Chicago. The second city. Chicago is home to some of the greatest food, people, and music scenes. From Muddy Waters to Kanye West, Chicago has it all. For those of you who remember the rising rave scene in the early 90’s you may recall FreeArt Phil and Little Phil handing out fliers with the number to call an hour before they started. Names such as Lego Rodriguez, and Charles Matlock have branded their names into history for their part in Chicago’s underground scene.

Chicago, 2011, the electronica scene has never been hotter. Although the music has evolved the concepts are still here. Rent out a large building, get some of the hottest Dj’s, promote like crazy, and dance all night until the cops show up. There are many promoters out there, yet few carry the bragging rights that RKTR possess.

RKTR (pronounced reactor) are more than just promoters. They are a large team of music warriors fronted by Hector Pacheco and Adam Dworak, while RKTR is just a fraction of their work. From renting out an entire building in 6 Corners for a large multiple floor party as Future Sounds, writing an entire score for their own rock opera-like movie as RKTR, to even creating their own software as Electro Label, RKTR is what every artist hopes to achieve.

The history behind RKTR is as rich as it is inspiring. Starting out, Adam and Hector rented out an entire building and fitted each floor with a different theme. Different lights and projectors were added to every floor to help set these themes. Going under the name Future Sounds as the promoter aspect of the project, the duo created a foundation for their enterprise to stand on. The party was ultimately, “busted within the first two hours [and we] lost a bunch of money,” Hector continues, “we had to go to court. I can’t believe how much we fucked up.” Even with the disappointing out come of their loft party the two learned and moved on from there, taking aspects of the party and incorporating that into their music.

The idea of working in different themes or styles of music is something most artists attempt to avoid. Typically, a pop artist will not dabble in grind-core nor a country musician in trance. Only a few artists have become successful doing so. Thievery Corporation, for example, fronted by Eric Hilton and Rob Garza, take styles and sounds from Bossa Nova to traditional Eastern instruments and put their own twist to it. Thus creating world sounds but with the lounge/down-tempo spin. Like Thievery Corporation, RKTR takes music and sounds from different genres and experiments, creating music of a large variety. “There’s got to be more to life than this, I need to branch out where there’s more than just producing.” Hector reflects on the process of creating a different setting for each of their tracks. “[We’ll] take a song and say, ‘that would be good in that kind of scene.’ We create music then to fit that scene… apocalyptic, futuristic, grunge, music that fits with that government oppressive world.” One of the projects of RKTR is composing a score to incorporate their musical visions. Hector and Adam are teamed up with Bail Out to create a movie for their score. Much like Rock Operas done by The Who and Pink Floyd, RKTR has created a full-length album that they want the listener to take a visual trip into their music.

RKTR, as progressive as they are now, had to start somewhere. Hector Pachero has his roots in metal drumming and Adam Dworak is more melodic symphony. On paper this is an unlikely duo, but Hector states, “we’re [musically] total opposites. We’re not supposed to team together but that’s what makes it work…the two of us having different foundations creates a balance for our music. If we were the same, musically, there’s no way we could have worked.” Growing up, Hector recalls having his iPod stolen. Having the music library being from a variety of computers Hector was left without music. Alone with just his laptop Hector got to work on rebuilding his music library, yet, not from the internet or music store, but from within. Spending hours on end creating his own music, Hector was able to create original pieces and learn without the distractions of the outside world. Building his music bubble, Hector found that having a song that repeat the same 4/4 for the entirety of the track lacked integrity and became boring quickly. Hector began to create music that changed constantly but without the track competing or one song becoming an entirely different song. “Our music is something you have to experience, you can’t just walk around with it.” Hector explains that some music you can just walk around mindlessly without listening, but with RKTK the sound will change without the listener realizing it.  A process difficult to obtain, yet mastered by RKTR.

The duo met at Columbia College in Chicago where they combined their musical interests. Originally as party promoters under the name Future Sounds, the two came to the conclusion that, “[we] love throwing parties, but they’re so much stress…there’s got to be more than life just this, [we] need to branch out.” And that’s exactly what they did. While both produced on the side they combined their music and formed the Dj project known as RKTR. Additionally, with a knack for graphic design and music production,  the two were able to branch out even further. Creating images with Demetrius Wolak and Chris Bleszko, and opening their own label, Electro Label, Hector Pacheco and Adam Dworak have established a growing musical enterprise.

While RKTR may be a newer name, the behind the scenes work has been around for some time and is rapidly growing. Electro Label’s artists can be found on Amazon, Pandora, and Beatport. Along with creating their own synth called OSCFREAK, Electro Label is starting a new concept of allowing individuals to download an artists Ableton file with the loops, drums, etc. By allowing access to other artists to the full set, Electro Label has created an easier method of remixing. By giving full access to the original song, other artists can now take the original and break down and add to each part creating their own original piece.

A lot is still unwritten about RKTR, as holds true for most legends still in the making. The story of RKTR is a new but colorful one with a rich wide range. In an age where any kid with a laptop can be a “Dj,” RKTR proves that talent and intuition can bring more to the table than just being a breathing iPod shuffle. By building their own industry level corporation and extending their range to more than just the stage, Hector Pacheco and Adam Dworak have become revolutionists in the field of electronic music.

Find RKTR online:

http://rktr.org/

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