Born and raised in Mexico, Hector’s life was consumed by music coming not only from his mother country but from overseas too.
The lure of beat drew him to seek pastures new in London, where a job at the iconic Phonica record shop was to prove a pivotal moment in his career. It was here that Hector met Anja Schneider and Loco Dice, both of whom would later give him jobs on their esteemed imprints Mobilee and Desolat respectively.
Now, in 2015, Hector has flipped the script to help others by pulling together some of the most talented and underrated producers and DJs and forming the Vatos Locos crew – the crazy ones – who came of age at BPM Festival in Mexico by throwing one of the maddest shows at this mega event. As you can see, Hector’s thirst for playing the biggest clubs and festivals around the world is unrelenting, as is further proven by his latest residency at Marco Carola’s Music On. In addition he performs at festivals like: Time Warp, DEMF, Kazantip, Awakenings, BPM, Hideout and Sunwaves, alongside club sets for Tokyo’s Womb, Space Miami, Fabric London and New York’s Output.
As Hector is a name that gets the nod from all corners of the underground, we felt it was high time to have a chat with the man himself so during last week’s Amsterdam Dance Event we managed to find a few moments between his Dockyard Festival set (where he played as a special guest of Paco Osuna on the Spaniards MindShake stage) and PRJCT Grey (alongside Music On main man, Marco Carola) at the RAI Amsterdam. Here we cover everything from his beginnings in Mexico, transition from professional athlete to DJ, Vatos Locos, Amsterdam, and more.
“I was 17 years old and was like: “What the fuck am I doing here?”
Since we are here at ADE, can you tell me about some of your experiences with the Amsterdam Dance Event? How did you see the event the first time you attended, and how does it compare to now?
I think the first year I played was for Mobilee, which was an afterparty on a boat. Amazing! I never expected the boat to move. I thought we would just stay in one place, but as I was playing people were going crazy since the boat started moving down the canals.
From there, I saw things like Cocoon and all the big brands doing their parties here. Most of all, the conference, talks, and workshops were very interesting to me, since I thought, for example, Sonar was just an excuse to party. Here, it seemed different.
So, you find yourself interested in the non-showcase/party events?
At the time, I was working for Phonica Records, so it was really interesting to hear the digital vs analog conversation. I was there for 3 days. I think this was six years ago.
Have you been coming every year since?
No. I actually missed the last 2 years. This year I am doing 2 gigs, but it is always dependant on my tour schedule. To be honest, I would like to do more stuff at ADE…like a panel. I want to talk about the Mexican scene.
What about the city of Amsterdam? How do you find the city? Do you ever get a chance to hang out around without working?
Amsterdam is one of my favourite cities to go to and experience. Not just the clubs, but you have restaurants, shops, clothes, museums…
…it is definitely a place with its own distinct personality…
…it has that special feeling, for sure…
[gallery_bank type=”images” format=”filmstrip” title=”false” desc=”false” img_in_row=”4″ display=”all” sort_by=”random” animation_effect=”bounce” image_width=”600″ album_title=”false” album_id=”150″]
