Listen Here: John Heckle

Listen Here: John Heckle

16 April, 2012
by: TomArmstrong

Liverpool via Chicago...

With a style indebted to the acid sounds of Chicago and a musical upbringing in Liverpool's Cavern Club, it's fair to say John Heckle is pushing all the right buttons on the underground scene. His productions straddle the line between house and techno, equally indebted to Chicago and Detroit, with a live show which utilises a range of hardware to create something which has clubbers and pros buzzing with excitement. We caught up with the scouse whizkid to talk analogue equipment and the end of the world.

What was the scene in Liverpool like as you were coming through the ranks? Has it changed much?

I went to techno nights such as Voodoo, Bugged Out, T-Funkshun and Bad Taste Sessions (as well as nights I was involved in such as Alcatraz and Rehab). I guess Liverpool has changed in the sense that there is no real outlet for regular techno any more, at least in the sense I remember it.

Name a party that changed your life.

I think the Sonar Festival in 2006 and the surrounding parties were up there with the best I have seen. I saw Jeff Mills turn up as the 'secret special guest' at the Moog club on the Thursday night and play a disco set. He then played again at the festival proper after Chic and Nile Rogers. It was unreal.

You've played a few London parties recently, which has been the best?

The History of Detroit night was great and Thunder was excellent. The Wavey Tones Warehouse was special also. It is always a great party in London.

Favourite film score/soundtrack?

Mulholland Drive. Badalamenti's title theme and love themes especially. It was the first movie score I bought. 

You recently lost your record bag on the way home from a London gig. Has that experience put you off taking vinyls to gigs?

I didn't have the highest of hopes when I spoke to the police and the girl on the phone didn't know what 'vinyl records' were (she thought they were files or documents)! They were found abandoned at a station en route to Liverpool by all accounts. Maintenance took a while getting the bag to Packex, and luckily enough a girl who works there remembered me speaking to her and recognised the description of the bag. Four months, can't believe my luck. The experience hasn't put me off vinyl – it has taught me to be more wary in the future.

What's your favourite piece of analogue equipment to work with?

The Juno 106. At the moment it needs servicing, as with a lot of gear from that era, so I am sorely missing using it.

Name, in your opinion, an underrated DJ/producer, either currently or from the past. 

I love Female's early productions on Downwards. Relentless machine music, but not too hard (as was a lot of the copycat music that came later). I have a load of old Memory Foundation records that I think are hugely underrated, and some Steve O'Sullivan records that sound like messed-up M-Plant productions that are pretty unknown. I also think a lot of the music coming from Kalamazoo in the '90s is hugely underrated – stuff on Black Nation and Sonic Mind from the likes of D Knox and Chancellor. In terms of music from right now, there is an act called Violence FM which I've just finished a remix for. I've been listening to their other stuff online and some of it is fantastic, but seems to have slipped under the radar somewhat.  

What do you get up to when you're not DJing or producing?

Most of my time is set aside for music. Aside from that, I still work as a barman in Liverpool and I try to see a lot of my family and friends.

A lot of your productions, The Second Son LP especially, have a noticeable time/space travel theme. Are you a bit of a sci-fi bod? 

I guess so, yeah. I like a lot of classic sci-fi flicks from the likes of Fritz Lang, and I own a few Philip K Dick novels. I'm excited about the forthcoming Prometheus movie. 

If the world was ending and we all had to pack our bags and leave, what tune would you play as your last on earth?

Probably something by Bob Dylan or John Lennon.

TomArmstrong