photo Caleb Krivoshey
Né en 1975, Alexis Mauri dit Alexkid est musicien multi-instrumentiste,
compositeur, et re-mixeur. Sa réputation grandissante d'artiste/producteur
et sa connaissance des dance floors ont fait de lui un DJ de plus en plus sollicité.
Ses sets font le bonheur des amateurs de House et de Garage et il se produit
régulièrement en France, en Europe et aux Etats-Unis.
C'est à l'âge de quinze ans qu'il se découvre une passion
pour la musique et se met sérieusement à la guitare. Encore lycéen,
il joue dans plusieurs groupes de funk puis, quelques années plus tard,
se met la musique électronique tout en faisant ses premiers pas d'ingénieur
du son
Signé par F-Communications en 1997, Alexkid sort une série de
4 maxi-singles sur le label, tous positivement accueillis par la presse française
et étrangère. Si il se dit principalement influencé par
les bandes originales de films, ses productions recouvrent une grande diversité
de styles de la Drum & Bass à la jazzy nu-house ou à l'abstract
hip pop.
BIENVENIDA, son premier album sort en 2001 et confirme la créativité d'un compositeur explorant de nouveaux territoires tout en restant fidèle à ce qui a fait sa réputation, soit une musique électronique à la fois cinématographique et festive à la production particulièrement soignée. Omniprésente dans son travail, la technologie y est pourtant transparente et au service d'une expression chaleureuse même dans ses moments les plus électroniques comme "Strawberry Lane" ou "Bienvenida". Incluant des versions éditées et remasterisées d'exraits de ses trois derniers Eps, Bienvenida comprend aussi deux remixes de son tout premier EP, le très cinéphilique "Maybe" (tape mix) et la reconstruction de "I Think" par Richard Dorfmeister. Cinq nouveaux titres complètent l'album, dont deux font appel à la voix, celle de la poétesse Ursula Rucker (4Hero/King Britt/The Roots) qui interprète magistralement ses mots dans "Fear In Flight" et celle, magnifique, de la chanteuse Hanifah Walidah (Brooklyn Funk Essentials) qui illumine "Not Every Angel"de sa présence.
MINT, son second album, sort en Août 2003 bénéficie d’un
accueil très favorable de la presse européenne qui salue, entre
autre, sa brillante réalisation.Si on y retrouve Hanifah Walidah (Pick
It Up), Alexkid fait cette fois ci appel à la chanteuse d’origine
cubaine Lissette Alea (Come With Me, ) et à l’Écossais Ian
James Whitelaw pour les parties vocales de quelques pop songs électroniques
de haute volée (Don't Hide It, Turn It Round Again). Invité également,
le trompettiste américain Jon Hassell sur le morceau qui donne son titre
à l’album. Passant avec aisance d'un instrument à l'autre,
Alexkid sait aussi s'entourer tour à tour d'excellents musiciens tels
Stéfane Goldman, Jean-Philippe Rykiel, Ready Made, Christian Lechevretel,
Renaud Pion, Yvo Abadi, Philippe Monrose (ou DJ Seep) pour n'en citer que quelques-uns.
C’est avec certains d’entre eux qu’il a formé l'Alexkid
Sound System pour tourner dans toute l'Europe de Septembre 2003 à Juillet
2004.
CARACOL, son troisième album, sort en Septembre 2006 et bénéficie
à nouveau d'excellentes chroniques : de bout en bout touché
par la grâce... un vrai coup de maître... minimaliste et raffiné...
pour n'en citer que quelques-unes. Organique, rythmé, illusoirement statique,
CARACOL (« Escargot » en espagnol) se déroule et claque le
long de neuf pistes finement agencées. Déployant des perspectives
de plus en plus larges, il est introduit par la voix de Keith Thompson, passée
au filtre mélancolique d’un Vocoder. « Decibelly »
force d’emblée le passage, radical et entêtant, avant l’hypnotique
« Love Letters » et « Nightshade », un swing minimaliste
sur lequel on retrouve Lissette Alea, déjà présente sur
« Mint ». Massif et funky, « Basic » parle de lui-même,
sans équivoque, alors qu’un parfum plus atmosphérique se
dégage de « Orm ». Les images affluent, baléariques.
