At this weekend’s Timewarp performance, Richie Hawtin demonstrated what happens when you put your video phone in his face while he’s performing.
Hawtin today apologized for the incident in a statement:
Regarding the incident at Time Warp in New York this weekend which is being posted and talked about on the web, I would like to apologise here to the girl involved.
It was not my intention that the speaker fell. Only to nudge the monitors in her direction and for her to understand that perhaps she had filmed enough. I was as surprised as I’m sure she was when it moved the way it did and the top speaker fell off of the stack. For that, I’m extremely sorry and embarrassed about what happened. This was never my intention.
Sometimes being in the middle of the spotlight, continual cameras and glaring iPhone lights, things can get stressful and frustrating. I’m sorry that this frustration took an unexpected turn and took away from anyone’s experience of Time Warp. I have tried to reach the girl to apologise personally but have not yet been able to track her down and will continue to try to contact her.
absolutely disgraceful
completamente vergonzoso
couldnt reach her, richie? try to look under the speaker!
1) He looks like he worships himself (i.e., douche bag)
2) There were lots of people recording him, so why single out person? Was he suddenly tired of being worshipped by this one fan?
3) That wasn’t a “nudge”, that was a sustained push that sent that speaker tumbling down on that girl.
4) Apologies are always too little, too late.
Get over yourself Hawtin.
“ITS ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC”
Well, I’m sure that his apology will dissuade legal action.
/sarchasm
Seriously though, unless the venue has a ‘No Recording’ or ‘No Cameras’ policy, good luck on that one.
And it must be terribly difficult to have all those people watching you make music, very rude of them to pay for your gear, your tour, etc.
That being said, the world is sometimes more interesting when all of your experiences aren’t mediated thru your phone- still, dropping a monitor on someone isn’t an appropriate response.
I support it. Fans and their video phones are disrespectful and out of control.
Hawtin = Bellend .
Why on earth would you video a DJ set with your cell phone? Are you going to watch it again later? The audio is going to be absolutely terrible, to the point where you will hardly be able to discern what song is playing, and it will be full of crowd noise. The video itself, as seen here, will be dark smears with glaring lights. What is the point? Recording a live band is almost comprehensible, since the live song is going to be quite different from the studio recording, but this just seems pointless.
Personally, I’d be super angry if someone stood directly in front of me with their phone in my face for minutes on end. Seems like a great way to ruin any “vibe” a performer has going on. Instead of the performance being a conversation between DJ and audience (and isn’t that the whole argument for live DJ sets being worthwhile?) it’s just a spectacle of a 45 year old man dancing in front of a laptop.
Push more speakers onto the cell phone crowd, but go ahead and push one onto Hawtin while you’re at it. No one comes off well in this exchange, imo.
Think you got that one right there!
I’m all for ‘rock and roll’ but that looked like a psychotic drug-fuelled tantrum and worse it kinda looked like he was laughing about it afterwards like it was funny or something.
Are there not security guards who are professionally trained to deal with over zealous fans in a humane way? Surely the fees that are charged can cover this kind of thing?
I’d like to know if the girl was alright – speakers are heavy and it looked like she took that one full in the stomach. Does anyone know if she’s ok?
Not to mention the total disrespect to his kit and the ability to properly monitor what he was doing.
I’ve been a fan pretty much since day one, I have an original copy of ‘sheet one’ complete with the sheet of acid tabs, but this incident has made me lose the respect I had.
Shameful!
I tried to find out what happened to the girl too – all I could find on several websites was that apparently “she walked away unharmed”.
This guy’s seriously disgusting.
The geezer is one of the most arrogant and proud in the industry. A talented producer but an average Dj.
Myself and a few other I know who have met him can testify to a heightened level of snootiness in this guy.
The girl was only filming!! What’s the problem? Should be used to it by now
DJs should be shy introverts with extremely low self-esteem and no sense of personal space, and not self-promoting peacocks who entertain crowds.
Nice drop , dude .
Richie Hawtin ,did a a few good records, fuse and plastic man. AFter that he makes me want to puke.
Plastikman was good until 2014.
Hawtin is a disgrace. The day he let his own ego inflate past his actual ability is the day he lost me as a fan. What an absolute jerk.
Its girls (and guys) like that who got him to where he is.
Look Ma, I can turn knobs AND push shit over at the SAME TIME!
A lesson to be learnt here, if you are going to shoot a DJ then please consider using live ammo.
While the dude might be annoying there’s no reason to potentially cause him physical injury. That’s just obnoxious.
Check out hawtins twitter.his fans are adoringly defending him and even saying its not newsworthy!
Another development is that he’s lost some bookings due to this- either way he’s gonna pay
He should have thrown ‘the cube’ at her!
People, I don’t think you get these new DJ techniques that are constantly being developed and refined. The new EDM fan really wants to interact with today’s DJ. Hawtin was just bringing the fans closer to the modern DJ experience. A little bit of pain is a small price to pay for being part of the show. Think of the stories she can tell her grand-children. Since there is no need top beat mix anymore DJ’s have the free time to really interact with their fans. You people and just stuck in the past. Vive la ultra violence and the new DJ order.
