Richie Hawtin’s next musical frontier? High school science class

For international touring DJs, 10am on Sunday usually means one of three things: an after party; shuttling to an airport; or the final hours of precious sleep.

Today, though, Richie Hawtin is going with a fourth option.

On a quiet street at the worn edges of North Brooklyn is the annual Synth & Pedal Expo. Doors don’t open for another couple of hours, so there are just a smattering of people inside. Most are busily rigging up keyboards, patches, and pads. Others fuel up on black coffee and blueberry muffins.

It’s a long way from Miami festivals and Ibiza sunrises, but this is indeed option four.

A few hours earlier Hawtin was playing a headline DJ set at the cavernous Knockdown Center in Queens. Now, quietly studying an assortment of modules and oscillators, he simultaneously stands out from the crowd, yet also blends in seamlessly.

It’s fair to say that one of the world’s most revered electronic music artists (as well as label owner, sake connoisseur, and tech company founder, among numerous other pursuits) is something of a shapeshifter.‍