From the heart of the neon-lit desert reemerges Hogtrucker, also known as John Stapleton—a wizard of techno sound and genre. The path of his artistic evolution can be traced from the familiar streets of Vegas to the avenues of the Big Apple, where for two years he sought to expand his musical scope and find a personal flair.
“Moving to New York was a big catalyst to my whole DJ career,” Hogtrucker says. “It’s all dancefloor music that I love and always loved hearing in the clubs ... I thought, let me make it myself.”
Amidst the chaos of New York City, the vision for his new album Hogtied began to crystallize. When the Weekly last caught up with Hogtrucker in 2020, he was preparing to release his first solo EP, Diskogoth, a brooding darkwave infusion of sound—a starkly different project than the pop-forward approach he’s pursuing today.
Now, returning to his roots with a renewed sense of direction, he brings his electrifying fusion of dancefloor pop to the forefront, delivering an album that captures the essence of both his journey and the city that shaped him.
“This album has gone through so many changes with songs that have been written for a while now,” he says. “The core of [the album] would be ‘Hot Blood,’ ‘Vegas Nights’ and ‘HeartBPM.’ I kept writing songs to go along with them that didn’t work, and one day I just started spitting these out.”
Drawing inspiration from an array of influences spanning from TR/ST to Lady Gaga, Hogtrucker’s musical journey culminates in this highly-anticipated release. Thematically, he croons about feeling tethered to certain people and aspects of his life in Vegas. Most of these ties are good, like those to his partner, and some are challenging, like his ties to the infamous Vegas party life.
But the confessions Hogtrucker wears on his sleeve. Listeners will be presented with an 8-song mix of danceable drum & bass, nightclub garage, house and more. While polishing off the final mix of Hogtied, Hogtrucker turned to London-based producer Sevenths and NYC’s Sevyn Love, whose steady hand as the creative director for the project helped to finalize it for its June 7 release.
To top it all off, Hogtrucker is hosting Vegas’ first ever Hogland at Area15 on June 6. A celebration of the record release, he’s joined by some must-see fresh acts, including Ariel Zetina, AFS, A.C. Esme, DJ Kittyboy and the previously mentioned Sevyn Love.
“Locally, I want to have more techno or just full-on DJ centered events, and I think that this will be a good push for it,” says Hogtrucker. “I want this to be like an actual techno club event, no gaps between DJs. We’re all going to mix into each other.”
HOGTRUCKER: HOGLAND ALBUM RELEASE PARTY June 6, 8 p.m., $25. The Wall at Area 15, area15.com.
