Richie Hawtin is one of the most pioneering artists in electronic music, and a true proponent of techno’s future-focused ideology. As the winner of DJ Mag’s Best of North America Outstanding Contribution Award 2019, the Canadian has maintained a position at the top of the game for almost three decades.

The award, given to figures in electronic music who’ve positively shaped the landscape over their career, is well deserved by Hawtin, whose continuous innovations in technology, technique and sound have been demonstrated most recently by his CLOSE live show and the PLAYdifferently Model 1 mixer. For someone so future-focussed, one might feel inclined to ask if something so reflective could feel nostalgic. And isn’t nostalgia the enemy of techno?

“It is and that’s why I try not to look back too often, and having an award like that, there’s a weight to it, so you have to stop and reflect and think,” he told DJ Mag in a new, in-depth interview. “It is, on one hand, the enemy of techno and the ethos of where this music came from, [but] it also celebrates how strong that ethos has been and how it’s created a whole foundation and tapestry of music that continues to evolve today.

“We all dreamed and hoped that we could continue making music for our lifetime and that techno wasn’t just a disco fad or something — we’ve proven that it has staying power, but can it continue to evolve?”

It’s not often he looks back, but in the brief moments he allows himself to contemplate his achievements, doubts, struggles and successes, it appears gently therapeutic for the Canadian techno legend.

“Very early on, before it all started, John Acquaviva and I were heavily inspired by Mute Records, people like Depeche Mode and Nitzer Ebb, and our interpretation was that these people and labels were on a mission,” he tells us. “This wasn’t something that was for a week or for a year, this is what they do.

“When we started to get some popularity, people came, bigger labels wanted to buy us out, they wanted to license things, make us stars. I don’t think we made every right decision, but for the most part, we always came back and said, ‘We wanna be here in five years, in 10 years, how do we keep doing this? How do we keep control? How do we enjoy this and how do we make this our life?’”

Words: Declan McGlynn

Photo: Gemma Parker