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KW:
Where did the your moniker come from? |
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HH:
Hex was my childhood nickname that I was never able to
shake. I put Hex together with my real first name
(Hector) and VOILA! |
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KW:
It seems you do about one remix/ production a week. How
do you manage the workload, maintain the high quality,
and, at the same time, keep from burning out? |
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HH:
I take as many vacations as possible. LOL! I also spend
a lot of time with family and friends. This is just my
career--it is not my life. I mean I love what I do,
don't get me wrong, It's just not all I do. I really
have no Idea how I do it all. A lot of times I'll be
working at my home studio while my partner (Mac Quayle)
is busing working at the main studio. When you have two
or more studios going at it simultaneously it makes for
some pretty efficient music making. |
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KW:
What is your creative process? i.e. from beginning
concept to finished track. |
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HH:
There is no one definitive way in which I
like to work. It all depends on how a
particular track feels to me. A common scenario
will be like this: I'll start a track at home
coming up with all the drums and percussion and
bass line. Then I'll lay the vocal over top.
Burn the project to CD and dump it to the main
studio where Mac and I will proceed to come up
with the musical elements. We'll then arrange
all the music and mix it. Presto! Finished
track! |
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KW:
One of my recent favorite Hex Hector remix is Christina
Milan "AM to PM" though I like quite a few. I'm a big
fan of your work. Of your incredible catalogue of work,
which productions are your favorite and why? Which were
the most difficult? |
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HH:
I can't speak for the catalogue because to be
frank with you I hate it all. As far as
difficult goes I would have to say that this
Mariah Carey mix we are working on called
"Through The Rain" takes the cake. After a weeks
worth of work we decided to scrap everything we
had done and started from scratch. That was
difficult. I hope it turns out ok. |
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KW: Describe in one word or
sentence the experience of the following
productions: |
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KW: Angie Stone - "I wish I didn't Miss You" |
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HH: "The Backstabbers" The Ojays (Nuff
Said) |
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KW:
Deborah Cox - "Nobody's Supposed to be Here" |
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HH: Question: How do I top "Things Just Ain't The Same"
Answer: It did not happen. |
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KW:
Melanie C - "I Turn to You" |
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HH:
What the hell I am supposed to do with
Sporty Spice! |
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KW:
Pulse - "Lover That You Are" |
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HH:
The best thing I ever did with Soul
Solution. |
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KW: Kim Sozzi - "We Get
Together" |
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HH:
What a doll of a singer. |
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KW:
The industry is saying that music downloading is killing
business. Sometimes your mixes aren't available even to
professionally working DJs but yet they can be readily
attained. How do you feel about you work being
downloaded or bootlegged? |
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HH:
I have mixed reactions about the whole thing. I really
don't care to get into it right now. |
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KW: Which production(s) were
you most disappointed that weren't released? |
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HH:
Sting "Brand New Day" |
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KW: How closely do you get
to work with the big celebs for which you've remixed? |
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HH: Fairly close.
I've done re-sings with: Deborah Cox,
Whitney Houston, J-Lo, Patti Labelle, Paulina Rubio,
NSYNC, Jessica Simpson and many more. |
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KW: You are also a DJ; I
unfortunately missed an opportunity to hear you in
Detroit which, by the way, I heard was stupendous. What
was the best time you had DJ-ing? |
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HH:
Back when I was fifteen spinning in an abandoned
apartment for fifty of my closest friends. That was pure
MAGIC! |
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KW:
What was the worst? |
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HH:
There were a few. None worth mentioning. |
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KW:
Sometimes we hear about DJ rivalry in the Big Apple,
have you encountered any of that or are you pretty tight
with your contemporaries? |
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HH:
I've had no problems with any DJ's here in the city. |
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KW: I remember when I heard
your mix of "Things Just Ain't the Same" by Deborah Cox
and "I'm Leavin'" by Lisa Stansfield. I became an
instant fan and looked forward to playing any Hex Hector
record I could get my hands on. It inspired me to keep
on DJ-ing. Your music inspires people to dance and DJs
to play. Who inspires you? |
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HH:
I'm
inspired all the time by many different things. Not just
dance music. My list will be way too long to mention.
Off the top of my head and in no particular order: MAW,
Basement Jaxx, Joe Claussel, Kerri Chandler, Osulande,
Creamer & K, Angel Moraes, Scumfrog, Sandy Rivera, Spen
& Karizma, Robbie Rivera, Norman Cook, Timbaland, The
Neptunes, Deep Dish...............etc, |
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KW:
What's your all time favorite song? |
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HH:
I love way too many songs to list just one. |
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KW:
Where would you like to see your career go in the next
five years? |
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HH:
More writing, less remixing. |
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KW:
Who do you see as a rising star in the dance music
world? |
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HH: Scumfrog |
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KW:
Where do you see dance music heading? |
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HH:
No clue |
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KW: One last thing and you
know I have to ask, so what is JLo really like? What was
it like being on SNL? |
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HH: Jennifer is just a regular girl from the boogie down
Bronx. She was just on a mission to get to where she is.
SNL was a trip! I had a blast. It brought me back to the
days when I was a Hi Hop DJ cuttin' shit up. Except that
it was LIVE TV. |
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KW: Thank you for taking the time to
answer a couple questions. It has been an incredible
privilege. I can tell you from personal experience that
you are an inspiration. |
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