Kiss

Having spoilt you enough already with the recent announcements of The Gallery and Ministry of Sound stages, SW4 are absolutely delighted to throw another unmissable name into the mix for 2009 in the shape of techno pioneer Richie Hawtin. Richie’s debut appearance at South West Four is sure to be met with universal approval, following the much-talked about set from his DJ peer Sven Vath at last year’s festival.

Richie Hawtin is techno’s master of reinvention – positioning himself on the cutting edge of the genre for well over 15 years. His appeal is a combination of factors – innovative use of technology, experimentation tempered with an ability to rock a dancefloor, residencies at the best clubs each year, and his leadership of some of the most original record labels around. Introduced to computer-based music like Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream at an early age by his father, Richie started DJing in Detroit clubs and radio stations, and in 1990 set up the seminal Plus-8 label with fellow Canadian DJ John Acquaviva. He developed his work under the Plastikman moniker, and established himself as one of techno’s leading innovators through mix albums and his ‘Concept’ series of 12-inch releases. The subsequent years saw him release the DE9 series of mixes – the most recent one incorporating over 150 tracks and being realised in immersive 5.1 surround sound, as well as composing music which formed part of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Turin. Fast forward to the current day, and Richie Hawtin is at the helm of a new resurgence of techno – made buoyant by the popularity of minimal, Ibiza finding its cool again, [his label] Minus taking the world by storm, Berlin becoming a hub for like-minded musicians and artists, and Hawtin’s co-conspirators Magda, Ricardo Villalobos, Sven Vath etc all becoming cover stars in their own right. Some might say that he’s lucky – but luck doesn’t come into it – its sound evaluation of what’s good in music, plus passion and innovation that keeps Richie Hawtin at the forefront of everyone’s mind and in their DJ booth year in, year out.

Richie will be headlining The End presents ‘Shake It’ Stage alongside Dubfire, Timo Maas, Steve Lawler, Layo & Bushwacka! and Nicole Moudaber, whilst the KISS / Ministry of Sound Main Stage will be getting down to the sounds of Sasha & John Digweed, David Guetta, Eric Prydz, Mark Knight, Sander Kleinenberg and Scarlett Etienne. Elsewhere, The Gallery welcomes Armin van Buuren, Markus Schulz, BT, Tall Paul and 16 Bit Lolitas, with Global Underground offering Danny Howells, Nic Fanciulli, Nick Warren, James Lavelle, Jim Rivers and Anil Chawla. And yes… we’ve still got even more DJs still to be added to the bill, so watch this space!!

FINAL LINE-UP ANNOUNCEMENTS COMING SOON!

Click here to find out more about South West Four.

Weekend Tickets are priced £70 + bf (a saving of £5) and are on sale exclusively through Aloud.com

Tags: Dance, South West Four, Techno