Inside Five: Tommy Hey

Tommy Hey (Tom Hegewald) is a hard techno DJ/Producer who previously travelled the world as part of a metal band, sharing the stage with some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Papa Roach, Soulfly, You Me At Six and many more.

Born in Berlin, Tommy has always been around high-quality techno music. His unwavering passion for the genre has driven him for an entire decade to pursue a solo career and make his own music. His artistic past means that his sonic preference leans towards hard bass drums, intense breakdowns and edgy vocals.

After years of hard work and dedication, the Tommy Hey project came to life last month with his first single ‘Bass Tempo Fleisch Blut’ released on March 17th on his own Fuel Seven label. 

Fresh off the back of his first-ever dance music release, we caught up with Tommy as he becomes the next artist to join us for an Inside Five feature: 

Can you tell us about your background and how you started your music career?

I started to play the drums at the age of 3. My musical background is Metal Music, and I played in a band called Destasterkids – we’ve been touring for approximately six years. Techno Music always inspired me, but it took me a while to grow into it. Although I learned to read notes, I was never the person to “read” music; I’d rather listen and just play.

How do you approach creating a hard-hitting, energetic track that is still musically complex and interesting?

This is something that we did in almost every Metal song as a band. It’s really important to me to come up with heavy breakdowns but also emotional melodies. I personally like a simple structure: heavy beginning – a long emotional epic middle part – a heavy kicking breakdown – and bringing them together. 

Your debut release on your Fuel Seven Records label, ‘BASS TEMPO FLEISCH BLUT,’ is your first-ever dance music release. Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind the track and how it fits into your overall musical vision?

I wanted to create heavy-hitting Techno Music and work with striking vocal samples. I like a dark mood and dark sound, and at the same time, I want my music to be driving.  

Can you walk us through your studio setup and some of your favourite production tools and techniques?

I’m a typical bedroom producer, all I need is Cubase and a Laptop. 

How do you see the hard techno scene evolving in the coming years, and what role do you hope to play in shaping its future?

Since Hard Techno is such a growing scene, there will be a lot of new inspiration, which could lead in so many directions. I can see lots of Psytrance influence, and I can totally imagine Hard Techno being played on big main stages – which I absolutely love! 

Tommy Hey

Instagram – Soundcloud

Fuel Seven

Instagram – Bandcamp