Richie Hawtin’s show at Sónar Lisboa was 75‑minutes of immersive, uncompromising techno that treated the festival’s opening night like an underground club rather than a spectacle. In a weekend topped by big names and bold visuals, Hawtin stood out by stripping things back to sound, light and tension, proving why he remains one of electronic music’s most inventive live performers.
Watch the full set here:
A night built for the dancefloor
Sónar Lisboa ’25 took over Pavilhão Carlos Lopes in Portugal from 11–13 April, with a lineup headed by Underworld and Richie Hawtin, underlining the festival’s commitment to both heritage acts and cutting‑edge performance concepts. Hawtin’s DEX EFX X0X was scheduled in prime time at Sónar by Night on the Friday, framed as one of the weekend’s signature shows and a key reason many techno fans chose the Lisbon edition.
Unlike some festival stages dominated by LED walls and choreographed visuals, DEX EFX X0X embraced darkness and minimal staging, turning the cavernous SonarClub into a focused, club‑style environment. The emphasis was on the physicality of sound and the play of tightly controlled lights, aligning with Hawtin’s own description of the project as “more club than concert” and a deliberate move away from image‑driven performances.
The DEX EFX X0X concept
DEX EFX X0X is Hawtin’s latest evolution in live techno performance, a show built around improvisation, real‑time manipulation and a modular approach to DJ technology. Premiered in 2024 at Movement Festival in Detroit and Sónar Barcelona, the concept reimagines the classic “three decks and effects” ethos using modern hardware and software, allowing Hawtin to reshape loops, textures and transitions on the fly rather than deliver a pre‑planned set.
The title nods to traditional DJ “decks,” live “effects” processing and the iconic “X0X” step‑sequencer language of early drum machines, signalling a fusion of old‑school structures with new‑school control. At Sónar Lisboa, this translated into a constantly shifting narrative: long arcs of tension and release, sudden drops into sparse minimalism and surging climaxes built from layered percussion, drones and bass.
Sound, lights and crew behind the show
Behind Hawtin on stage was a tightly coordinated touring crew, underlining how far DEX EFX X0X extends beyond a lone DJ at a mixer. The Lisboa performance credits list dedicated roles for sound engineer Johannes Krämer, lighting designer Diogo Santos, backliner and tour manager Kostas Georgiou, and production manager Jordi Picazos, all working to keep the audio and visual environment locked in step with Hawtin’s improvisations.
The result was an enveloping sound system mix designed to reward the nuances in Hawtin’s layering, from crisp high‑end percussion to rolling low‑end pulses that filled the hall. Lighting operated almost like another instrument: bursts of strobes, colour shifts and beams punctuated key transitions, while long stretches of near‑darkness pushed attention back onto the rhythm and the collective energy on the floor.
A set steeped in contemporary techno
The official recording of the Sónar Lisboa show reveals a detailed tracklist, showcasing Hawtin’s curatorial ear for forward‑leaning techno. Across the 1‑hour‑18‑minute set, he wove together cuts from artists such as Pierce, Dima Gastroler, Hemka, Fernie, Kamen, Electric Rescue, Shlomi Aber, Bw, Drucal, End Train and many more, balancing hypnotic minimal grooves with tougher, industrial‑tinged peaks.
Rather than leaning on nostalgia, the selection focused on current producers and underground labels, reflecting Hawtin’s long‑standing role as a platform for new music. Track IDs scroll through everything from streamlined, linear rollers to more emotional, melodic moments, yet the overarching feel remains tightly controlled, mechanical and relentlessly dancefloor‑oriented.
Hawtin’s ongoing dialogue with Sónar
Hawtin’s relationship with Sónar goes back decades, with the festival often serving as a stage for his most ambitious ideas, from Plastikman’s “EX” live show to the CLOSE project. DEX EFX X0X continues that tradition, positioning Sónar not just as a booking but as a trusted partner for unveiling new performance concepts that blur the lines between DJ set, live act and audiovisual installation.
For Sónar Lisboa, securing this show underlined the festival’s intent to treat Lisbon as more than a satellite edition, giving local and visiting audiences access to the same headline‑level experimentation seen in Barcelona and Detroit. For Hawtin, the night in Lisbon reinforced his status as a techno futurist who still believes the most radical thing a show can do is return the spotlight to the dancefloor, the sound system and the crowd.