ZoukOut 2009 preview

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DJ, producer and record-label owner, Richie Hawtin’s industrious career seems to know no bounds. A constant innovator whose name has become synonymous with techno music, Hawtin achieved superstar status under his alias Plastikman in 1993 with the album Sheet One. This music man is so busy he works under 14 different aliases, producing Detroit-influenced, dancefloor-friendly techno as well as techno-orientated full-length albums. Hawtin’s latest project, Contakt, is a conceptualised clubbing experience/ stage show that can be best described as an audiovisual spectacle combining technologies such as wireless, Bluetooth and RFID. Welcome one of the most innovative and intelligent figures in experimental dance music.

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This Montreal- born DJ, producer and singer is so hot he melts anything he touches. Between throwing parties and being one of the most innovative composers in electro, Tiga runs his own label, Turbo Recordings. He also records bizarre cover versions, such as his take on Corey Hart’s 1983 hit ‘Sunglasses at Night’, recorded with Zyntherius (aka Jori Hulkkonen), and Nelly’s saucy hip-hop anthem ‘Hot in Herre’, which he reworked in the company of Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears. On his latest album Ciao! (released three years after the award-winning Sexor), Tiga does electro like he sees it – minimal, techy and hypnotic. This glamorous music gigolo is sincere; he can be dark and witty or cheeky and poppy, at your command of course. Whichever way you take him, Tiga will slam you with electro-techno-acid and a lot of bass. Be careful or you might get hurt.

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At 17 and 20 years old respectively, Chris and Steve Martinez have caught the attention of the music industry with their accomplishments, in particular deep house maestro Dennis Ferrer. The Martinez Brothers got their start in music as leaders of the local church band – their unorthodox musical education continued with their father Steve Martinez Sr, who was a dancer at the Paradise Garage club. Here, the boys were introduced to disco and house, and have since straddled both soulful house and techno with effortless grace. Prepare yourself as these boys gallop their way onto the stage with their seemingly limitless energy and impeccable flow. Don’t be shy when they start interacting with you while dishing out some ridiculously deep grooves.

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Go disco-loco for the electrifying Miss Kittin (Caroline Hervé) & The Hacker (Michael Amato), who met in 1992 in the French Alps – an unlikely location that became a base for this jet-setting DJ duo. Brought together by their love for techno, Amato’s background in industrial techno made for an unlikely complement to Hervé’s electro ways. The two have since coalesced into an act that features Miss Kittin’s improvisational purring over The Hacker’s disco loops and electroclash crunches.