Ahead of them playing at FACE this weekend, we catch up with fast rising Manchester duo H2. H2 aka Tez Perez and Danny Hevingham are a fast rising production and live performance duo from Manchester. As well as regularly rocking clubs like Sankeys – where they were former residents – and the Limba night at Joshua Brooks, they have produced some mega dancefloor bombs for the likes of Get Physical, Cecile and recently remixed german tech house specialists Piemont on their Sutreflex label…
Before you read the interview, though, download a new mix from the duo here – sendspace
How did you guys meet and what draws you to each other?
We met up back in 2003 at a house party. It turned out at the time Danny was selling his old belt drive decks to upgrade to some Technics so i bought them off him. We got talking and from that day started going out in the same group of friends. Within 3 months we were djinn together in small bars and the old Sankeys upstairs.
Do you have set roles in the booth and in the studio?
Not really no. 2 tracks on, 2 off is generally the way we set up in the booth with both of us occasionally having a mess around with the effects. Whether it be Traktor, live or dj set, we tend to share our responsibilities when playing. In the studio we both love having hands on. Sometimes we both work away individually on a project then come together at the end to make some tweaks and changes. 2 heads are always better than 1.
How important has Manchester been on fomenting your sound?
I think it’s important to crack any local area wherever it is you’re from. We are quite fortunate to be living in a city like Manchester with some amazing clubs (Sankeys, WHP, Joshua Brooks etc). It’s definitely helped our education, having the opportunity to see and play with some of the very best artists from around the world.
What sort of scenes and sounds first got you into electronic music?
I think we’re both similar with our tastes in music before we met. I used to love going to some of the smaller underground venues in town playing house. My love for house probably stemmed from a little bit of late 90′s trance. Danny was lucky enough to make it to the Hacienda in his early clubbing days & was inspired from there into what we do now.
Are your influences the same now or…?
I think every dj progresses their own sound and taste in music. We struggled when we first started cause everything was house & funk in Manchester. We’ve always liked to play a little bit tougher so we went through a phase playing a lot more electronic and some techno too when we first became Sankeys residents. Our taste has mellowed a lot since then. We love all sub genre’s of house except the banging shit at 140bpm
How did you hook up with Get Physical and Cecille?
Sending out promos. Our manager managed to get some bits in the hands of Marc & Nick Curly (cecille) and within a few days they were intouch for more. Before we knew it they wanted 8 tracks. That kinda helped with Get Physical. Having a name like Cecille on your cv goes along way
I understand you run your own night, Limbo – tell us about that…
We started Limbo back in October 2010. It’s gone so quick. We run it monthly at a small venue in Manchester called Joshua Brooks. It’s one of the most successful nights & venues in Manchester now. We book some great artists including Seuil, Yakine, Butch, Maxxi Soundsystem, Huxley, Anthea & Celler, Carlo Lio, Geddes, Ethyl, M’In, Leon. Our next event is with Jesse Perez [Hot Creations] on May 26th
What else you got coming up?
So much stuff in the studio at the minute. Working on a track as part of the “5 years of Cecille” release, remixes for Nick Curly, Piemont & more stuff for Get Physical. We’ve got a Cecille showcase coming up at Sankeys & we’re heading out to Sonar aswell. Inbetween all that we’re taking a couple of weeks off holiday straight after the gig at FACE
What should people expect at FACE this weekend?
We’re gonna be showcasing off some our very new material. One of 2 of the tracks on the Cecille & Get Physical EP’s might make their way on there aswell. We find it very important to always be working on new stuff & it’s a great opportunity to test your material in live sets. Fingers crossed it works for everyone
What do you like to do outside of music?
We try get to the gym when we can & Danny is spending most of his time at the minute working on his new home. We are spending so much time on our music at the minute though to be honest, as boring as it sounds. The next 6 months are huge for us.