CARACOL explore les bases de la techno de ces quinze dernières années
sur fond de house ténue, avec comme points de d’orgue efficaces,
le premier maxi paru dans le rôle-titre ou « Mare Alta ».
Jusqu’à « Back and Forth », envoûtant et sublimement
chanté par Daniella D’Ambrosio (entendue sur le premier album de
Nouvelle Vague et « Bleed » du groupe Aswefall avec qui elle a co-écrit
et interprété le titre de la nouvelle campagne publicitaire Air
France),
Parallèlement à son projet solo, Alexkid a fondé le groupe
de dub électronique Dubphonic ("Class 84" /Guidance Recordings
2000, “Smoke Signals” / Hammerbass 2003) et VeoVeo ("Safe&Sound"/Set
Foundation 2002) où la pop rejoint l’électronique. Le premier
album de Veo Veo sortira en 2007, le groupe commence à se produire sur
scène (myspace.com/veoveomusic)
Remixeur , il a revisité Brooklyn Funk Essentials, Llorca, Fertile Ground, Robert Miles, George Michael, Astor Piazzolla, Lullabies (pour Missive), Clément (pour Tropism), Hector Zazou ("The Long Voyage" avec John Cale et Suzanne Vega), Muriel Moreno, et, avec Dubphonic, Richard Dorfmeister (Suzuki In Dub/G-Stone) et avec Veo Veo, Laurent Garnier (Waiting For My Plane).
Il a lui-même été remixé par Jori Hulkonen (Bienvenida), Llorca, Brett Johnson, Tiga, DJ Seep (Come With Me), Riton, Jack Lahana, Blackstrobe (Pick It Up), Josh Wink (Don't Hide It), Chicken Lips et Rodriguez Junior (Nightshade)
Compositeur il a collaboré avec Hector Zazou (Coupe
du Monde 98), Ursula Rucker (album "Supa Sista"/StudioK7), et le saxophoniste
Jérôme Badini ("Trindade" sur Trip Do Brasil # 2), Chloé
(After Blaster)... Il a également co-signé de nombreux morceaux
avec Dubphonic et Veo Veo.
En concert /création Alexkid (electronics) avec B.J. Cole (pedal steel guitar) et Paolo Fresu (trompette) lors du Festival Factory 2004 au Trabendo à Paris.
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B.J. Cole |
Alexkid |
Paolo Fresu |
Born French from a Spanish mother in 1975, Alexis Mauri aka Alexkid is a multi-instrumentalist,
composer, re-mixer, DJ and experienced sound engineer. His growing reputation
of first class artist/producer and his knowledge of the dance floors made him
a requested DJ. His Sets are jumping from Old Disco cuts to Chicagoan House
and Garage and he’s been playing regularly across Europe and the U.S.A
for the last two years.
He originally got hooked to music at the age of fifteen, playing guitar in numerous
funk school bands. It's only a few years later that he started getting involved
in electronic music while learning sound engineering .
Signed to French leading electronic label F-Communications in 1997, Alexkid
will release a series of 4 Eps, until 2000, all to critical acclaim. Always
on a Deep tip, his productions are mainly influenced by movie soundtracks and
show an amazing diversity of styles from jazzy nu-house to Drum & Bass and
abstract hip-hop.
BIENVENIDA - his long-awaited first album released in 2001 - confirms the creativity of a composer exploring new musical fields while bearing his original trademark of joyful and grooving electronic mood. Here, technology is transparent, serving feelings rather than inducing them even in the most electronic pieces such as Strawberry Lane or Bienvenida. Including edited and remastered versions of previously released tracks, Bienvenida also contains two remixes from his first EP, the cinematic "Maybe" and the reconstruction of "I Think" by Richard Dorfmeister. Five new pieces complete the album two of which featuring guest vocalists and co-writers Ursula Rucker (4Hero/King Britt/The Roots), who gives a brilliant reading of her poetry in "Fear In Flight", and Hanifah Walidah (Brooklyn Funk Essentials) whose soulful performance illuminates "Not Every Angel".
