Beta Hector

Beta Hector is the solo project of Simon Hill, a musician, producer and DJ who also works under his own name. Hill is a bass player, upright bassist, multi-instrumentalist and record collector with a background in deejaying and beat-making that dates back to the late 1990s.

Career and bands

Hill first forms the deep funk and soul group Baby Charles as a bass player. The band’s debut album receives strong critical attention and leads to touring across Europe, including appearances at major festivals such as Glastonbury. He later plays upright bass in Derriere, a vintage soul, blues and rhythm band, and also has a connection with the group Kalakuta Millionaires, whose members later appear in the Beta Hector Band. Hill co-mixes the Baby Charles album in 2008, which helps develop his approach to production.

Beta Hector

Beta Hector emerges from Hill’s experiments with heavy drum loops, bass lines, analogue synthesisers, guitars, vintage tape machines and a range of vocalists. Tru Thoughts releases the debut Beta Hector 45 Payback, and includes it on the label’s Tru Thoughts Funk compilation. The track attracts support from DJs including DJ Format and DJ Food.

Hill’s Beta Hector album Sunbeam Insulin follows and combines heavy drums with psychedelic electronic sounds. It brings together soulful and bittersweet songs and soundtrack-like pieces, with vocals from five singers including Dionne Charles and LA MC Shane Hunter. The first single from the album, Jupiter Mission, is a disco-influenced sci-fi track sung by Hill’s sister Jo and built from software synthesiser parts, bass guitar and percussion.

DJ work and influences

Hill has deejayed since the late 1990s and collects vinyl from his late teens. His sets, including appearances at The Big Chill Bar, mix vintage soul, rhythm and blues, heavy funk 45s, classic hip-hop 12s, and other tropical and eclectic sounds.