Music
Deer Park: Hesselberg’s opening chapter
A fresh alias and a debut solo release from one of Jozi’s favourite dancefloor maestros
While the name Hesselberg might not ring out as familiar to many in the electronic music space just yet, those who have frequented the more alternative options for dancefloor escapism in Johannesburg will realise they’re already very familiar with him. Under his previous alias Ricky H, Ricky Hesselberg has been impacting the city’s nightlife since the early 2000s, both as a DJ and an event promoter. Last year he took his first steps into adding production to that resume with a 3 track dual EP alongside Swiss producer Dandara. For a debut release, it was incredibly well-received, ultimately being part of Beatport’s Top 50 Selling Electronica/Downtempo of the year. He now looks to make his solo debut with Deer Park, a release through Iorie’s trendsetting label Serafin Audio Imprint.
The title of his latest was inspired by a session of meditation in Deer Park, a public park in Cape Town’s Vredehoek neighbourhood at the base of Table Mountain. Getting home Ricky found himself in a particularly clear state of mind, quickly putting together the title track in a focused 45-minute session. Humorously named “Dude Where’s My Camel” is his take on what he dubs the ‘desert sound’, so named for its popularity in spaces like Afrikaburn. Sunny Day Underground rounds out the EP with the fastest tempo of the lot, primed for holding energy on a packed floor. Three remixes come from close friend Leeu, genre kingpin Iorie and Berlin-based artist Harry Charles.
Hesselberg
© Ian Skene
Throughout both of the EP’s, there is a strong sense of instrumentalism in his music, an element that helps distinguish his beats from a lot of the more generic offerings in the genre. When quizzed on this approach it becomes clear that his upbringing & early years had a huge part to play. “My parents were music mad. Steely Dan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, music would be playing in the house all day and every day.” His first steps into his own musical journey began with a guitar at the age of 10, with which he set about trying to imitate the likes of Jimi Hendrix & Led Zeppelin. Most of the sounds in his music are self-recorded using his guitar and a guitar-synth combination instrument which allows him to channel that particular skill into midi. While he’s quick to note he’s not against using samples, those who have an appreciation for the acoustic & electronic will find extra joy in his records.
Later teenage years would see Ricky discover trip-hop and fall in love with albums from Massive Attack, Morcheeba and Nightmares On Wax. His first rave soon after cemented this affair with dance music and led to him purchasing a pair of turntables. 2 post-school years of living in the UK saw his record collection & DJ skills grow dramatically, returning to South Africa in the early 2000s motivated to make his mark on Johannesburg’s thriving dance scene. It was in 2012 after a trip to Europe, Cape Town summer and week at Afrikaburn that he saw a gap in the market for his own event, and The Low Down was born. Defining itself as a more intimate & mature space to enjoy dance music, the brand would go on to develop a strong following and be a platform for international artists like Dandara, Iorie and Arutani to bring their sound to our shores.
While Johannesburg would always be the city he cut his teeth in, the energy of Cape Town beckoned Ricky to make the move and in 2016 he made the mother city his own. “I find my headspace is a lot easier when I’m here, I feel a lot clearer and that allows me to create in a more focused way,” he explains. It was this clarity that led to him trying his hand at production, a skill he has surprisingly only been developing for the past 3 years. His musical background, including his instrumental skills, are what he credits in being able to create such high-quality music this early into the Hesselberg journey, which he is determined will be defined by quality over quantity.