Hekkla: The 'Shine A Light On' Mix

Music

To heckle someone in the United Kingdom is to interrupt and provoke. However, Hekkla's name does not originate from such origins: taken from the title of an Icelandic volcano with an added 'K' it becomes a much more scenic title for an up and comer. Based in Eindhoven, Hekkla has recently released his debut EP on AM, a record which was supported by the likes of Midland amongst others. His sound sees him capture the nature of the tropics, reinforced by an undercurrent of house and techno which fuels the fire beneath lush soundscapes. We invited him to contribute to our 'Shine A Light On' series and had a chat. Read and listen below:

Who are you and where are you from?

I'm Tim and live in Eindhoven a city in the south of the Netherlands.

Where did the name Hekkla come from?

It's the name of a volcano in Iceland, only with an added K. I think it was in the news at the time I was looking for a new name. It stuck with me.

How would you describe the sound on your recent EP and what were the inspirations behind the track titles?

Most tracks and titles refer to the strange melancholic feeling I had when making them.

It's most apparent in Saturday Morning Sentimentality, which to me evoked a feeling of watching saturday morning cartoons (I used to watch this Dutch show 'Telekids' every saturday morning). It also reminds me of a 'coming of age teen angst love movie' headlined by Alphaville and Cyndi Lauper.

Sunset Strip is a recording of a memory of a place I've never been and have only seen on televison and in movies, the same goes for Memories of Tau Ceti which is a future place on a distant planet that I will never visit. Or am I getting too carried away here?

Where was the mix recorded?

At my house in my small studio.

What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?

Probably the end of the day when the dusk sets in.

What should we be wearing?

Whatever is most comfortable to you

What would be your dream setting to record a mix: Location, system, format?

A small place, club or basement packed with openminded people and a soundsystem with a clear but warm sound…

Which track in the mix is your current favourite?

Jared Wilson – Next New

What’s your favourite recorded mix of all time?

Of all time would be a hard one, because there are just way too many good mixes out there…

I'm now slowly going through the mixes on the Gost Zvuk Records Soundcloud, those are really great. I especially like this hiphop oriented one: (РАДИО ГОСТ: 007)

But the 'back to back' of Peverelist and A Made Up Sound is the mix I keep coming back to… Five hours of pure goodness in my humble opinion:
RA Live 2015.08.01 – Peverelist VS A Made Up Sound, Dekmantel

If you could go back to back with any DJ from throughout history, who would it be and why?

At this moment and if I would have the guts to play back to back with one of them, it would be Jared Wilson or A Made Up Sound.

Both I admire as selectors and producers. They have their own unique sound and seem to make little or no comprise when producing or playing out music.

What was your first DJ set up at home and what is it now?

It has been mostly the same since the beginning. Two Technics 1210 MKII and a shitty Behringer mixer (shame on me). I also got Traktor connected to it so I can play some digital files if I like.

What’s more important, the track you start on or the track you end on?

The last track probably, inbetween it is the bridge to the next artist and in a closing set it's the final to a hopefully an awesome night… Thinking about it though, the first track can also set the bar for the rest of the set… It's all about timing.

What were the first and last records you bought?

The first one was Jurassic 5's Power in Numbers… The last records I bought were in a pretty big batch and on my wantlist for a while now. The highlights are definitely an EP by Moscow Death Disco and Le Chocolat Noir and four R-Zone Ep's