With the Tenerife-born DJ and producer recently confirmed for the Defected In The House stage at this year’s We Are FTSVL, in addition to a new EP due out on Defected early next month, here Defected’s Ben Lovett caught up with Hector Couto for a long overdue chat.  

If you didn’t catch Hector Couto’s quality house rumble last year then you’re almost certain to this.  In 2014 he landed powerful workouts on Definition: Music (‘Sunday Anthem’) and Leftwing & Kody’s Lost Records (‘I Believe’, ‘Knight Riders’), as well as ably remixing Cuartero & wAFF track ‘Trouble In Paradise’ and Josh Butler’s supremely nostalgic ‘Take That’.  The latter was actually a hit on Couto’s own label Roush, which last year cemented its impressive fledgling reputation (it only launched in late 2013) with a sequence of releases by the likes of Julien Sandre, Rich Wakley and Couto himself (‘People Talk’).  Roush, moulded in the sonic image of its founder, has further fuelled his breathtaking rise.


Couto’s ascent is built squarely upon innovation – he is unafraid to experiment against the relentless tide of ‘trend’ – and work ethic.  His uniquely raw house sound has cut through, again and again, in a way that many electronic newcomers can only dream of.  But it isn’t simply the studio.  Hector Couto is also highly active as a DJ, rough ‘n’ ready sets last year in Italy, Germany, Argentina, Ibiza (Tribal Sessions at Sankeys) and the UK building towards his towering appearance at Defected In The House’s NYE Ministry extravaganza – a game-changing gig if ever there was one.

Whilst the last few months have been sensational for Couto, it’s fair to say that they’ve been coming for quite some time.  Couto started DJing at the age of 21, the promise of early shows with friends gradually leading to larger, international dancefloors.  His first EP, 2009’s ‘Primera Cosa’, was an edgy tech-house collaboration with Luca M that would boldly prompt funky, driving EPs for Soulman, Brise and local label Pura Music.  Since 2012, Couto’s output has appeared on Tube & Berger’s Kittball and, alongside Darius Syrossian, on both Hot Creations (the immense ‘Who’s The Douche?’, 2013) and Definition (‘Here We Come’, 2013).  There have been remixes, too, for B Pitch Control and Noir.

Back to the future, Couto is due to release a new EP, Coming Back 10 June and will further align himself with the label by playing several of its major festival dates this summer, everywhere from We Are FSTVL in Essex to Groovefest in the Dominican Republic.  Roush continues to fire brightly and there’s much more besides in terms of club and studio.  This year should prove Couto’s loudest yet – and he’s just swung by Defected HQ to give us the definitive lowdown....

Hector, what have you been up to this month?

Making music in my home studio in Tenerife.... I’ve been finishing new projects and playing in a few festivals, and recently I toured in South America, so May has been great so far!

Tell us about your forthcoming EP…

My next release is via Defected, called ‘Coming Back’. It is clearly influenced by the early, old-school sound. I produced three underground house tracks, really focused on the club, and I’m really happy with the results. I can’t wait to release these tracks; they’ll be coming late next month.


You recently played Amsterdam at the start of Defected’s spring-summer festival schedule....

I am. And I was very happy with the Amsterdam crowd. I played at AIR, where the atmosphere was fantastic. The people reacted perfectly to my records, so I hope to come back soon.

And We Are FSTVL is just on the horizon...

Both are fairly new events but I’ve played before at We Are FSTVL and the experience...well, it was too good. The scale of the event is impressive. I have high expectations on my return to this gig, and to be playing with the Defected crew this time round. 


How do you approach a festival performance as opposed to a club one?

I think one of the key differences in clubs is that you can be more personal with your sound. At festivals, with those huge crowds, you have to be more selective with the music.

We spoke last year about your studio sound being a ‘personal’ one – rooted to your Tenerife upbringing. Has it changed in any way over the past 12 months?

Yes...my sound has grown really quickly this year because it was getting too personal. I started experimenting with new machines and new studio tools and now, I’m really happy with where my sound has gone. Of course, I still feel my musical roots in every new project I produce, so that makes me feel content. My sound has grown quickly but it is still ‘my’ sound.

Many of the bass music scene’s current leading lights hail you as an inspiration – do you consider yourself, first and foremost, a bass warrior?

I don’t think that my music only focuses on bass-lines or bass sounds. My productions are always charged with plenty of different elements, like the chords, the synths, vocals and old samples. But, yes, [Couto grins] a good bass can be the soul of a track.


What inspires you to record music?

I really get inspired when I listen to other artists that I like; also whilst travelling between gigs and seeing the reaction of people to my music. Last year was definitely one of the best of my career so far – but not only in terms of the music. I also grew personally last year, and all of that growth is represented in the sound I’m producing now.

We can’t get away with not mentioning Ibiza this summer Hector. Plans?

I’m playing Tuesday nights for Together at Amnesia. I’m part of Defected In The House’s line-up on the Terrace . What can I say? Amnesia is one of the world’s top clubs and if you mix that with Defected then you’ve got the perfect formula. For me, playing again this year at Together with a lot of great artists makes me feel so happy. Last year, I played the closing party in October with my friend Cuartero [the pair played ‘back to back’ as part of a line-up also including Carl Craig, Maceo Plex, Seth Troxler and Eats Everything] and that was awesome. I’m so, so happy to be back.

Anything to say on Roush’s plans in 2015?

As I said at the end of last year, my partner Antonio [Melo] and I have now been working very hard to entertain everyone with a second amazing year for Roush. 2015 has already seen strong releases from some of our artists like DZNB [London-based duo Davide Zeta and Claude Basile], Jose Armas [also hailing from Tenerife], Montel, Darius Syrossian and, recently, Mirko Di Florio [the Italian, presenting the bouncy, off-kilter house charms of  EP ‘Head Up’]. There are more big releases to come, which we will share when we’re ready. We want to keep surprising our audience, so keep listening!

Finally, where do you want to be come 2020?

Very simply, I want to be able to keep doing what I love, and be happy. That’s all I need....

Words: Ben Lovett


Coming Back EP is out 08 June on Defected Records

Hector Couto plays for Defected In The House at We Are FSTVL and Amnesia Ibiza in the coming weeks – full event schedule and tickets here