10 iconic Richie Hawtin moments

Who would have thought someone born in an Oxfordshire market town could do so much for techno? Not many, probably, but Richie Hawtin's achieved remarkable things since launching his career in the late 1980s.

He's spearheaded the minimal techno movement, working under countless aliases such as F.U.S.E and Plastikman and provided platforms for like-minded producers with his Plus 8 and M_nus labels. On top of that, he's held residencies at the world's best clubs, Space Ibiza being one of them, and taken it upon himself to educate young people on the history of dance music.

These achievements haven't gone unrecognised, though. He's picked up countless awards in his time and we've shown him love many times in the past. There's always time for a little more affection, so we've compiled 10 iconic Richie moments below.

Richie Hawtin had already been around for a few years before the Plastikman moniker came to life in 1993, releasing under the name F.U.S.E on his and John Acquaviva's Plus 8 Records. Bleepy techno tracks such as 'Approach & Identify' and 'Phase 1 (Motor City Madness)' ensured he was seen as a spearhead of Detroit techno's second wave (having started DJing there as a teenager), but the entrance of Plastikman in 1993 opened up a whole new career path for the Oxfordshire-born producer. 'Spastik' gave us a pungent taste of the high-octane material to come under the alias, one that's been his most used over a 30-year span.

Anyone familiar with what we do at Mixmag will know that the magazine cover star plays a show for us - Mixmag Live. Well, that hasn't always been the case. Our showcase started in March 2012, kickstarted by that month's cover star, Richie. Strangely enough, he appeared on the cover again in November 2016 (this time with Nicole Moudaber, Joseph Capriati and more) and launched the very first Mixmag Live in the United States. See what went down at that one below.

There's no hiding away from the fact that EDM arrived and gobbled up hundreds of thousands of youngsters in the United States, meaning they completely bypassed the artists responsible for dance music's early beginnings. Richie wasn't going to let them get away with it, though, so he linked up with Loco Dice and California DJ Ean Golden to educate students throughout the US on the roots of the music. The CNTRL: Beyond EDM tour in 2012 included seminars at various universities, followed by shows at nearby venues afterwards. We can't say for sure how much of an impact it had on the students in attendance, but big ups to Richie for spreading the illustrious history of our world - one that was most certainly not built on suspense-filled drops and ridiculous stage shows.

If you can make someone as iconic as Sven Väth dance on a table, you've hit a high-point in your career. Especially when it's Papa Sven's 50th birthday at Time Warp, the mammoth German techno festival that attracts 30,000 ravers each year. Not just ordinary dancing, though. The Cocoon boss, record sleeve on his head like a chef's hat, was stomping his feet and gripping his own buttocks, before feigning a jump into the crowd. Looks like a decent birthday, that.

Richie performed at New York art museum the Guggenheim in 2013 after being invited to a fundraising event by fashion designer Raf Simons. He was billed to be playing as 'Richie Hawtin, aka Plastikman', giving a hint to many ardent techno fans that he'd be reviving his alias after an 11-year break from it. Turns out those guesses were right, as the show he performed that night was recorded and turned into 2014 album 'Ex'. Get an insight into the Guggenheim gig in the video above.

This party delivered a whole new dimension to partying on the White Isle. Before it arrived in 2012, no other event on the island pulled together techno, design and technology quite like ENTER. at Space. And no other party on the island had its residency DJ mingling with the crowd and pouring them Sake. It took a break last year, but previous guests include Adam Beyer, Ida Engberg, Mano Le Tough and Hito. Let's hope we see that bold black dot there again soon.

[Photo: Jordi Cervera]

Quite possibly the most iconic moment of all is the snap of Hawtin and actor Patrick Stewart shaking hands. Just look at it. Hawtin's made up at receiving an Honorary Doctorate of Music Technology from the University of Huddersfield and Stewart's clearly beaming for being able to present him with it. In case you're wondering how the doctorate came about, Dr. Nick Bougaieff from the uni has a thesis focusing on minimal techno and Plastikman's live performance methods. Check Richie performing in celebration of it below.

Completely unexpected, but totally appreciated. With no mouse head on and operating under his testpilot alias, deadmau5 went head-to-head with Hawtin for a 90-minute techno masterclass at SXSW in 2013. We would have never thought to put the two together, but it worked. So well that Richie released 'Sunspot (White Space Conflict)' on Plus 8 shortly after. Listen to the set from SXSW below.

It might be pricey (£2,550), but the PLAYDifferently Model 1 mixer is an absolute beast with six channels and technology found in "the finest studio consoles", according to the product description. Engineered by Andy Rigby-Jones and co-designed by Richie, it took two years of testing, insight and refinement before it was actually released. Purely analogue, it promises to provide "new creative possibilities to artists, and empowering them to PLAYdifferently."

Everything you've read in this list points to why Richie won the Association of Independent Music (AIM) award in 2014. He's been there, done it, got the accolades. Other winners include Skepta and Róisin Murphy, so he's in good company.

Dave Turner is Mixmag's Digital News Editor, follow him on Twitter