This is a name I'm certain you've heard when it comes to groovy & funky instrumental hip hop.
Danish producer iamalex, to me, is one of the pioneers, together with Flamingosis & Bonus Points, and his music is a certain must when it comes to beach vibes & freshness. "Memories" is, to this very day, one of my favourite summer soundtracks.
He fuses funk, beats & vocal samples to send your mind to that specific afternoon timelessness in between the chill times & the dancing along. We got the chance to talk and he also crafted a beautiful mix to help us transition from winter to spring.
Tracklist:
1. Edo Lee - Black Coffee
2. DAO feat. Tom Doolie - In My Head
3. iamalex x Kyle McEvoy - Forest Canopy
4. Toonorth - Silience
5. Axian - Fireflies (feat. Oatmello & Alberto Droguett)
6. Ødyssee - Fallin in Love
7. Philanthrope x Psalm Trees - One For Juan
8. engelwood - come with me / costa del sol
9. Cloudchord & Soul Food Horns - Morning Crackle
10. Middle School x Aso - Cypress
11. mura kami - empty pools
12. Moods x Philanthrope x Yasper - Bucket List
13. Floppy Circus - Safari Haze
14. Orca Vibes - Intuition
15. invention_ - blxxm_no1
16. Seemy - Twit One
17. Ivoris x iamalex - Pastel (Unreleased)
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Hey man, how do we find you today?
Pretty good thank you, sitting here listing to the mix I just did for you guys, dreaming about summer, and thinking about all the good stuff I'm gonna do this year. Hopefully plenty of new music, and gigs during the summer.
Tell us a bit more - who's behind that mystic figure iamalex?
iamalex comes from my full name Alexander, I've always been called Alex, so every time I greeted a person, I would say "Hey, I am Alex". Based in Copenhagen, I live with my lovely girlfriend, where I also work full time at an architecture firm, creating beautiful buildings. Apart from that, I owe a boat with some friends, which we are trying to fix, at the moment, so we can go sail around Denmark. That's pretty much the guy behind iamalex, as it looks right now.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
When I was younger I was really inspired by a variety of artists like Daft Punk, The Avalanches and DJ Shadow, to mention a few, I knew I wanted to create a sample-based project, like them. My greatest inspiration would probably be listening to a lot of 60-70-80s music, trying to find the most obscure sounds possible.
Can you share some insights on your Beats & Waves series?
The Beats & Waves series is a really good way for me to get some of my beats released, that might have been left behind. I'm trying to combine 4 beats with similar vibe and then release them occasionally on the series. Vol.2 will be released 3th of April.
Who are your frequent collaborators and why?
Bonus Points and Hazy Year have been really fun to work with, I ended up creating whole EPs with them, we just have a good, similar vibe. But I have also started working with some new people, such as Engelwood and Kyle McEvoy, also amazing people to work with, they are giving me a lot of new inspiration. I have also a vocal track coming March 13th, with a great girl called Ivoris, I actually chose to end the mix with that track, hope you enjoy that.
Where do you draw the line between chillhop & instrumental hip-hop? Most of your music is quite the opposite of chill - funky, fresh & groovy.
For me, chillhop started with music sounding such as Brock Berrigan, Birocratic, Bonus Points, GYVUS, Jeff Kaale and Engelwood to mention a few, the purpose for the genre was creating a beat that was interesting enough, without rap or vocals, which instrumental hip-hop would need in this case. It's really hard for me to draw a line tho, I just create what comes to mind.
What do you think about the beat scene - how did that type of music suddenly become so popular?
It's a bit crazy to see how big some artists are getting from creating a good beat. But I totally get it, it's easy to listen to, Spotify and Youtube love it, I think without them I wouldn't have gotten that big.
Being a digital producer always raises the question - do you play any instruments? And how (un)important is that?
I have played drums in a band when I was 16, the rest is self-thought, and mostly a lot of programming.
Is making music a "job" for you? Or should you always keep one foot in the fun, purely creative side of it?
Right now it's not a job, probably never will be, it's the perfect hobby for me, and it's just a bonus, I make some money while having fun. I wanna go back to school again to do a Master's, then it'll be quite nice to be able to earn some money on the side, while I'm there.
I gotta ask - what's your opinion about the streaming era we live in?
I really love vinyls and physical releases in general, but streaming is just a perfect way to find your new favorite song, so you can buy it on wax.
What's "the dream" for you?
I think I have a good life right now, wouldn't change anything. But a few bigger gigs would be really cool, maybe also work with a semi-famous rapper. Hope things can continue as they are right now, and only get better from now on.
Anything you'd like to add?
I would just say thanks for having me and hope you enjoy the mix, peace.
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