Plastikman in London, a review for www.residentadvisor.net

It was the second day of advent when Richie Hawtin donned his Plastikman guise for a slot at Brixton Academy alongside Magda, Gaiser and Ambivalent. The second night of a UK tour covering only London, Manchester and Glasgow had sold out in the weeks prior, meaning that energy in the Academy was high long before the Minus boss appeared on stage.

Upon arriving at Brixton Academy, Minus affiliate Ambivalent was looking miniscule behind his setup on the colossal stage in front of a large black curtain, playing an energetic warm-up set that threw listeners into raw techno territory from the inset. The crowd, which was rapidly growing in size, consisted of older techno lovers undoubtedly coming out of retirement to see the '90s hero and younger kids from across London, Europe and beyond. It was clear that the crowd required no real warm-up as Ambivalent smashed his way through a series of his own releases including his shoulder-shaking collaboration with Alexi Delano, "Lights Down," as the excitement visibly fizzed through the mass of bodies congregated on Brixton Academy's sloping floor.

Finishing on a bass-heavy mash-up of two tracks by Skudge and Titonton Duvante, it was then time for Gaiser to take to the stage. The producer is renowned for his subtle performances, and his subdued drum patterns and slight melodies seemed like a massive thud to earth after the electricity of Ambivalent. It was, however, programmed perfectly to guarantee maximum impact when Plastikman made his appearance.

After what seemed like a long 20 minutes, the stage went black and silent, causing the crowd to increase their enthusiasm to deafening cheering and stamping of feet. The words "I am the voice inside your head" boomed across the space as the drapes dropped to reveal a semi-circular cage with Hawtin and his equipment inside. Gradually, grumbling beats started and the arc was taken over by floor to ceiling projections. The headliner was controlling all of the music live, as well as the lighting and crystal clear visuals reminiscent of acid trips and strange dreams that were taking over the front of the cage, occasionally flashing to show a silhouette of Hawtin hunched over his equipment.

Playing a range of his earlier releases with occasional teasing riffs of "Spastik" appearing throughout, the music bounced off the high ceilings and finally crescendoed as he emerged from his cage to thrash out the record in full. By that point, Brixton Academy was shaking from the snares as well as the audience's fervent reaction. Now looking surprisingly small after such an epic show, Plastikman acknowledged his audience's frenzied cheers before disappearing and leaving the space empty for Magda to take the final slot of the evening.

The crowd hollered and whooped as her beats boomed out across the space once more, but the mood quickly dropped to typical head-down late night Minus terrain, with deepness that bordered on flat in places. The crowd still managed to maintain some enthusiasm for the final hour, however, the dip in the energy was palpable. That was to be expected really: There's not much you can do to follow up one of techno's most beloved live acts.