On behalf of his recent release with us, we caught up for a quick Q&A with our good friend Alex (aka Beats Are Broken).
GK: How's the scene in Brazil?
Alex: Man, the Electronic scene in Brazil exists and is very strong, but focused on House. I live in the biggest city in Brazil, which is São Paulo and around here there have always been many clubs and itinerant parties, but the vast majority focused on house or trance. In the 90's, clubs played what we call Flash House, which is nothing more than the songs of Italian producers that hit the world. In some clubs, they started playing Hardcore and Jungle, but without much variation. It was almost always the same songs.
There are a few parties focused on Drum 'n' Bass and hardcore, but they happen once a year. It has several Drum 'n' Bass producers and DJs who are internationally known and has releases on major labels such as V Records. In these parties, usually promoted by a local dj, we have had several artists such as Altern8, Bizarre Inc., Baby D and others. Some of these parties are quite underground, with little or no promotion outside the specific world of the scene. But the big clubs always played house, house variations and trance. And we've also had great shows like The Prodigy, Kraftwerk, 808 State, to name a few.
I believe that, as in many places around the world, here we have a main scene where trendy artists come to perform, and we have a more underground scene where internationally known artists come to play, but are known by a few passionate fans of this style of music since the 90s.
Brazil is very large, and the city where I live has 11.9 million inhabitants...Therefore, there is room for all tastes and styles. I may not be being fair, but that's how I see the scene around here.
GK: What are your top 3 personal Beats Are Broken productions?
Alex: "Fire" - I chose this track because it brought me a very nice surprise which was being remixed by Dj Deluxe. I've always been a big fan of his work and him asking to do a remix of my music was just amazing.
"The Dreamer" - this track is also very special as it came out on your compilation "GLOWKiD Pres. The Generation X Crew." This for me was an honor and a demonstration of the power that music has to bring people together, even if they are very far away.
"Music Forever" - and finally, this track, which even though it was discarded by a label, for me is very significant. As much for the name as for the sound itself... I really like it.
GK: When did your first release hit the streets? I think it was around 2017 with “Acid Overload”, right ?
Alex: My first song that was played was "Love's So High", which you played on Generation X Radio Show, but the first one that was officially released was "Acid Overload" by Ravenoyz Recordings from the great Wislov in July 2017. And it was released after you helped me to get in touch with him. After that I released several on Raveskool Recordings (thanks to the great Paul Cronin), Xtrahard Records (from Stuart Brown a.k.a The Pulse), Switchblade Digital and 4 The Core Recordings. And finally, I had the honor of remixing the anthem "I Need That Drug" by DJ CDC and also made two remixes for Dj Deluxe.
GK: What were your early records?
Alex: Well, I started recording cassette tapes of radio programs. When I started working, at 14, a whole new world opened up and I started to get to know record stores. At first, I bought what we called pirated records, with music in the style we call here Flash House. The first original record I bought was "Electric Café", by Kraftwerk. Over time, I discovered a CD rental store and they had things I had never heard of and in a style that was totally new to me. I rented two CDs: "T99 - Children Of Chaos" and "Altern 8 - Full On .. Maks Hysteria."
When I heard those CDs, I went crazy! What a spectacular sound. From then on, I started renting everything they had of that same style and ended up discovering The Prodigy and many other artists. It was love at first listen.
GK: What made you kicking off with music production?
Alex: I love music! I listen to it all the time, and many times, I would listen to a song and think: if it had an effect here or a different beat there, it would sound incredible! Then, talking to a friend, he showed me a computer program where you could create music. I thought: with the amount of music I listen to, could I use that to create something? Since I had no knowledge of music theory, I started studying a little and using the experience of listening to so much music to apply to some productions. I started doing a lot of things, and of course, nothing was professional, but it sounded good. With the Internet and Facebook, I started connecting with people in the scene and pages dedicated to web shows.
After a while, I discovered your show, and everything started connecting. From then on, I started improving my productions, people started liking them, and they started playing on some web radios...This made me think that I could release something and reach some people with my tracks. For me, it was a great surprise that my music pleased several producers in the scene.
GK: What's the magic behind Oldskool Rave music?
Alex: For me, it's something inexplicable! I love broken beats, and having those beats, with energetic stabs, pianos, distorted vocals, and bass lines that mess with my mind, it all makes me euphoric. I believe many people feel the same way.
GK: Any local artists and albums of any type of genre that you rate from there?
Alex: There's a very successful rock band here called Titãs.
The album titled "Cabeça Dinossauro," released in 1986, besides being very cool in musical terms, featured daring songs with somewhat controversial themes. It made a big impression on me. And I can't fail to mention DJ Marky's compilation, "Toco Jungle Tracks," released in 1995, which featured many songs by artists such as DJ Hype, Sonz Of A Loop Da Loop Era, Krome & Time, among others. This album introduced me to many songs and many artists that I didn't know.
Grab the new EP from Beats Are Broken here
