Hector Fonseca

Written by Scott Kearnan

"I've been on the road for 3 weeks," says Fonseca, stealing a few seconds of phone time on a cab ride from the airport back to his home in New York City. He's coming off three cities in the last week alone-Vancouver, Houston and Montreal-and there are plenty more on the way. "I made it home one day during that time," he says of his recent travels. "I spent it doing laundry!"

So much for the glamorous life of a DJ. If it helps, the music meister manhandling his Calvin's is a former model. It's part of the matrix that makes up Fonseca: face of a coverboy, smoldering sex appeal of a Boriqua, brains of a university grad, and skills of a spin jockey.

Well before he became one of the hottest (musically and physically) members of the global club scene, Fonseca grew up just eight miles west of New York City. He could see the Empire State Building from his window while growing up. Clifton, N.J., may be just across the Hudson River, but it's a world away from the Big City. Little did the future music star realize that his long-shot view of the Manhattan skyline would soon be replaced by strobe lights of major clubs and circuit events.

Fonseca's mom adored Michael Jackson and Marvin Gaye as well as Puerto Rican salsa. "When she hears my music she always likes the Tribal best," he says. "Must be the Latin beat."

Fonseca started picking up his DJ craft working with friends. Eventually, he met Peter Rauhofer. "I got to the point where I was good enough to play for him," Fonseca says. "He asked me to do some mixes for him, and we started working more and more together."

Doing it on his own seems to come easily to Fonseca. Besides the handsome face and pitch perfect ear for a pulsing beat, he's also an entrepreneur and a self-trained musician who has immersed himself in hands-on learning.

"I've never had keyboard or music lessons," says Fonseca, who began finding his way around a DJ booth under the tutelage of a friend. Fonseca decided early on to focus his attention on remixing and production work in addition to traditional DJ skills. Rauhofer reinforced that comprehensive approach. The Austrian maestro of the hard beats noticed Fonseca's work early on and turned the talented up-and-comer into his protégé.

Rauhofer became a mentor and his label, *69, produced Fonseca's compilation CDs. Learning from one of his idols was a major coup, he now believes. Once signed to *69, he quickly rose to the ranks of in-demand DJ producers.

Globe-trotting with cross-cultural beats

A globetrotting, one, too. Fonseca might have come of age in the hothouse of the New York club scene, but he believes his style transcends a "New York" mixing style. Besides, he adds, the contemporary gay dance scene has become international in scope, incorporating styles from diverse cultures.

"The scene has become much more international," says Fonseca. He understands that a well-worn passport is as vital to playing high-profile events as a crate of thumping tracks-especially when it comes to the global gay scene. "Every market has its own thing," says Fonseca. "But I've found that the gay scene still has a certain appeal that goes beyond borders."

Still, Fonseca's ability to blend styles from different markets is evident in the trademark genre he helped define.

While it takes most DJs a whole career to establish a signature approach, Fonseca's recognizable sound - dubbed Electribal - has already caught fire with the same kind of industry veterans that the young artist once idolized himself.

"Every time I time I travel, I get turned on to something new," explains Fonseca. "Being in New York, naturally the idea was to have that kind of New York power shit" in the sound, he explains. "But when I was in France, I started to experiment with Electrohouse cause it was so big there. I started mixing the two [styles] together. It feels good knowing that I was one of the first to do it."

Rauhofer remains an inspiration. "I realized that part of his success, and why I loved a lot of his work, was because he immersed himself in production and oversaw absolutely everything he did," says Fonseca of his *69 boss.

As for Fonseca, he tries to micromanage every aspect of his work, from composition to keyboards to mixing. "It's much more gratifying, and I feel like people respect it more," he says. "No one can ever say that I had help from someone else. It feels better knowing that when something is done, it's 100 percent me."

Star-turn remixing and *69 CDs

His hard work has already parlayed its way into high-profile remixing projects, from his take on Jahkey B's "Heartattack" in 2004 (the anthem that really kick started his ascent up the DJ ranks), to work for Beyoncé, Kelis and Missy Elliot. Among his upcoming projects is "NY Club Anthems Vol. 3," Fonseca's follow-up to his last hugely successful entry in *69's popular compilation series.

"I'm trying to change up the sound for this CD," says Fonseca when comparing it to his work on Vol. 2. "I brought in some new keyboards, I'm experimenting with new sounds, and I'm looking to put one or two unique tracks on there that still have my sounds-but with a new twist." He won't give the dish on specific tracks except for a previously unreleased mix for fellow *69 artist Suzanne Palmer.

Looking to the future, expect Fonseca to focus more of his time on original production work. He already has two tracks finished for his upcoming artist album, and is working with some new, emerging vocalists to wrap up the remainder, including a sexy, sassy track tentatively titled "Addictive."

"It's a girl talking about being so amazing that she's addictive," says Fonseca with a laugh. "Basically, she's saying you'll need rehab after an encounter with her!" She sounds like our kind of gal.

While waiting on the compilation, original album, and remix work, Fonseca fans can to go HectorFonseca.com to scout out his next appearances. He promises you'll like what you hear.

"The feedback I get from kids who go to these parties is that they're sick of the same stuff, over and over again," says Fonseca. "I don't want to mention certain artist names, but there are certain songs that are just staples of the average circuit DJ at the typical circuit party... but a lot of time people in my younger generation want to hear something new."

"You need a mixture of the old and new," says Fonseca. "The legends... and the new generation."

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Hector Fonseca

Written by Scott Kearnan

Globe-trotting with cross-cultural beats

Star-turn remixing and *69 CDs

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