Richie Hawtin has released his 1990’s concept series CONCEPT 1 on Bandcamp. It was released on January 1, 25 years to the day after its original release.
CONCEPT 1 was first released in 1996 as a special subscription service of monthly 12” releases limited to 2000 each. There are 24 tracks – one for each hour of the day. It is a lengthy listen, with many of the tracks over 10 minutes, with an ambient, experimental edge that fits with your probably sluggish mood today.
“This release marked a real shift in my production style in 1996, and was the start of a significant chapter in my recording career. Everything was handled independently – from design to distribution to a subscription service to accompany it – so releasing this with Bandcamp now really captures that spirit of the landscape back in the mid-nineties,” says Hawtin in a statement.
“CONCEPT 1 was recorded in isolation at a time when I was not allowed to enter the USA and with everything going on in the world at this moment, it felt like the right time to finally release this project to a larger audience. Without the year of experimentation around the recording process of Concept 1 in 1995, I would never have gotten to the reduction that I was able to achieve later on the recording style of Plastikman Consumed. In that way this is as an important album for me than any of my Plastikman albums.”
A triple vinyl release will arrive at some point, followed by a full digital release.
