Blurring the Boundaries: DJ John Heckle in interview

A cursory glance over the discography of John Heckle, festooned as it may be with the names of quality labels such as Mathematics and Creme Organization, might not quite tell the full story of the Liverpudlian producer’s path in electronic music. DJing at local clubnights from the tender age of 15, Heckle gradually earned a name for himself with his upfront forays through techno, eventually evolving his repertoire to incorporate a third turntable, before adding Roland drum machines into the mix in the style of hero Jeff Mills. Before long, John had landed himself a record release, as Hek, on Birmingham techno label RSB – this feat achieved way before he was legally allowed to attend clubnights, let alone take charge of them.

Continuing to evolve as a DJ, and connecting with a broader range of influences all the time, Heckle’s production career really kicked off in 2010 with his first release under his own name, a four track stormer entitled Life On Titan, released on Jamal Moss’s influential Mathematics Recordings. Since then, Heckle has continued to produce machine music of the richest kind, while continually devloping his hardware-driven live sets.

This month sees the release of John’s second album, this time through Tabernacle Records, a label with whom John has maintained close ties throughout the early part of his career. Desolate Figures, a masterful confluence of influences from house to italo disco, is a defiant statement against uniformity in electronic music and, while there are clear nods in the direction of Chicago and Detroit (see Death of a Spaceman for a blistering ode to the latter), the album ultimately ploughs its own furrow and succeeds as a result.

The album format often feels incompatible with electronic music, particularly house and techno. Yet Desolate Figures is one of those records that feels solid throughout, while also showing a fair bit of variety. Do you approach producing albums in a different way than you would with EPs?
Not really, no. It’s the same routine in that it’s just making a collection of tracks, regardless of the format. It’s usually down to the label to decide how to fit which tracks together coherently. I’m happy to keep recording until there’s enough pieces fit for any project. I think concentrating too much on whether tracks are coherent with one another can narrow the scope of a project.

There’s a bit of a sci-fi sensibility to some of the tracks. The closing moments of Inhuman Nature in particular have that great old school synth sound to them and there are a few other moments which have an epic film score kind of feel. Was this intended at all?
Again no, it’s usually a case of just playing around with a few ideas until something fits. You mentioned Inhuman Nature; well the skitty melody was something I laid out a while ago, pretty much at random – hitting a bunch of keys whilst recording. I’d discarded and forgotten about it because I couldn’t make a track fit around it at the time. I found it again by accident when recording the album, and those synth lines followed naturally. If I’d have recorded the album at a different time then who knows, the track could have sounded entirely different.

Then there’s Frankenstein’s Sweet Nectar and Something For Your Distorted Mind which are very vibrant, almost psychedelic journeys beyond the boundaries of house and techno. They seem to employ different sounds and follow a looser structure, making them hard to pin down to a particular genre. Are you conscious of blurring the lines when you produce tracks or do things form more accidentally?
Yeah, I’d like to think there’s a bit more going on than just ‘techno’ or ‘house’. Escaping those genre boundaries occasionally opens up a whole other world of possibilities - not that there’s much wrong with sticking to those genres. I don’t think those tracks are anything particularly new though; there are lots of influences in there, we’re at a stage in music where pretty much everything has been covered before. It’s a matter of taking all those influences and combining them in a way that isn’t too stale or recognisable.

As is always the case with your productions, the album has that full-bodied hardware sound to it. Are you still using hardware exclusively? Are you ever tempted to change it up, for convenience or whatever?
Yeah, I’m using hardware exclusively in terms of actually creating the music. I have audio capture software on my PC to record tracks into - that and a zoom recorder. Software isn't something I'd say I'd never use again; there are obvious advantages to using it, mostly in terms of mixing sounds and being able to go back and edit tracks, but mostly I don’t know what the hell I’m doing with music software. At the end of the day, if it serves a purpose then it serves a purpose. It's all about whether or not something can produce the sounds you want to make. 

Can you tell us a bit about your relationship with Tabernacle records? I know you go back a long way with them?
Yeah, they’re close friends. I had my first gig outside of England with them when I was nineteen I think, and we’ve kept in touch since. I love working with them, ever since the first release. It’s one of the most forward-thinking labels out there. 

As well as through the records you’ve released, you’ve developed a fine reputation for performance, with the decks and drum machine sets and your live shows. How do you approach getting the right balance between playing out and working in the studio? What comes more naturally?
Yeah, I try to find the time to get as much recording done through the week and around gigs. In terms of what comes more naturally, for the most part I record my tracks as I would if I were doing a live set somewhere, so they both go hand in hand. Both are always pretty rough and ready; more emphasis on energy and making the tracks interesting, rather than worrying about progression or sound-mixing (sometimes beneficial, sometimes not so). In terms of DJing, I have been doing it now for about 10 years, almost half my life, so it comes more naturally than most things. What's more natural than playing the music you like?

Finally, what do you have planned beyond the release of the album? I understand there may be more on the way via Mathematics?
There are EPs on Tabernacle and MOS and a single on Altered Moods all due soon, plus a bunch of other projects I’m working on. I always have Mathematics in mind when making records, particularly Jamal’s music, so hopefully there’ll be something in the pipeline in the future.