alexander:louis is an event producer, Dj/ producer, and community builder based in NYC. He has been immersed in music and science throughout his life – always trying to weave sounds to create an eclectic, yet consistent sound that drives you to dance. With his recent releases on Deeperfect, Maya Records, and Motek; and support from industry leaders such as Jamie Jones, Stacey Pullen, Carlo Lio, Prok and Fitch, and more, there has been a lot of buzz around him.
Hi Mike, thank you for speaking with us today, how are you doing?
I’m not too bad, thx. Obviously very pumped about this upcoming release on Nervous, and then about to make a little move from NYC to Denver, so have a few things on my plate
This month you’re set to make your debut on Nervous Records, congrats on this! Before we get into the release, can you tell us a little bit about yourself for our readers who may not yet be familiar with you?
Thx a lot. Yea sure – I’m currently based out of NYC, but as mentioned I’m heading over to Denver for the winter to hit the slopes a bit, and to be a bit closer to the west coast to get some action out there. I also have an event series in NYC that I partner with a few homies called vyvn – def come check them out if you find yourself in the city.
The ‘Slightly Sideways’ EP marks your Nervous Records debut, congrats on a great release on a great label here. Can you tell us a bit about this release and how it landed on Nervous?
Yea definitely – so I was actually hanging with Joe, and he was showing me a project he was working on that was absolutely insane, which inspired me to create the foundation of the groovy, yet driving rolling bass to bring a more chill vibe into some prime time energy. I was able to add a few more elements that meshed well, and Nervous has always been on my wish list to get on, but it wasn’t after until I sent the track to a few friends for feedback that they serendipitously suggest Nervous as a possibility and one thing led to another… Couldn’t be happier to have an opportunity to release music on this legendary label.
Joeski provides a brilliant remix for the release too. What’s it like to hear Joeski remix your work?
First off, Joeski is such an OG, and I was pumped to hear he was down to do a remix in the first place. His recreation of the track was very impressive too – rebuilding the foundation to make a slightly bouncy and unique bassline, while creating new echo and reverb effect on the top which created a whole new vibe.
With Nervous celebrating its 30th anniversary at the moment, we thought it would be fun to ask you for your three top tracks on the label? (a difficult question we know… 😉 )
Ooof…. Pass…. Hahahah There’s just too many
Can you tell us a bit about your studio set-up and how you usually approach creating a track?
Yea, so at home I’m basically working off of ableton, and then sometimes I’ll borrow my buddies Push, so nothing too crazy at the moment on the home front, but over the pandemic I’ve been able to make some new friends who have let me come to their studios and I’ve really been digging and learning more about some of the Roland synths, which has been opening up a whole new work of sounds and elements. There’s some exciting stuff on the way…. 😉
Who or what styles would you say are your greatest musical influences?
Well, I love all kinds of music. From reggeaton, to 90’s rock, to jazz influenced hip hop. I mean… you can never go wrong with the fugees. So all of this has been an inspiration for me, but from an electronic music perspective – Joe has actually taught me a lot and has been a big inspo for me. Some of my favorite producers currently are people such as Serge Devant, Janeret, Toman and Rossi, Yousef, The Adana Twins, and of course Jamie Jones is legendary. There is just so much music and talent out there I’m always learning new styles and tricks.
Thank you very much for speaking with us today Mike! Wishing you all the best with the release. To finish off, is there anything else on the way from yourself that you’d like to share with us?
No, nothing else. I want to thank you again for having me today, and learning a little more about this upcoming EP. And for anyone who is into some of these tunes, keep an eye out for some pretty exciting announcements coming up 😉
Until then…