MINT, his second album is released in August 2003 to much critical acclaim from
the European press. Back in studio with Hanifah Walidah (Pick It Up), he also
calls in Cuban singer Lissette Alea and Scottish singer Ian James Whitelaw for
the vocals of some brilliant electronic pop songs (Come With Me, Turn It Round
Again). Very special guest is Jon Hassell, the legendary trumpet player who
co-writes the title track of the album.
Playing various instruments all along, Alexkid also knows how to gather perfect
teams of excellent musicians among them Stéfane Goldman (guitars), Jean-Philippe
Rykiel (keyboards, reknown for his pioneering works with the likes of Salif
keita and Youssou N'Dour), label mate Ready Made, Christian Lechevretel and
Renaud Pion (wind instruments, (both with impressive credits from Peter Gabriel
to Dead Can Dance), Yvo Abadi, Philippe Monrose (percussions) or DJ Seep. It
is with some of them that Alexkid has toured all over Europe from September
2003 till July 2004.
CARACOL, his third album is released in September 2006 : touched by grace
from beginning to end... a true master stroke... minimalist but refined...
the press is at the rendez-vous again. Caracol is all about catchy rhythms with
an organic feel and immediate dance floor flavours but for the opener –
River Flow - an electronified deconstruction of Keith Thompson’s vocals,
and for the closing Back And Forth – an eerie ballad co-written and beautifully
sang by Daniella D’Ambrosio (featured in Nouvelle Vague’s first
album and “Bleed” by Aswefall with whom she penned and performed
the song for the latest Air France advertising campaign). All the rest is drilling,
not chilling. Flashes of funk, echoes of Detroit and Chicago, slight touches
of techno, hypnotic bars and beats, you name it there it is, but often in very
unpredictable ways : from the bombastic progression of Decibelly to the twisted
Nightshade (where Alexkid and Lissette Alea push their collaboration a step
beyond gentleness), from Love Letters (already a must of Alex’s DJ sets)
to Basic which title says it all, from Orm filled with atmospheric sparks to
the epic Caracol and the relentless flow of Mare Alta, every track is condensed
pleasure, minimal while sexy, abstract while physical, modern while paying its
dues to the history of electronic music with elegance and attitude.
While working as a solo artist, Alexkid is involved in various studio and live
projects and has formed two bands : the electronic dub trio Dubphonic ("Class
84"/Guidance recordings 2000, “Smoke Signals”/Hammerbass 2003),
and VeoVeo ("Safe&Sound"/Set Foundation 2002) where guitar based
pop meets electronic. Veo Veo's first album will be released in 2007 while the
band will be performing live from January 2007 on (myspace.com/veoveomusic).
His credits as remixer include Llorca, Brooklyn Funk Essentials, Robert Miles, Fetile Ground, George Michael, Astor Piazzolla, Lullabies (for Missive), Clément (for Tropism), Hector Zazou ("The Long Voyage" featuring Suzanne Vega & John Cale), Muriel Moreno (from Niagara's fame), Nova Nova, and, with Dubphonic, Richard Dorfmeister (Suzuki in Dub/G-Stone) among others.
His own tracks have been remixed by Jori Hulkonen (Bienvenida), Llorca, Brett Johnson, Tiga, DJ Seep (Come With Me), Riton, Jack Lahana, Blackstrobe (Pick It Up), Josh Wink (Don't Hide It).
Writing collaborations include Hector Zazou, Ursula Rucker ("Supa Sista"/Studio K7), Jérôme Badini ("Trip Do Brasil #2" /Sony), Dubphonic ("Smoke Signals"), Veo Veo, Chloe (After Blaster)...
