Merseyside DJ, producer and live performer John Heckle began his musical life at the age of 15, rapidly building reputation through playing various local club nights. In turn, just a year later, followed a debut studio release, as alias Hek, on Birmingham’s RSB imprint – Heckle’s techno hero Regis, an impressive admirer, had helped pave the way. Here, Defected's Ben Lovett speaks to Heckle in the wake of his latest, extremely well-recieved LP.
John Heckle, still in his early twenties, has already turned the techno rulebook sharply and smartly on its head. His 2011 debut album, Second Son, stole favourable reviews thanks to its chaotic splice of bruising drums, lush synths and unpredictable arrangements across the genres of techno, house and electro – a thrilling paradox of razor-edge and hazy beauty. Around that, various assertive singles and EPs have landed on real record labels such as Mathematics (home to Heckle’s first eponymous, award-winning release, Life On Titan, 2010, as well as Second Son), Creme Organization and Tabernacle; not forgetting his other early manoeuvrings as Hek between 2007-08.
Tabernacle is, of course, home to Heckle’s long-awaited sophomore album Desolate Figures, released this month. It is, he feels, a step up. “Well there’s a wider range of gear involved, a lot of gear that I would have liked to have used for earlier works, but didn’t have the means to get my hands on,” he explains. “I feel that the new album is very much a progression from the last, whilst keeping elements of that original aesthetic.”
He is, it follows, more than happy with the end result – the ‘way’ has never been more his own, or so free-ranging. “Andrew [Ingram] from Tabernacle asked me [about doing a second album] over a pint in Paris” he casually begins. “It was then over a year before I had all other projects out the way so I could concentrate fully on a new album. Yeah, I’m very happy with the end result; all the lads from Tabernacle pretty much gave me free reign with it. We have very similar tastes in electronic music, so they more often than not like what I send them – so it was a very co-operative process making and curating the album.”
Desolate Figures, a vinyl and digital-only release, spans just eight tracks but therein lies plenty of room for Heckle to drive muscular beats under everything from shimmering Italo-disco (Frankenstein’s Sweet Nectar) to robo-jack paranoia (Crazy Metal) via funky, aquatic meander (Loves Lies), deliciously keyed space-tech-jazz (Something For Your Distorted Mind) and sludgy yet mesmeric synth-house (Power Of Two). It’s a pumped yet versatile opus shedding light on some of the deepest, darkest, most creative recesses of Heckle’s indescribable music mind. He is far more, these days, than techno and yet he remains happy with that association.
“Techno was the first music I loved; the first music I fully immersed myself in, and is still my favourite music now, so it’s an honour to be spoken in the same breath as the genre” he suggests. “Having said that, there was a period there in the mid-2000s where I took a step back from it. It got very stale for a few years (I thought so anyway...), so I dug further into other genres of music, which I guess is why there’s a wider range of stuff I like to play nowadays. I feel like I’m having a bit of a renaissance with techno at the moment though, there’s a lot of exciting stuff coming out again, and I’ve been very enthusiastic of late about digging through my old techno. There’s still no better feeling than seeing a bunch of people lose their heads to some hard-as-nails techno.”
Heckle built upon his earliest local gigs with a residency at Lemon Lounge’s cult Rehab party in Liverpool. The night avoided big name guests and promoted free entry, a wide variety of savvy revellers thus travelling the length and breadth of England just to make it. Rehab massively amplified Heckle’s profile, leading to countless bookings around the country and a gradually expanding, evolving show that incorporated Roland drum machines, three turntables and additional live elements.
Today, Heckle has played over 20 countries around the world and still his time on the road is lengthening. Has he any plans to further upgrade his live credentials? “I haven’t actually done three turntables like I used to for a while,” he confesses, “though I do still throw a third track over every now and then. I used to do whole sets with at least two tracks playing at all times, but now playing more eclectic sets it’s a lot more difficult, and actually suits the three-deck format a lot less. Machine-wise, I’m always playing around with what drum machines and effects I take with me to gigs.”
