From his late ’90s Decks, EFX and 909 period and his Ableton fixated Closer To The Edit project, up to his current turntableless Traktor DJ set-up, Techno icon Richie Hawtin has always been as much about process as he is about music. Even dating back to his early Plus 8 career, the bespectacled Plastikman was known for his network of labels and affiliate artists (not to mention his epic parties) as he was for fabled CD booklets dipped in LSD. In 2009, Hawtin brought his two decades worth of interest even closer together by teaming up with artist from his Minus label to re-define the way in which live electronic musicians, video artists, lighting designers and DJs collaborate. The result was the CONAKT series of concerts that found Hawtin, along with DJs Magda and Troy Pierce, and producers Marc Houle, Heartthrob and Gaiser creating a multi-platform performance set-up that allowed the performers to play together. Combined with original visuals from video artist Ali Demirel, the shows traveled from Detroit to Europe, South America to Japan. The Making Contakt DVD documents the experience in a format that’s part travel-log, part The Learning Channel reality program.

Combining interviews with the performers as well as the entire production staff (even Minus accountant Vikki gets to speak) with live footage from the shows and backstage happenings, the story of CONTAKT follows the team from an unsteady kick-off at Detroit’s Movement festival to triumphant sets in Barcelona and Tokyo. Unlike mega-tours like Daft Punk’s pyramid extravaganza, the CONTAKT team do business in a global network of clubs that as often as not fail to deliver the rider specs needed to put on the show. This DIY sense of adaptability is what dramatically propels the story from country to country and turns Making Contakt into something more than your typical tour film.

Not all thread of the story are as successful. Mysterious device The Cube—meant to interact with club-goers as well as global fans—is never satisfactorily explained, despite getting a good amount of screen time. Also missing is the sense of fun that one should expect from an all night techno party, even one as technologically and philosophically ambitious as CONTAKT. But for the ever-growing number of Minus/Hawtin fans, this look behind-the-scenes is a thrill. And for anyone actively engaged in the world of electronic music and performance, Making Contakt will re-invigorate your sense of wonder at what is possible within the 30 year old genre. The mystique of DJing might have worn off a decade ago, but that doesn’t mean there’s still not room for the art of playing electronic music to take on new forms.

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