* ALEXKID "Playground
Ep" - F Communications 1997
* ALEXKID "Castlesmadeofsand
Ep" - F Communications 1998
* ALEXKID " Soul College
EP " - F Communications 1999
* ALEXKID "U's Song" (CD Megasoft Office 2000) - F-Communications
* ALEXKID "WhatIdidonmyholidays"
- F-Communications 2000
* ALEXKID "Bienvenida"
CD & LP - F-Communications 2001
* ALEXKID "Bienvenida" remixed by Alexkid & Jori Hulkonen 12'
- F-Communications 2001
* ALEXKID "Strawberry Lane" remixed by King's Briit & Llorca 12'
- F-Communications 2002
* ALEXKID "Come With Me" 12' & CD sgle - F-Communications 2003
* ALEXKID "Mint"
CD & LP - F-Communications 2003
* ALEXKID "Come With Me" 12' remixed by Brett Johnson, Llorca - F-Communications
2003
* ALEXKID "Come With Me" 12' remixed by Tiga, DJ Seep - F-Communications
2003
* ALEXKID "Pick It Up" 12' remixed by Riton, Jack Lahana... F-Communications
2004
* ALEXKID "Don't Hide It" 12' remixed by Josh Wink, Alexkid - F-Communications
2004
* AlEXKID "Caracol" 12' (also includes "Uno") - F-Communications
April 2006
* ALEXKID "Caracol"CD
& DIGITAL - F-Communications September 2006
* ALEXKID "Nightshade" 12' remixes V.1 by Chicken Lips and by Rodriguez
Junior - F-Communications September 2006
* ALEXKID "Nightshade" 12' remixes V.2 by Alexkid and by (T)ekël
- F-Communications November 2006
* ALEXKID "Love Letters" 12' remixes by Marc Romboy and by Tim Paris
- F-Communications April 2007
Collaborations
* MALT "So Sweet" - Happy Music 1997
* COMMON NATURE (with Mandel Turner) - " Can't
You See The Sunshine Thru The Rain ? " Guidance Recordings 1999
* DUBPHONIC " #EP1 - Class 84 " 12' - Guidance Recordings/Subtitled
2000
* VEO VEO "Safe & Sound" - 10' limited edition - Set Foundation
2002
* DUBPHONIC "Smoke Signals" cd album - Taktic Music/Hammerbass 2003
* ALEXKID & VISTA LE VIE "Nurse Nibs" - F-Comme... (limited edition
cd) - F-Communications 2005
* ALEXKID with B.J.COLE and PAOLO FRESU "I Think Live at Factory"
(Megasoft Office 2005) - F-Communications.
* ALEXKID with CHLOE "After Blaster" - 12' - 2006
Remixes
* "The Long Voyage" (Suzanne Vega/John Cale/Hector Zazou) - Sony Music
France 1995.
* "Sacrifice" & "Autumn Is Fall (Karen Tungay) - Playtime
Records 1996.
* "Bewildered" (Nova Nova) - F-Communications 1999
* "Electronic" (Juantrip) - F-Communications 2000
* "Orozco" (Tosca) with Dubphonic - G-Stone 2000
* "Bienvenida" (Alexkid) - F-Communications 2001
* "Jah Jah Is A Guiding Star" (Linval Thompson) with Dubphonic - Echo
Beach 2001
* "Fuse Box" (OST Monsoon Wedding) - Milan/ULM 2001
* "Wrong" (Robert Miles) - 2001
* "Shoot The Dog" (George Michael) - Polydor 2001
* "Let The Wind Blow" (Fertile Ground) - Flamingo Discos 2002
* "Indigo Blues" (Llorca) - F-Communications 2002
* "I Can't wait" (King Britt Silk 130) - 2002
* "Gumbo" (Daniell Spencer) - Brique Rouge 2002
* "Luna" (Astor Piazzolla) - Milan 2003
* "Do you Remember" (Kemetic Just) - Silver Network 2003
* "Pink Panther Theme" (Henry Mancini) - EMI 2004
* "Pick It Up" (Alexkid) - F-Communications 2004
* "Marmelade" (Lullabies) - Missive 2004
