This is a continuous in-the-mix CD compiled and mixed by Richie Hawtin.
Hawtin's popular Plastikman productions and rigidly minimalist Concept 1 tracks have earned the Canadian techno icon deserved widespread success. But Hawtin's reputation is built on his peerless DJ skills, and it's in the multiple-turntable arena that he truly shines. DECKS, EFX & 909 is a definitive and audacious set. Hawtin flouts the rules openly. He reuses records; he plays multiple cuts from the same slab of vinyl; he often uses just a looped fraction of a track, allowing him to burn through stacks of wax yet keep the beat unflagging. And, as the title indicates, he augments beat-matching turntable heroics with live drum-machine and effects-pedal improvisation.
DECKS, EFX & 909 is a seductive exercise in churning bass and virtually wall-to-wall rhythm. With as many as three tracks overlapping at any moment, the beats are frequently as unrelenting as the monochrome techno. Over the seamless 61:31 set, Hawtin cleverly works his way from propulsive tech-funk toward dub-wrought techno, ending perfectly with Rhythm & Sound's skew-whiff-and-spliff classic "Never Tell You (Version)." Because Hawtin favors stern, minimalist material, tunefulness is not a strong concern. But the fusion of Nitzer Ebb's immortal "Let Your Body Learn" with Hawtin's own (Yello-inspired!) Minus/Orange tracks is a definite DECKS highpoint.
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