Artist:
F.U.S.E.
Title:
Dimensions (25th Anniversary Edition)
Label:
The Vinyl Factory / Plus 8 Records
Cat#:
VF315 / PLUS8131
Release Date:
15th April 2019 (vinyl)
May 2019 (digital)
Format:
vinyl & digital
Tracklist:
D1-01.
A New Day
D!-02.
F.U.
D1-03.
Slac
D1-04.
Dimension Intrusion
D1-05.
Substance Abuse
D1-06.
Downbeat *
D1-07.
Another Time
(Re-visited)
D1-08.
Theychx
D1-09.
Time Stop *+
D1-10.
UVA
D1-11.
Mantrax
D1-12.
Nitedrive
D1-13.
Into The Space
D1-14.
Logikal Nonsense
D2-01.
Train-trac.1
D2-02.
Train-abuse
D2-03.
Drum-trac.2
D2-04.
Kaboose
D2-05.
Last-Tram
D2-06.
The Day After
(MV’s Mix)
D3-01.
Computer Space
D3-02.
Runner
D3-03.
Sanctuary
D3-04.
Last Day
D3-05.
Computer Space
(Album Mixed)
D1 is the digital version of the album “Dimension Intrusion”, * are previously unreleased. D2 is the EP “Train-Tracs”. D3 is “Computer Space” – the digital version contains a continued mix of the EP. The track order for the vinyls is slightly different.
Press Info:
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of his F.U.S.E. persona, Richie Hawtin releases a limited-edition vinyl box set in collaboration with Hawtin’s label Plus 8 Records and The Vinyl Factory. The release includes his first full-length album ‘Dimension Intrusion’ and the remix EP ‘Train-Tracs’, both re-mastered and complemented with unreleased tracks. As a companion to these 1993 classic albums, Hawtin presents the unreleased album ‘Computer Space’ which was recorded in the same year.
The album covers are based upon original artworks by visual artist Matthew Hawtin, Richie’s brother, and are included in the box set in form of exclusive artist grade prints. For the booklet Matthew contributes a written essay about the formative period of the early 1990s and the creative works of the two brothers, accompanied with unpublished imagery. In addition Matthew Hawtin also designed the ‘Dimensions’ box set, quoting the original artwork that was inspiration to the early F.U.S.E. albums’ titles and visual representation.
This limited-edition anniversary box set will be available from April 15, followed by a full digital release on all streaming and digital platforms shortly after. The launch will be celebrated with an exclusive opening event at The Store X, 180 The Strand, London, UK, with an exhibition of the original paintings and a world premier listening session of the album ‘Computer Space’ played on the The Vinyl Factory Soundsystem. On April 4th Richie and his brother will host a preview for invited guests and the experience will be open to the public from April 5-7th.
The Store X The Vinyl Factory is an ongoing collaboration between The Store X and its curatorial partner The Vinyl Factory, supporting the creation of original, site-specific audio-visual installations by some of today’s most innovative artists, designers, and musicians. These commissions premiere at The Store X 180 The Strand in London, and The Store X Berlin as well as in partnership with leading institutions and festivals around the world.
Growing up in Windsor, Ontario, Richie would make frequent excursions across the border to Detroit in search of record shops and new clubbing experiences. Soon he would take up a residency at the small subversive club The Shelter and develop his skills as a DJ. Together with his close friend John Acquaviva they launched Plus 8 Records in 1990 to release their own creations and to support other up-and-coming, like-minded techno producers who were in search of a musical home.
Richie started recording under the cryptic alias F.U.S.E.- abbreviation for ‘Futuristic Underground Subsonic Experiments’ – and release seminal tracks like ‘F.U.’ and ‘Substance Abuse’ (1991). The ‘From Our Minds To Yours’ compilations released on Plus 8 would make a mark on the developing techno scene in Detroit and beyond. At age 22 Hawtin released his first full-length studio album under his F.U.S.E. pseudonym.
‘Dimension Intrusion’ was largely inspired by sci-fi movies and a collection of available synthesizers and drum machines. Playing with their electronic yet warm sound effects, the young producer in turn discovered some of his favourite instruments. His heady manipulations of the Roland TB-303 acid sound helped develop an influential style that would have a lasting impact on electronic music.The album was first released in 1993 on Plus 8 Records and was introduced to an international audience through a second release on the British Warp Records imprint’s seminal ‘Artificial Intelligence’ series. The tracks on ‘Dimension Intrusion’ range from club focused techno to soundtrack ambience and can be seen retrospectively as experiments leading to what would soon become Hawtin’s trademark acid laced Plastikman sound.
