The return of Plastikman
Richie Hawtin can’t be summed up in a few words nor placed in one category. His imagination and creativity have proven to be without limits. Everything he does has an “un-seen” feeling to it, whether as a solo act, or along his M-NUS crew, it’s always surprising and challenging to live his events.
Yesterday was no exception with the revival of Plastikman. The event was sold out, which meant 10000 people were going to be there. Paris was the 3rd date of the tour and the rendez-vous mobilized French fans as well as many European ones, from UK, Holland and Germany. Time was slow until doors opened at 11pm and everyone got informed via the SYNK application that Plastikman wouldn’t start before 3.10am.
The wait was worth it though and it was mind blowing as expected. The stage was a huge LED screen in a form of a cage which broadcast the visuals. The shape was smart since all the crowd could equally see everything so no one would be marginalized.
The show was mainly visual for my part, since I went there without ever listening to a Plastikman record. Yeah you heard me, I only watched a Richie interview reviewing his career and talking about it. The music was very avant guardiste if you put it back in its right timeline, and I was very happy to witness the evolution of techno music till what we produce today. Sure the records have been re-adapted for the occasion but the essence of Plastikman was there.
Back to the visuals, it really made the music more interesting, as giving it another dimension. Every record was in the perfect harmony with its visual counterpart. Every track talked to the crowd, as if you’d see music alive, the way your brain processes it, well it was there on screen. It was dark, complex and psychedalic at times, very deep at others. Colors ranging from the majestic white to deep red. The SYNK app was fun, I couldn’t use it all the time since it drained my phone’s battery.
The show was an hour or so long, enough to make you go crazy I guess 
Marc Houle, Magda and Troy were in charge of the opening and closing sets, nothing to say about that since they are solid DJs and do great jobs all together. The M-NUS crew showed again that they can make crazy ideas come true with lots of practice, trial and errors (i.e. Contakt shows) and team work.
Overall the experience was quite trippy and I hope that the Richie crew will make a DVD out of it. I have a sure bet on that. Future events are posted on Plastikman’s websites, have fun if you’ll be around.
Richie always beleived in sharing experiences with his crowd over his gigs and he undoubtedly learned a lot from his “Contakt” tour. Plastikman is no exception.
