Richie Hawtin. The Techno Boss.

Getting an interview with the legendary techno DJ Richie Hawtin took us a lot of effort. Before and after his set at Gorod, Richie couldn't talk. An email interview didn't work out. Nevertheless, last December we managed to speak with Hawtin by phone while he was on tour in Spain.

Well, yeah, I use a lot of things. Final Scratch, the Ableton Live software and all sorts of other gadgets. Technology is a very important thing, both for me personally and for the music I create. It's the foundation. Actually the word techno comes precisely from the word technology.

The compatibility problem is of course very important. Getting one thing to fit with another takes a ton of time. I hope that in the future companies will cooperate better, and then the whole setup will go more easily.

Yes, most likely, after some time I'll be completely different; that's exactly why I strive to use all the latest technical novelties, because I love changing to bits. One of my favourite pop artists is David Bowie — can you recall how many times he changed his image?

Something like that; so far I've only changed twice, so there's a lot still ahead.

A small one so far, but it's already turning one. For me that's not the main thing. Though I think the Beatport venture will make a decent basis for my pension. What's far more important to me is to support mp3 as a medium for DJs. I'm by no means against vinyl — mixing records by hand is a pleasure like no other. But mp3 is, above all, very democratic and gives people freedom. Nowadays almost anyone can create their own track and let others hear it. It won't necessarily be a great revelation, but... I often play electronic tracks in different formats; some of them will come out on other media, others will forever remain files.

Of course. All technology is ultimately created by people and, one way or another, bears a human imprint. Robots themselves are merely a human invention. Techno is perhaps very idealistic and expresses people's striving for a perfection that is impossible to attain. That's probably why such music frightens many.

A DJ communicates with the audience not only through music. I really love looking into the eyes of the people who've come to the club.

Hmm. My latest mix, DE9: Transitions

Not quite. After working at a car factory, techno becomes pop music like Britney Spears.

Of course I do. My set is the realest sex there is.

We thank Gala Records and Tatiana Loginova for their help in arranging the interview.