It’s not every day Andy Warhol wants to hang out with Keith Haring, if you know what I mean. When that sort of thing does happen, the old guard and the new guard rubbing elbows and admiring one another’s work, it’s somewhat reassuring, perhaps even encouraging. There’s something comforting about seeing the people who helped define a generation of culture embracing the changes taking place in their industry—especially one as tumultuous and whimsical as the music industry.In an interview between legendary DJ and music producer Richie Hawtin and dubstep wunderkind Skrillex, we witness these worlds colliding.Their discussion begins predominantly focused on Skrillex, highlighting the cross-pollination between genres and his poster-boy status. But Hawtin soon wanders down the road of nostalgia, reminding Skrillex what the industry was like twenty years ago. “How old were you in 1993?” Hawtin begins. “It was an exciting time for a lot of us back then, because we thought this music was really going to break in America,” he continues, accentuating the work put in by so many to bring attention to an otherwise overlooked genre. Hawtin adds, “Twenty years ago, if we'd have seen one person on stage with a laptop (not just at a rave but a concert), we would have been like 'What the fuck?' It took 20 years to get that.”The generation Hawtin speaks of is responsible for bringing electronic dance music to the States, and it’s easy to forget the enormous undertaking that really was (we were resistant, to say the least). While he continues to create music and play shows at the same rate he did twenty years ago, the incomparable Hawtin views the upcoming generation of DJs with a nod of approval. He may chat up Sonny with an almost paternal guidance, but this Creator is right there at the front lines helping to innovate and push the electronic genre forward—maybe that’s why he can appreciate what the new wave of electronic musicians brings to the table, despite what ever your opinions of dubstep might be.Read the full interview on teshno.@packyouralex
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