The 2014 Ibiza season has been very good to Hector; this year has seen him play alongside the likes of DJ royalty Carl Cox and Marco Carola… who wouldn't be chuffed to pieces about that?
If you haven't heard of the Mexican techno treasure, it's only a matter of time before you do. One of dance music's most exciting up-and-comers, Hector is already a member of Loco Dice's cool-as-a-cucumber Desolat crew and is rapidly becoming a true underground wonder in his own right thanks to his solid techno and house set selections. Those of you who hit the Balearic shores last summer may have been lucky enough to catch him at Used and Abused at Ushuaïa or tINI & the Gang's exclusive beach parties. But this year the rising star is cranking it up a few notches; most notably debuting at one of the island's most coveted tech nights (can you guess which one it is yet? Here's a clue - he just played...)
Hector took to the turntables at the early age of sixteen, inspired by house heavyweights Carl Craig and Moodyman. Originally from Guadalajara in Mexico, he scored a DJ residency with Bar Americas (one of Mexico's premier clubs dontchaknow) before heading over to London where the city's flourishing music scene enticed him in. A stint spinning in Ibiza led to a friendship with Simon Rigg, boss of Phonica Records which is THE hub of London's house and techno community. Upon his return to the UK, Hector started working at the Soho store and it wasn't long before his solid music knowledge, talent and passion saw him become one of the shop's most familiar faces, leading him to become the first producer to launch Phonica's in-house label in 2009. Nice work, Hector!
VIDEO | A younger looking Hector talks about one of the major musical influences in his life, London's Phonica record store.
With this summer spent rubbing shoulders and sharing decks with the top names on Isla Blanca, he's learnt a lot from his experienced peers. "Every time I play back to back or alongside I like to take something from each artist as everyone's skills and music tastes vary a lot.” Warming up for techno titans at Space and Amnesia, Hector has been on the bill for the two biggies Carl Cox's Music Is Revolution and Music On not once but twice. When quizzed about how he feels being the starter for the main course he explains there's a skill to building a warm-up set allowing a smooth continuation that steadily increases in pace as the club fills up. “I feel as an artist it's my job to predict the flow of the night and capture the right moments for the crowd, whether that be warming up or closing.” Is it a case of holding back harder tracks so the resident DJ has something to go from? “The warm up set is just as important [as the main set] as it sets the mood; it's not holding back, it's setting an atmosphere so the next act will be comfortable coming on when it's their time to take over.” It's Hector's well-rounded track choices that gained him the double-whammy at Amnesia's Terrace. Tactfully side-stepping the age old, 'who's your favourite DJ to play alongside' question, Hector adds “I really enjoyed warming up for Marco Carola this year at my two Music On dates. It's one of my favourite nights on the island.”
The White Isle has not been the only destination to have the pleasure of Hector's energy fuelled and soul driven sets. The globe-trotter has ticked off most of Europe, New York and Florida this summer as well as gigs at Sunwaves Festival and Hideout in Croatia. With so much speculation about festivals being the new holiday destination for music-savvy fans, Hector weighed in on the debate singing the island's praises. “I think Ibiza will always be consistent; it has innovative new things happening to keep people interested and always wanting to come back. There are always new people exploring the island too and there seems to be something for everyone.”
MUSIC | Natahan Borato's take on Hector's originla, released on September 1st.
And with the two dates with Italian supremo Carola under his belt, the momentum has picked up in Hector's career with the bookings rolling in. “I'm feeling really happy with the gigs and I have been lucky enough to travel to lots of new places" Hector says, “I just keep on working, and I have a lot of new music coming up so it's all an exciting time for me at the minute". It's clear that he holds a very strong work ethic and things show no signs of slowing down for the Mexican-born DJ. No doubt techno fans will recall his remix of Bounce To The Beat by Todd Terry but Hector's own EP, The Daggers, is set for release in October on Overall Music, the label owned by none other than underground electro pioneers Javier Carballo and Hanfry Martinez. “I've been a fan of their music for a long time. I went to the Canary Islands to play for their party, we became really close friends and since then we have been exchanging music and ideas. One day we decided to work on some music together and this is the result! We love vinyl so for this particular project we decided to make a vinyl only release.” The record features remixes by Livio & Roby and fellow Desolat favourite Guti.
MUSIC | Stream a great mix from Hector, with track 6 being a forthcoming release, 'The Daggers'.
With Ibiza being one of the best places to discover up-and-coming artists and many things in the pipeline for the techno talent, Hector is no doubt securing himself a place as part of the next generation of DJs and producers who are solidly wading into the depths of the techno scene. We guarantee this is a name to watch and listen out for.
WORDS | Francesca Evans
