Underconstruction Party Welcomes Richie Hawtin on September 2nd

By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Friday, September 2nd, the Underconstruction party will celebrate the upcoming opening of a new branch of the D-Edge club in Rio de Janeiro’s Porto Maravilha. Taking place in the construction area for the venue, the party and its creator, DJ and music producer Renato Ratier, has brought together an international lineup.

The party will welcome very special guests, Canadian electronic musician, producer, and DJ, Richie Hawtin; Berlin-based electronic music artist and DJ, Hito; and Rio de Janeiro visual artist Muti Randolph, to spin and perform during the night.

Presented by Ratier, plans for the area currently under construction include a multicultural complex with a restaurant, Bossa music production studio, a Ratier shop, cafeteria, bookstore, record store, dance studio, theater, and art gallery, in addition to the new branch of the D-Edge club.

An entrepreneur, producer, and DJ, Renato Ratier has proven to be a key figure in the Brazilian underground music scene. Starting in the 2000s as a DJ, Ratier would go on to open the underground club D-Edge and to work as a producer of compilations and EPs.

He released his first album, Black Belt, in 2013 and began his fashion line “Ratier” in 2015. He is also the co-owner of and resident DJ at the beach club Warung in Santa Catarina, Brazil.

Underconstruction’s guest performer, Richie Hawtin, is a legend in electronic music. A producer, performer, and DJ, Hawtin was a key figure in the second wave of Detroit techno in the 1990s. Performing as Plastikman, Hawtin made a name for himself in Detroit and eventually around the world. No stranger to Rio de Janeiro, Hawtin participated in the 2013 Rio Music Conference Festival.

Born in England in 1970, Hawtin was raised in LaSalle, Ontario, Canada following a move at age nine. He began to DJ in nearby Detroit, Michigan, United States clubs at age seventeen. Hawtin took on the stage name of Plastikman, one of many aliases he would go on to perform under and use when releasing work.

Using the name Plastikman, F.U.S.E., Concept 1, Circuit Breaker, Robotman, Chrome, Spark, and Jack Master, among others Hawtin produced multiple works. He was seen as an innovator of minimal techno with his precision in rhythms and through his use of laptops, drum machines, and effects.

He would go on to tour around the world and also to help found the record labels, Plus 8 and M_nus. In 2012 at the Space venue in Ibiza, Hawtin begin to present ENTER, an experimental series of events that showcases a variety of electronic music.

A regular part of Hawtin’s ENTER series, Underconstruction guest Hito is a Berlin-based Japanese electronic music artist and DJ. She is a vinyl only DJ, who is known for her techno sets and for presenting them in a Kimono.

The party’s final guest performer, Muti Randolph is a Rio de Janeiro visual artist well known for his use of lights, graphics, and music to create sculptural designs for nightclubs, runaways, sets, and visual installations.

For additional information, see the Underconstruction Facebook event page.

What: D-Edge Underconstruction
When: Friday, September 2nd, 11:50 PM
Where: Av. Rodrigues Alves, 293 – Porto Maravilha (In front of Armazém 5)
Entrance: R$150 – R$300