* "Myra" (Clément) - Tropism 2004
* "Song for Maya" (Phil Weeks) - Brique Rouge 2004
* "Pulso" (Luciano Supervielle) - Universal Music SA 2004
* "Don't Hide It" (Alexkid) - F-Communications 2004
* "And I hate you" (Melissa Mars) - Polydor/Universal Music 2004
* "For the time being" (Phonique feat. Erlend Oye) - Dessous 2005
* "Fantasy World" (Didier Sinclair) - Serial 2005
* "Outilé" (Eric Triton) - Polydor/Universal Music 2005
* "The Ripple" (20 for 7) - Chocoflash 2005
* " (I wanna be) Waiting for my plane" (Laurent Garnier) with Veo
Veo - F-Communications 2005
* "For the time being" (Phonique) - Dessous 2006
* "Loosing Touch" (Sasse feat Kiki) - MoodMusic 2006
* "Nightshade" (Alexkid) - F-Communications 2006
Programming/Arrangements/Production
* "Come Rain Or Come Shine" (Muriel Moreno) - Virgin France 1997
* "Tes Départs" (Muriel Moreno) - East/West 1997
* "Ya Basta" (Sub-Commandante Marcos) - Virgin 1998
* "New october",
* "You can't get rid of it" (Muriel Moreno, album Required Elements)
- Henry productions.2000
* "Panorama" (Veo Veo) - To be released
Sound engineer (recording/mixing/editing )
* CD "Double Jeu" (Jean-Louis Majhun & Alain Giroux) - Last Call
1996 (recording and mixing engineer)
* CD Maxi "Mortal Kombat" (Section Fu) - Night & Day 1996 (recording
and mixing engineer)
* Concert Lightwave - Germany 1997
* Concerts Lama Gyourmé/Jean-Philippe Rykiel - Spain 1996
* CD "Alien Diary" (Wolfram Huschke - BMG Classics 1998 (assistant
engineer)
* CD "Disque d'Or" (PDG) - Artati/Auvidis 1998 (recording engineer)
* CD "Lights In The Dark" (Hector Zazou) - Detour/Warner 1998 (recording
engineer)
* CD "Le Clos Des Fées" (Laurence Revey) - MusikVertrieb 1999
(mixing engineer)
* CD sgle " Think Positiv " (Ethnician) - Sony 1999 (digital editing)
* CD "Dive" (Sophie Moleta) - Telescopic 2000 (recording and mixing
engineer)
* CD sgle "Offering Chant" (Lama Gyurme & Jean-Philippe Rykiel)
- Real World 2000 (editing engineer)
* CD "The Lotus Lake" (Lama Urgyen Dorje) - Naïve 2000 (recording
and mixing engineer)
* CD "Om Mané Padme Houng" (Ethnician w. Lama Urgyen Dorje)
- Naîve 2000 (mixing engineer)
* CD "Bienvenida" (Alexkid) - F-Communications2001 (recording and
mixing engineer/producer)
* 12' "Safe & Sound/Silent Note" (Veo Veo) - Set 2002 - (recording
and mixing engineer/producer)
* CD "Smoke Signals" (Dubphonic) - Hammerbass 2003 (recording and
mixing engineer/producer)
* CD "Strong Currents" (Hector Zazou) - Telescopic/Materiali Sonori
2003 (recording engineer)
* CD "Mint" (Alexkid) - F-Communications 2004 (recording and mixing
engineer/producer)
* CD "L'Absence" (Hector Zazou) - East/West 2004 (mixing engineer)
* CD "The Lama's Chants" (Lama Gyurme/Jean-Philippe Rykiel) - Last
Call/Narada/EMI 2004 (digital editing)
* CD "Bleed" (Aswefall) - KilltheDJ/Discograph 2005 (mixing)
* CD "Caracol" (Alexkid) - F-Communications 2006 (recording and mixing
engineer/producer)
* CD "Sunday Morning " (Moods) - Nocturne 2007- (mixing engineer and
programming))
* CD "Panorama" (Veo Veo) - To be released - (recording and mixing
engineer/producer)