Australian producer Alex Albrecht produces a lush, dreamy mixture of sounds at the crossroads of house, jazz, and ambient. On the label he co-runs with Sean La’Brooy, Analogue Attic Recordings, and on his stunning solo releases, the Melbourne-based artist explores an emotional, contented melancholy rife with field recordings that imbue the tracks with a deep sense of place.
Stepping up to contribute IA MIX 383, Alex Albrecht delivers a live set from the Natural Order festival in the Australian state of Victoria. Based around improvised, unreleased solo works, this is a gorgeous piece of ambient-leaning electronica. The energy of the set pulsates through your speakers, transporting you into a hypnotic, meditative journey.
Alongside the podcast, Alex was kind enough to answer some of our questions and shed light on his musical background, the underground scene in Melbourne, and how the natural beauty of Australia continues to inspire his music.
Interview by Jason Cabaniss
"We always like to feature Australian records with a deeper story or meaning, a release that is cohesive and can be listened to from start to finish in one sitting"
Hello Alex, thanks for taking the time to deliver a mix and speak with us. Since this is a recording of a live set, we’d love to know more about that performance.
This set is similar to a something I played at a beautiful little festival – Natural Order in country Victoria. I wanted to re-record it in my studio with some new sounds and ideas. I think it’s a good representation of the different moods and energy levels I’ve been playing in my live sets recently including at my recent shows in New York.
Back in January you released your fifth album ‘Allambie’. I particularly loved the silky melancholy techno sound. What was the inspiration for the album? Where did you work on the album and is there a concept behind it?
Allambie is a particularly special record for me as it was recorded in my house in the Dandenong Ranges, a stunning rainforest on Wurundjeri and Bunurong country just east of Melbourne. The house itself is called Allambie and the record features lots of sounds and themes from the surrounding landscape.
Tell us about your musical heritage and who / what is responsible for getting involved with the more experimental side of electronic music?
My parents always played music around the house, particularly jazz and this really influenced my musical taste. I remember a couple of albums in particular which featured some electronic sounds like Guru’s ‘Jazzmatazz‘ and St Germain’s ‘Boulevard‘, which really drew my interest.
List some of the artists and record labels that have become incremental to your musical taste, and that continue to inspire you?
Comatonse, Dial, Mule, Scissor & Thread, ECM, Blue Note, A Strangely Isolated Place – are just some of the record labels that come to mind that have inspired me for years and continue to today.
Together with Sean La’Broy, you operate Analogue Attic Recordings. What’s the story behind the name and what gave you the impetus to establish your own record label?
Sean and I started Analogue Attic Recordings as a vessel to release our music when we first started producing together. Following this we thought it would be nice to showcase other Australian artists that we admire and that wanted an outlet to put out some of their softer sounds. The name comes from a little party we ran at a pub in Melbourne, which brought together visual artists, live music and DJs.
You have also released music on a variety of labels including Scissor & Thread, Mule Musiq and Ryan Griffin’s A Strangely Isolated Place. All superb labels, can you shed light into how you came to release through these imprints and what impact it had on your approach to music production.
All of these record labels have influenced my music over the years and I’m deeply honoured to feature in their discographies. In all cases I reached out to the label owners and was surprised and excited when they felt a release would fit.
Aside from your solo and collaborative albums, what do you look for in other artists that release on Analogue Attic? Is there a certain style or character that you are after?
We always like to feature Australian records with a deeper story or meaning, a release that is cohesive and can be listened to from start to finish in one sitting.
Tell us about your current studio setup. Do you have any favourite pieces of gear? How much time per week do you put into producing music?
My current studio setup features a number of synths including a Nord A1, a Blofeld, a Yamaha MOXF, all which feature on my music often. I also like to use small samples or loops from my music collection to create richness in the sound. I’m constantly working in the studio and spend many hours a week either working on my live sets, new releases or just digging for music.
We’d love to learn more about the music scene in Melbourne and Australia in general? What’s bubbling up and how has the underground dance scene developed?
The music scene in Australia is very well established and has a huge amount of diversity and variety. Melbourne is a very inspirational city and it’s amazing to know so many talented musicians who push an Australian sound. I think over the years it’s had a large impact on the international scene, which is surprising given our distance from most countries.
This summer you are in Europe on tour performing in Brussels at Paradise City and Norway at Monument Festival. Two tip-top festivals, have you attended them before? What are your preconceptions about them?
I’m so excited to play at both of these festivals and have heard such good things about both. I think when you have festivals which are such high quality it really pushes artists to level up their sets. Im really looking forward to experimenting and working hard in the lead-up to create something special.
What else do you have planned for 2024?
I have a release coming out on Scissor & Thread in the next few months and I am working on a few other records at the moment. I am wanting to collect recordings and sounds from my travels in Europe and incorporate these as much as a i can into my current projects.
