Plastikman—Rewind

Rewind is as much a multi-dimensional art statement as it is a concert documentary

Link: Official Site | Beatport

Did you catch the one-time screening of Pastikman’s film Rewind? It was available on Beatport’s Twitch Channel, December 4, appropriately aired at the witching hour.

Ritchie Hawtin expresses the mystique of the lost film that centers around his mysterious alter ego, “Imagine waking up from an acid trip and trying to put all the pieces back together… ten years later.”

This is not casual viewing. David Terranova spirals us in and out of reality, creating a fascinating and sensual paranoia. I had to turn out the lights to amplify the effect and, at times, it was simply blinding. But you will not look away—not for one second.

This is a film that can be interpreted in various ways even within the same moment. The blurred effect of Hawtin going from his hotel room to becoming Plastikman at the venue is delusional and distorted. The motions are identifiable, but the specifics are indifferent. Is this the perfect depiction of capturing the nerves and emotions of a musician mentally preparing for something beyond anyone’s expectation? Knowing your surroundings without being able to focus on anything in particular is unnerving in this context. Is this replicating a fuzzy memory while relying solely on the act of routine? When did the acid kick in? Minutes go by. We hear conversations without understanding. We see an asian city spinning perspective around Hawtin, viewed from the back seat window of a car. The moments before the show. A crowded audience. The faces could be anyone. We see what Hawtin sees, from the viewpoint of the musician. Both the sound and visual elements only fade into a deep and stark clarity when Plastikman lights up an intro like painting an alien landscape and drops those first beats from Closure.

“I hear everything. . .”

This is also not your typical concert documentary. Terranova bounces around from the viewpoint of someone experiencing the show in the audience to inside the chaos of a bathroom to the effects of an explosive light show and finally into Plastikman’s viewpoint of the decks and effects he modulates. Terranova has brilliantly captured the essence of this otherworldly atmosphere. We may not see and hear everything. The attention span sometimes ventures off. Other times it’s only the music that matters; it’s the only absolute we have during points of this film. The rabbit hole of technical anarchy grows deeper.

Rewind is the perfect statement of pure creativity that goes beyond simple documentative techniques and provides an exhilarating experience. Part music video, part concert footage, and part process film, Rewind is genius.