Richie Hawtin Composes the Sound of Pradasphere Milan as Plastikman

Richie Hawtin has returned to his Plastikman alias for Prada, creating a new body of work for Pradasphere, the exhibition at Prada Galleria in Milan. Rather than writing one continuous soundtrack, he composed material for each space in the exhibition, treating sound as part of the architecture.

The soundscape changes as visitors move through the building. Each composition responds to the theme and atmosphere of its room and links different periods of Prada's history. "Music is an invisible force that resonates as much with our emotions as with the architecture it inhabits", Hawtin said.

From Shanghai to Milan

The project builds on Pradasphere II in Shanghai in 2023, where Plastikman scored the exhibition with soundscapes that progressed with visitors' movement. Material from that commission was reworked for Milan.

Prada Galleria sits inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, on the site where Fratelli Prada was founded in 1913, and spans eight floors of retail, hospitality, art, history and culture.

Since 2021, Hawtin has scored five Prada runway shows. He also co-conceived Prada Extends, a music and cultural programme that began at Tate Modern in London and has since travelled to Tokyo, Miami and Bangkok.

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Photo: "Richie Hawtin - SMS 2018" by Knöre, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, resized.