Hektor: Rituals | 4ZZZ Brisbane 102.1FM

- I’m not overly familiar with Melbourne producer, Hektor. Well, he only has a one-hundred-and-fifty FB likes. I hope, however, that his new EP, Rituals, makes him a more memorable figure when it comes to booking Australia’s dance circuit. I don’t think he’s come up through the dance scene, but rather, as some of the best producers do, he benefits from a classical music education and beyond that, some kind of career doing soundtrack music - though I don’t, to be honest, know what. You might expect somebody from that field to have a predilection for repetitive sounds that are the fodder of so much dance music, but that’s not the case. Hektor’s Rituals really makes its longform cuts work for the money, packing stylistic turns and exciting developments.

Hektor brings an overt technicality to his productions, which could be a blessing or a curse, but it informs an innate musicality which, when the two are combined, is a pleasure to listen to. What exactly are we listening to, anyway? Well, it’s not very contemporary. No trap-bangers here, but rather a dip back into the late-'90s. It made me think: most of the ‘90’s electronic revivalism I’ve heard in the last few years has been (a most welcome) celebration of UK-garage and two-step, or part of that seemingly endless flow of decidedly mixed-quality IDM. Rituals does indulge in some syncopated rhythms and weird sounds, but it doesn’t encroach on either of those genres.

Instead this is closer to the dancefloor stylings of folks like Leftfield, Mekon or Crystal Method. Although it’s not as unsubtle as most big beat of the era and it’s certainly not Chemical Brothers, it’s easily loud enough to qualify for the genre, but pursues a tasteful, through-composed quality, rather than aiming for the bombastic anthems favoured by so many radio-friendly acts back then. In that way, it reminds me of the last five-years-or-so work of Jon Hopkins, who also favours subtle pastiches of yesterday’s sounds. However -and forgive this obscure reference- I’m most reminded of late-’90’s Melbourne producers Frontside who I came to through their epic number, Dammerung; look that one up if you want to hear more like Hektor.

Like an EP should, it opens with its big single, syncopated toms and then an infectious synth-riff (if you’re wondering where the Dammerung idea came to me, it’s there). Combine it with a frisky shaker and that’d be enough for a cut, but it isn’t enough for Hektor. He stops everything but the background ambience and then builds it up again using the same instrumentation but in an even louder, lusher form, before combining all the elements and a new, soaring treble synth line for a huge finish.

Frank is in it for the (slightly) longer haul and features a slow, considered build, swapping synth and snares and other sounds in and out. The rhythms are still more syncopated and occasionally verge on two-step or even drum’n’bass, but always shy away from a breakout moment, opting instead to luxuriate in the ever warmer layering of sounds. Interlude does a similar thing but with a simpler, synthwave arpeggiation, phasing through various acid synth sounds. Unlike the name suggests, however, the track circles out into ever wider melodic patterns before jumping into a booming, atmospheric section, building to a peak and then recapitulating.

If Monday has been the largest attention-grabber so far, Hektor knows the value of a big finish. Joy Ride kicks off with stupendously warm pads. I guess stealing cars is best done with a huff of amyl? The beats that crash in are huge and the very broad, heavy bass make this cut a thoroughly maximalist affair, as a sweet but stuttering vocal sample flies across the top. There’s a slight distortion that makes this almost synthgaze. Hektor builds the ambient warmth to ever greater temperatures and works it into a second section, with a beat large enough to shake the spine in a very pleasurable manner. The beats are so hazy in the thick bass texture that -I’m not sure- but I think they may be gently phasing through rhythmic patterns in a Steve Reich manner. Not that it needs anything more: this is a truly impressive creation that would kill it on the dancefloor, or, as Hektor himself recommends, thundering out of a set of headphones at home.

Apparently this thirty minutes of extremely well-thought-out dance is the work of four years for Hektor, which is a shame, because I wonder how long we’ll have to wait to hear more of this calibre. Make no mistake, I’ve heard some good stuff this year and this is up there with the best. Am I just lost in the intense heat and pulverising bass? I don’t know, you should have a listen for yourself.

- Chris Cobcroft.
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