PARIS MIXE BEYROUTH 14 w/ ALEXKID (France – Electro)
for all electro lovers and THE BASEMENT's regulars, this is not to be missed!
ALEX KID BIO:
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What are you going to hear on Mint? Well, fourty eight plus minutes of quality music produced and played by one of electronic music’s most clever and tasteful practioners.
You see Alexkid figured out the game as he went. Born in France, with his Mother being Spanish, he was raised in the Balearic Islands, where he divided his time between the beach and his aunt's record shop investing hours listening to music. He became a Parisian during the first half of the 1980s and continued to develop his interest in music by taking up the guitar. Experimenting with sounds brought him to the sound board to challenge his chords with effects. Later while at school for sound engineering Alexkid took to organizing events and funk shows, some of which he performed in.
But it really wasn’t until Alex found the turntables that inspiration caught up to him. “In ’92 I discovered electronic music and the role of the DJ. I also liked the slightly taboo side to it all" Alex recalls. Club life became the life and Alex took to it like a fish to water. He joined the F Communications team and got to work in the studio recording singles, collaborations and remixes. The First official remix was of a Suzanne Vega/John Cale duet put together by Hector Zazou. Propositions soon came in thick and fast, with the choice of a select line-up: Llorca, Sylk 130, Kemetic Just, George Michael, Fertile Ground, Astor Piazzolla to mention just a few: "reworking someone else's creations is a pleasure and should stay that way". It was also a pleasure to learn one morning that an extract from Alex’s debut long play, Bienvenida, would be used in the credits for an episode of the cult American series "Six Feet Under", or to produce the original music for the advertisement for Jennifer Lopez’ perfume Glow.
This brings us to 2003, the year of Alexkid’s second full-length release “MINT”. It has proven to be as fresh and tasty as it’s name. Alexkid goes deep on MINT and shows the soul of French dance music with a collection of musicians to help bring it to fruition. The guest list includes friends who have become partners and partners who have become friends with the likes of Stéfane Goldman (guitars), Philippe Monrose (percussion), DJ Seep (scratch) and Jean-Philippe Rykiel (keyboards). Hanifah Walidah stepped in for a happy reunion following "Not Every Angel" on Bienvenida. When a sensitive masculine voice was needed "Philippe Monrose suggested one of his Scottish mates of Jamaican origin to me, Ian James Whitelaw (Love we Have / Turn it Round Again), and we hit it off right from the start". When seeking a second female voice "It was a big thank you once again to Philippe for dropping by the studio one day with Lissette Alea (Come With Me / Don't Hide It), "Alex recalls “She just kicks ass on stage,” When it came to the horns things came less directly. "It was during a dinner at my publisher’s home that I came across the legendary American trumpeter Jon Hassell.” A passionate discussion followed late into the night with this pioneering musician in world music, whose albums have become references in their own right, and lead to an agreement to experiment on a track. Collaboration projects are rare for him (Eno, Talking Heads, Mandalay, Tears For Fears and U2) "but I tried my luck without expecting too much and one morning found the trumpets placed (in the track). This was a moment of pure joy for me".
Mint is "my second album, characterised by the near obsessional wish to avoid repeating myself or losing the way.” It’s seems he hasn’t lost the past nor his view of the future. From digging through his aunt’s record crates to having his releases featured there. Alexkid has come full circle and his potential has only yet to be fully realized. So do yourself a favor – walk over to the stereo and press repeat. You won’t be disappointed.
im gonna miss that .. lcuky bastard Ahmad 
