kassab | Detroit Music Magazine)
Detroit techno icon Richie Hawtin announced a new album Wednesday under his Plastikman alias, his first since 2003’s Closer.
EX will be released via Mute Records digitally on June 10 and on vinyl, CD, and a limited edition SubPac bundle on July 14. Hawtin recorded the LP last year as part of a live performance held at the Guggenheim Museum’s annual fundraiser in New York City.
Hawtin was invited to the event by the iconic Belgian fashion designer and artistic director at Dior, Raf Simons, as music was performed around a specially constructed LED obelisk. Listeners who did not attend can still get a taste of that experience through the Limited Edition Premium Bundle of EX, which comes with the album pressed on vinyl, a signed certificate of authenticity, and a custom Plastikman edition of the SubPac S1 – a portable bass system that reproduces the powerful low-end frequencies normally found only in a club.
By making a higher tier of physical product available, Hawtin is following in the vein of another Detroit artist – Jack White – whose Ultra LP version of Lazaretto similarly comes with several unique features. Plastikman will only perform one show this year – at Barcelona’s Sónar festival on June 12 – where he will premiere new tracks that promise to push the boundaries of techno.
EX tracklisting:
01 EXposed
02 EXtend
03 EXpand
04 EXtrude
05 EXplore
06 EXpire
07 EXhale
Listen to an excerpt from EX below: