Pete Tong has announced that he is bringing a new BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix Live series to the US in 2016. The new series kicks off with Richie Hawtin at Los Angeles' Exchange Club on Friday, January 22nd.
>As Resident Advisor points out, although the radio program's sets have been streamed from the U.S. before, this will be the first event set-up specifically for the show. Hawtin will headline with support from Tong and local Californian DJ Lee K. Tickets and more information are available here.
As EDM Sauce reports, Tong said in a statement: "The Essential Mix has always been about championing what's new and next. So much has happened to electronic music in America in the last five years, and much of that change has been born out of LA, and the community of artists and industry professionals that live here. We're incredibly lucky to kick start this American series with Richie, who has been such an influential artist in the story of American techno music."
Details regarding other future events are still forthcoming.
Tong has been at the helm of the now iconic BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix ever since the weekly broadcast went live in 1993. In addition to being a mainstay on the airwaves for over 20 years, he has built a reputation as a force with which to be reckoned in the world of electronic dance music as a producer, DJ and tastemaker with residencies at clubs and on other radio programs throughout the UK, Ibiza and the US.
As presenter and music supervisor of the radio program, the DJ has championed countless once-burgeoning names in dance music and played an important role in many artists' careers. His success as a tastemaker is due at least in part to his ability to balance new tracks with commercial hits, always presenting playlists in the form of a mix.
Listen to Richie Hawtin deliver two hours of techno and deep house for a BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix, below.
