Interview
Aleks was born in Almaty, Kazakhstan and grew up immersed in the Russian culture, even though he was based in the PNW. Throughout his life, he hasn't necessarily always been the biggest fan of electronic music. He was involved in band throughout school and was the vocalist of a prog metal band after high school. Sometime in 2015 though, his perspective shifted and he began to really understand electronic music. Since then, Aleks has strived to combine my intermediate knowledge of music theory and performance, with a constant learning of production and songwriting to bring forth of product of experimentation and good vibes through his Too Much.
What have you been up to?
I recently turned 26 so tbh I’ve been searching for a job with decent benefits so I don’t get robbed by the health insurance companies as much lmao. Besides that, I’ve been grinding away at getting better at my craft and discovering amazing artists in the community.
Tell us a bit about the mix!
I’m a producer first and DJ 99th lol I took the approach of showcasing mostly original tracks with a few IDs in here. I like to take people through a journey in all my music. So I start this mix with a heavy tune from a homie that’s been really killing it lately, Edekit. I feed off that heavy energy with my own heavier tunes and slowly transition into my chiller style. After a small chunk of time there, I take it back to my heavier side. Hope everyone enjoys!
Where are you at when you’re not behind the decks?
So I actually don’t DJ very often. So when I’m not behind the decks, I’m usually behind my laptop at home producing music and experimenting. When I’m not doing that, I like to play video games. Fave game of all time would probably have to be The Last of Us for me. I’m married, so a lot of my time is spent hanging out with my incredible wife. We like to go hiking, hit the beach, and overall go on adventures. I spend a lot of time by myself though.
What are you listening to when you’re not in the mix?
So I listen to a lot of artists in the community. By that I mainly mean the Phuture Collective community. Michael has built this incredible place for artists to meet, interact, and learn from each other. I’ve met so many cool people because of him and the community he’s built. A few examples are Edekit, AOTA, olswel, walrus tales, b-dos, chromonicci, and a bunch of others. I listen to them more than any mainstream artist. I feel like some communities like the Night Owl peeps and a few others are somewhat associated with phuture as well. I love listening to their stuff too. As well as quality goods records, prrrrrrr records, and so many more. Outside of the community I still find myself listening to the dear hunter, any r&b artist my wife recommends (she has great taste), lots of hip hop, all the weird prog stuff my good friends recommend, and so many more things. I like discovering new things. Not to sound like a hipster, but I definitely prefer underground music. I feel like people really push boundaries there.Last thing I’ll say about this, is that everyone needs to check out Alon Mor, if they haven’t already. He hasn’t released new music in a minute, but his last album is still some of the most forward thinking electronic music I’ve ever heard in my life. Do yourself a favor please.
What are you up to next?
I’ve got a lot of collabs on the horizon. Stoked to have all those finished up. Lots of personal stuff coming up. I have a future bass track inspired by Lapalux featuring evergreen coming soon. I’ve got a bjork-vocal-style future beat track coming soon featuring the homie Dane Leong. I have a 5 track r&b/hip hop EP coming soon that features 5 vocalist (plus myself doing harmonies and stuff). So lots of exciting things on the horizon!