I hope you are joking cause this is a serious issue. His fan got attacked, likely physically hurt and traumatised,
Imagine if your favourite artist did this to you??
I know that for many who hear his name from now on that they will associate him with this incident.
A moments loss of control will have effects that will last his whole life.
As you can see here, he is not a well liked person. He needs to reflect on his character, moods and general behaviour.
You are right, this is a very serious situation. I have heard rumours that the DJ community has been infiltrated by ISIS and this is just the first step in a full assault on the EDM scene. It’s all confusing at first but this is what the Illuminati wants you to believe. Those photos of Ritchie, Skrillex and Paris are full of triangles. Can’t you see what is going on? Villalobos is next, I’m 110% sure. Only Dave Clarke can save us now. Red 3 is in the mix!!!
Honestly stupid. I was imagining her phone was right in his face. It wasn’t. She was like > 6 feet away from him to his side.
Why do deejays always hold their arms up in the air as if they’re doing something really incredible?
Because they don’t need to actually do anything else.
Calisthenics.
Or because they think their B.O is holy?
Maybe he thought she was made of plastik, man
This dude needs to know when to call it a night. It seems like all he does anymore is take massive steaming dumps all over his legacy. He’s gone from one of the most respected players in the game to a laughable sellout caricature of himself all with just a few years. It’s actually kind of impressive in a way.
Techno events are largely ruined by people who don’t consider other patrons. It would be remiss for me to pine for the days of a few nerds in hoodies sitting and carefully listening to the hi-hats or peering at whatever gear is on the table – dance music is a big industry now, and that can only be good for artists and the scene in general. But with the expansion and accessibility of such, etiquette goes out the window – it’s always the same people, so busy posting their lives to Instagram that they trample the flowers everywhere they go. You are an audience, this implies a degree of passivity or communal participation, not a “Self Facilitating Media Node” performing a version of yourself to your disinterested, equally self-obsessed tribe. I’ve had enough yobbos off their tits making the night difficult for everyone around them.
While mutual respect matters, an artist isn’t obligated to accept that kind of intrusion into their space, an artist isn’t obligated to be your friend, they are there to make and play music. Throwing a speaker is a bit nuts, and adds to the chaos, and I’m not a big follower of Hawtin, but a lot of these comments read like “Richie Hawtin didn’t want to engage with me when I was trying to gnaw his ear off at a festival.” It’s easy to assume snobbery when it could just as easily be introversion.
For some people it’s easier to connect with a crowd by playing some records.
Thats some seriously lame arse licking to what was violence against a woman. Crawling up his backside will not make him or you cred.
You didn’t read my comment. I am not a Plastikman fan and I agree that it was an ill-considered response on the part of the DJ. I just decry that a lot of people give the appearance of attending a performance to perform a version of themselves that doesn’t consider other people’s space. The resurgence of “rave” has in part forgotten the communal aspect, and the prevalence of people trampling others in order to record their experiences without, say, directly experiencing them makes you question the authenticity of their presence. It’s an artist’s job to make art, not nibble your earlobe in a selfie. I am really happy to keep the mystery in that respect.
Anyone who describes themselves as an “Albino Drexciyan,” well, for a generation – Hawtin was the shy Canadian kid bringing Detroit techno out of Detroit for a while, according to at least some of those that made the music. You mightn’t like the “corporate” aspects of his success but a lot of comments read here like pining jealousy. Just be happy and do your own thing.
The other stuff you said, I’ll leave that alone – save for – rational people don’t speak to strangers like that in real life, nor do they get some sort of validation from making aggressive comments on a Synth blog. At least, not here in Australia. Maybe I was off topic by interpreting the anecdote as indicative of a greater, creeping, selfish problem. My bad.
This was really nicely put, and I think it’s why a lot of people are sympathizing with Hawtin in this situation. It’s not some kind of slavish devotion to an idol, it’s a frustration with the culture surrounding them.
He’s just pissed cause his new top-level competition ends up being Paris Hilton these days. Dj culture has a bright future!
Who’s Richie Hawtin?
Cool slam!
doesn’t he know speaker stacks are for jumping off of? #amateur
if you’re in front of a speaker enough for it to topple on you you’re too close. and you’re screwing with the acoustics.
he didn’t know if she’d start climbing up on it or was going to try to get in there or what. her camera probably had a bright light shining in his eyes. it does seem like he was trying to say keep back the only way he could think of spur of the moment when it’s too loud for anyone to hear. i hope she wasn’t hurt, but i don’t feel bad for her.
and no one wants to have someone looming over them with a video camera while they work.
Hawtin doesnt deserve a place,where are the real detroit guys. I am an albino drexciyan .
I have no idea what kind of secret technology those famous DJs use when mixing hands up. Until I don’t understand it I won’t respect what they do there like that.
Ever take your hands off the wheel of your bike for 2 seconds?
Hands don’t belong on bike wheels.
Some twat using ableton pushed somone …..
Move along now children., you’d swear it’s hard to make some techno track, they even have schools for EDM now LMFAO .Jesus Christ the entire scene is a zombie walking corpse.
Any guy who can mix with his hands in the air is a clever dick.
I was stabbed by Reggie Watts in 2012, so I can relate – but I still have to side with Hawtin.