It was on this album that he first collaborated with his brother, the visual artist Matthew Hawtin, presenting an original painting completed in 1992 as the album artwork. In fact the album title was derived from the painting’s title ‘Dimension Intrusion’, demonstrating the reciprocal inspiration shared between the brothers. The acrylic painting oscillates between the one and two-dimensional. The composition of geometrical beams in bold primary colours and sharp lines evokes electrically charged movement and progression in and out of different dimensions. The visual tension corresponds with the energetic rhythms of the music, furthermore the abstract painting and techno music share machine-like precision whilst producing a sensual and emotionally triggering experience. Hawtin’s debut solo album ‘Dimension Intrusion’ is an iconic album in the history of electronic music that sets Richie Hawtin on a path of exploration and interest in the connection of audio and visual expression.
Alongside the success of ‘Dimension Intrusion’ Hawtin released a remix EP with varying permutations of ‘Train-Trac’. This release, only on Warp Records, contained reinterpretations of the original track, which combined his love of stripped down Chicago Acid House and percussion driven Detroit Techno. The throbbing industrial sound and urgency of the original track are replaced with metallic percussion, giving the remixes new momentum and sophistication.
The idea of a racing train, its technology driven force and vocation of pushing forward was a representation of what motivates Hawtin. Through a relentless pursuit of progress and innovation he drove his music production forward and became an integral part in Detroit’s developing underground party scene.
Accompanying this journey was the artwork ‘Different Planes of Atmosphere’ (1992) by his brother Matthew, an expressive painting that depicts a kaleidoscopic composition of hard-edged geometrical forms that seemingly burst out from the picture plane and into three-dimensional space. Representing explosive energy and impulse for innovation, the painting became an illustration of the creative force within both artists.
The additional release in the anniversary edition is the album ‘Computer Space’ – a double 12’’ of unreleased material initially recorded in 1993 as a follow-up to ‘Dimension Intrusion’. In exploratory recording sessions driven by his perpetual quest of doing something different, Hawtin experimented with the Roland TB-303 and Akai S950 sampler to take the sound of acid further than he had before. He found freedom in creating music devoid of beats, inviting more space to permeate his compositions and allowing hauntingly cerebral and sensual sounds to take the lead. In this respect ‘Computer Space’ was an important transition leading Richie Hawtin to ‘From Within’ and Plastikman.
He states: “Computer Space was recorded in the fall of 1993 as an experiment based upon sampling the Roland TB-303 with Akai S950 sampler. By looping and stretching different TB-303 samples I was able to create strings, pads and different TB-303 related textures that became the basis of the Computer Space sessions.”
The album title and cover artwork is based upon a silkscreen print his brother Matthew produced in 1993. ‘Computer Space’ resembles the familiar setting of ‘Dimension Intrusion’ with its blue planes and yellow beams that are projecting deep into the picture sphere, penetrating the monochrome vastness. The image is as reduced and spacious as the sound of the album, pointing significance towards the void and focused composition. Centre stage of the image is the confrontation of a vibrant red cube and a human brain. The implied telepathic communication between the stylized computer and mind becomes sensibly manifest in the music of this album.
The release of ‘Computer Space’ as part of the ‘Dimensions’ box set establishes a deeper understanding for Hawtin’s creative arc during his formative years, learning and honing his sound while always searching for new dimensions in which to explore. Precision, reduction and progression are enduring themes and driving forces for the creative works of both brothers, which is apparent in this trilogy.
‘Futuristic Underground Subsonic Experiments’ was a creative tool for the young producer Richie Hawtin to explore, develop and challenge his craft in a musical territory that had yet to be defined. His unchallenged sonic and visual vision continues to drive his own creativity forward and influences new generations of artists and music enthusiasts up until this day.
Full Track Streaming:
Buy Vinyl:
The Vinyl Factory
more soon
Buy Digital:
Beatport Classic
TraxSource
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Websites:
F.U.S.E. promo website
F.U.S.E. aka Richie Hawtin
Plus 8 Records