Travel to Italy has become a particularly inspiring part of Heckle’s 2013. “I’ve really loved going over to Italy to play” he enthuses. “Before last November, I’d never played there, and now I think I have played more different cities there than in England! The crowds are always very engaged over there, yeah, always great to see. And still two of my favourite places to play are Scotland and Ireland – I’ve had a few shows there this year...the crowds are absolutely nuts!”
Such scenes would appear to compliment Heckle’s general ‘day-to-day’ as a music-maker. Nothing, in his world, is ever straightforward. “There’s at least a few days a week when wires and boxes are strewn around the place to such an extent that it makes it difficult to move around” he says. “Then another couple of days tidying it all up and preparing for the weekend – it’s a never ending cycle!”
Right now, in fact, Heckle’s studio – his bedroom – is all over the shop. “I ran out of surface space recently” he laughs, “and as we’re speaking I can see my Kawai [keyboard] on the floor covered by a duvet, my Poly61 [Korg synthesizer] and Waldorf [another synthesizer] stacked on top of a bunch of records, my JoMox [MIDI equipment] shoved in an open drawer, and my decks hidden away in the corner behind a fat Doepher sequencer. I guess you can say it’s cosy...and probably a fire hazard, but I’m in my element as it is now. My favourite bit of gear is probably the PolySix [Korg synthesizer] – she’s king of the castle on a double keyboard stand.”
In terms of how Heckle actually wields his littered bedroom kit, it’s all about natural flow and a resistance of routine. “It depends on the day, I guess. I’d say it’s best finding the right balance” he argues. “Too much consideration in a track and it shows in it’s lack of humanity; too little, and it can sound shit. But as I say, it all depends on the situation.”
Heckle moved to Liverpool this summer. Before that, he was based on the Wirral (south of the River Mersey, where he was born) for a couple of years. The change has been significant in more ways than one; Liverpool’s hugely resurgent electronic scene has inspired but also distracted. “The Wirral was quiet, so I got a lot of work done” he reflects. “Living in Liverpool is less cut off, so it’s sometimes more difficult to find the time to get stuck in. But I do find myself more enthusiastic about the whole [music] process while living on this side of the water.”
That enthusiasm definitely extends to the wider electronic world around him. “Obviously there are stagnant and saturated corners of electronic music. For instance, if I hear the phrase ‘deep house’ again, I’ll probably bite somebody’s head off” he asserts, part-acknowledging the tornado-like swirl of genre obsessions within clubland’s current non-stop, perpetually name-checked, digital ecosystem. “But as I say, I’m getting excited about techno again...there’s lots of very exciting stuff coming out.”
Does Heckle have a view on the contemporary scene’s increased reliance on technology? Is hard and software – and their ever evolving combination – inhibiting the purest arts of music creation? “There are schools that teach music software and such now aren’t there?” he counter questions. “If that isn’t enough to stagnate the art then I don’t know what is. I don’t think electronic music (at least in the sense that I know it) should be something taught in such a way; there’s surely no right or wrong way of doing it. Methods should be challenged and mistakes should be made in order for the music to evolve. I don’t even think it takes any real talent as such...just patience, passion and trial-and-error. That’s my two cents....”
Many would disagree that Heckle’s whip-smart sound is anything other than talent (and passion)-motivated but don’t expect him to give the debate much further thought. “I don’t like to think about things like that too much” he offers. “I guess that can put imaginary pressure on yourself to try and change something. I would say that I’m always learning, so the music must always be evolving as a result. Ultimately, I’d rather put my mind to the music itself, rather than the analysis of it.”
In the short-term, Heckle simply wants to carry on “doing what I’m doing and to have a good time with it”. His daily motivation comes, he says, from anything and everything – films, people, stories, DJs. Not to mention the regular reflecting that he is working with the music that he loves. His longer-term goals are, understandably, more vague but Heckle has been considering a radical new pseudonym for dropping radically different sounds. “It would be exciting to try a whole new project eventually” he concludes. “I’ve loved recording under my own name for the last four years or so, but after this second album I might try my hand at something completely new. I guess there’s only so far you can take a particular sound and aesthetic. It’d be exciting to try a 180 and do something different. Who knows?”
John Heckle certainly does....
Words: Ben Lovett
John Heckle’s new album, Desolate Figures, is out new on Tabernacle Records (UK).
