Next up in our Origins Tapes series is DJ and producer Alexis. Kicking off 2020 with her debut release ‘Refractions EP’ and following it up with ‘Who’s there’ in 2021 released on London label ‘Left, Right & Centre’: Alexis’ skills as a producer are gaining her attention in dance music circles worldwide, sharing billings with the likes of Four Tet, Objekt and Batu. 

A resident on Nood’s radio, one of the underground music scenes most beloved stations, Alexis’ sets promote a broad sonic pallet ranging from twisted experimental club cuts and serrated UK techno, through to old electro digs and off the radar downtempo bass rollers, all tied together with her innate sense of timing and rhythm.

We are very excited to see Alexis play at our forthcoming London night in June and it is a pleasure to see her join the roster for our Tapes series. 

Tracklist

Unperson - In Your Own Time
Jossy Mitsu - Oddessy
Al Wooton - Ender
Flint - Dash 4 
Hagan - Ultra 
Adam pits - Gazza
DJ Tess - Nightmare 
Nikki Nair - Low Dimension
Riobamba - Respira Hondo
Object blue - Exorcism Of A Self Help Book 
Machine woman - Why Is It So Hard To Be In A Room With You
Will lister - Those Faces That Blur
Jossy Mitsu - O
Mistareez- Realistic Goals
Yelsew - Dive System 
Deena Abdelwahed - Abbrejiyeytar

Hi Alexis, Thanks so much for taking part in our Origins Tapes series it’s great to have you involved. The first question I would love to ask is what was your first experience of the music that you play currently?

I guess it would be probably from when I worked at Balamii Radio and was tracklisting some of the left-field leaning, experimental shows. It took me a while to like it in all honesty, I then started hearing of labels like Hessle Audio, Livity Sound, and Timedance and it sort of all just clicked and I fell in love with that sound!

Tell us a bit about the mix - was there a particular inspiration behind the selection?

As the mix is an hour, I wanted to go straight in with kind of peak time stuff (if anyone can remember what peak time feels like). It’s a blend of new stuff I’ve found and been sent over by some really exciting new producers. Conducive to my usual style, it’s very heavy on percussive elements and rhythm :-)

You play a monthly slot on one of the best stations for electronic music - Noods. How important is radio to your journey as an artist?

Radio has been so so important for my development as an artist. It gives me a reason to be on the lookout for new music constantly! It’s also allowed me to showcase not just dance music, which has been really fun and liberating. Especially during the pandemic when putting out a monthly mix of dance music didn’t feel like something I wanted to do.

You released your beautiful 2 track debut ‘Refractions EP' at the beginning of 2020, what has the response been like shifting from DJ to artist, and can you share anything about your next release?

Firstly, thank you! The response was so nice and encouraging, making music is something I’ve wanted to do as long as I could remember but never felt like I had the confidence or knowledge to do it. So, DJing was a great way to start for me, it felt like a very natural way to lead into producing and figuring out what kind of sounds I wanted to make.

Regarding the next release, I want to experiment with some new sounds, not 100% what these are yet so can’t share that atm.

How did lockdown affect your creative process, have you found out something about yourself as an artist that you didn’t know before? 

Lockdown really drained the creativity out of me initially. Not being able to go to gigs and shows really impacted my inspiration as I fed off of going out so much. Not even just going to gigs, but going and seeing friends and just anything really that’s not in the confines of my flat. 

It definitely gave me a lot of headspace to reflect on my career thus far and what I want to achieve long term. I really realised how broad my taste in music is and all the different ways I can channel and explore this. That’s one thing I can thank lockdown for, without that time I probably wouldn’t have come to realize any of this.

What would be your dream B2B and musical collaboration?

As for a dream B2B I have to say I think it would be with Ben UFO, he’s just such an unbelievably sick and versatile DJ, as everyone knows. And as for musical collaboration omg, there’s too many to name, a handful would be: FKA Twigs, Kelly Lee Owens, Bjork, Objekt, Skee Mask, the list goes on!!

What artist and/or DJ would you say are the ones to watch in 2021? (Alongside yourself of course) 

There are so many exciting producers I’ve come across in the last couple of years. A few would be, Pluralist, Dowd, Jude Woodhead, Fauzia, and Anz. Would be a very long list if I went through them all!

What is next in the cards for you post-lockdown? 

Hopefully getting back to playing more shows !! And getting another EP or two out this year ★~(◠‿◕✿)

Thanks so much for being a part of Origins Tapes, we really look forward to seeing you smash it in 2021!

Follow Alexis —

soundcloud.com/alexis_andrews
instagram.com/alexis.alexis.alexiss

Interview by @lcy__________