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lexomm
zurich, Switzerland
June 10, 2006
417 plays
5,888 views
alexander somm - aka - al-x born: sept 19th 1968 in vienna, austria residence: zurich, switzerland 1996 - 2001: promoter day job: consultant founder and director of 'love & continuum productions' in toronto, canada1998 - 2001 dj in public since 1997 produing since 2001 live acts since sommer 2005 dj'd at/for: CH: Bierhübeli BE, Dachkantine ZH, Dekadance, Labitzke paintfactory ZH, Daniel H. ZH, SBar LU, Alcatraz LU, Adagio LU, Schüür LU, Elements 03 ..., Canada: Element, NASA, Basment, The Livingroom, The Filmcafe, Continuum Productions, Most Wanted Entertainment... genre: minimal Techno, Techno, micro tech... groovy deep house...
Band/artist history
Sound is omnipresent. Since the dawn of humanity mankind has lived with music. Sounds from all parts of life, played in harmony and unison. We have evolved from beating onto hollow trees with sticks and singing along with the evolution of technology. The invention of the amplifier has enabled us to enhance the signal of the sounds we played and later we found ways for transforming sounds in every conceivable way. When Thaddeus Cahill 1897 developed the ‘Teleharmonium’ or ‘Dynamophon’, weighing 200 tons, a new era had begun. In the thirties the vocoder was invented and 1939 John Cage performed the first 'live act", as he played "Imaginary Landscape No. 1" in Seattle, the first electronic music composition. The road for "electronic music" was paved. Personally I love many different styles of music. Classic, Jazz, Blues, some Folk and of course Rock and Roll, it all depends what mood I am in and where I am at There was music in my life since I remember, but it wasn’t always the electronic kind. When I was eight I encountered classic as my grandmother took me to the famous puppet opera in Salzburg to see Mozart’s “Magic Flute”. I was overwhelmed; music had me in its grasp from that night on. Funnily I never really learned how to read notes, or how to play an Instrument other than what they taught us in school, which wasn’t much beyond “Old Mac Donald had a farm” What really caught my eye (and my ear), was my Father’s DUAL Hi-Fi Stereo System and his considerable record collection, ranging from classic to the Beatles, the Grateful Death and the Rolling Stones From the late seventies to the present there was always new sound I liked, as long as it touched my soul and got my body moving I would play it for myself or for friends In 1997 I began hosting parties and promoting events and clubs in Toronto Canada. I had been buying techno records for a couple years spending every penny I could spare and practising at home like a madman, but I had never played in a club. I never considered the possibility until now. I started playing in small clubs and quickly got a feel for the people. I had watched great DJs long enough to know that half of a DJs success will be his personality, the connection he has with his Audiences; no matter which type of music he plays, a good DJ captures the Audience with his smile and his brilliance As I mentioned above, there were many influences on my path to electronic music. My grandmother started me with Classical. After that my father got me into Big Band, Swing Jazz and Blues. Later, ‘other people’ helped me turn to Rock and Roll, Disco and then House and Techno. With the help of technology I now have tools at my disposal to catch sounds and transform them to sound the way I want them to. I can lure sounds out of electronic devices such as the synthesizer or the drum machine and compose music on my pc without knowing how to read notes. What matters is how the sound makes one feel when it hits ones eardrums, ones skin and ones heart soul. This process fascinates me. The study of sound and how it makes us feel. I can best do that electronically because of the limitless tools at my hands to manipulate sound. In minimal techno, the slightest change in pitch, or time between sounds can change the mood of a composition. The possibilities are limitless. I learn every day, and isn't learning what life is all about? I believe there is a new combination of art forms emerging that will satisfy all our senses. Our ears and eyes are but two of seven. Imagine playing with all senses of your Audience including vision, smell and touch Leading edge DJs have already begun, who knows what technology will allow us to do in the future Alexander Somm / al-x
Have you performed in front of an audience?
i dj, every gig is playing life and i love it. i feed off the energy i get from the crowd; in a way i get back what i give...
Your musical influences
Mozart, Bethoven, Vivaldi, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Tschaikowsky, The Greatful Dead, - especially Jerry Garcia on the Guitar, Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, Emerson Lake and Palmer - especially Keith Emerson on his Moog Modular, WOW!!, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin - especially Jimmy Page on the Guitar, Pink Floyd, John Lennon, The Doors, Marillion, Miles Davis, Neil Young, Beasty Boys, Spice, Carlos Santana, David Bowie, The Police, Genesis, The Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, Chemical Brothers, Barclay James Harvest, Supertramp, Jean Michelle Jarre, The Nice, The Birds, Miss Kittin, Underworld, Jeff Mills, Dave Clarke, Roman Fluegel, Nathan Fake, Sven Vaeth, Lars Klein, Justin Berkovi, Adam Bayer, Mathew Dear, Carl Cox, Mikky B, Native Drums, Kraftwerk, Ricardo Villalobos, Mathew Johnson, Richie Hawtin, Serafin, Zip the Dimby Man, Dany Tenaglia, Josh Wink, Mike Oldfield, Grand Master Flash, Burt Bacharach, John Lee Hooker, Glen Miller...
What equipment do you use?
virtual and analogue studio
Anything else?
what i want (aside from world peace, health and hapyness for all...) my mission is it, to constantly learn about sound and how it can move us within the deepest core of who we are, to find rhythem in the way i live my days... and progress when i look back...
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