Alex Wright is a UK-based Producer / DJ signed to Black Hole, Enhanced Music, and FSOE Recordings. With many years of experimentation and hard work, Alex Wright's melodic, uplifting sound is coming into its own. Varied tempos and styles allow Alex's work to appeal to many different audiences and tastes, whilst keeping true to the ethos of good groove and detailed melodic sensibility. DJs such as Aly & Fila, Armin van Buuren, Dan Stone, and Ferry Tayle have picked up on his work, playing his tracks on their own radio shows and at gigs around the globe. Alex sets to take his sound on the road during the coming years to expand his listening audience and enhance his ever-developing craft. The best way to hear Alex's selection of high quality progressive and uplifting Trance is to listen in to the bi-weekly Trance Encounters podcast live from 20:00-21:00 GMT on the 1st and 3rd Friday of every month on 1Mix Radio and at www.facebook.com/alexwrightmusic.
Dimitri: Can you mention your biggest music career achievements in 2018?
Alex Wright: 2018 has been by far my most rewarding year yet as both a producer and DJ. Being asked to play at Luminosity Beach Festival was my biggest achievement, as well as playing my first 2.5 hour headline set for the UK Trance Society at their Aurora event in Cargo, Shoreditch. Just recently I got my track Sueño featured on Disc 1 of Pure Trance Vol. 7 mixed by Kristina Sky, and I also stepped foot on to FSOE Parallels and Clandestine this year with productions in the more melodic, progressive, and driving, techy sounds.
Dimitri: Can you rate 2018 for you as a year with 1 being very bad until 10 that is perfect year!
Alex Wright: 9 excellent year! I had more time than ever to develop my sound and try new things, giving myself the inspiration to think outside the box and push myself as an artist. I’ve had the luck of playing some excellent gigs away from my hometown and was treated professionally by these promoters, particularly at Luminosity Beach Festival which was an amazing experience and summer weekend away!
1) Best 3 Tracks from other artists in 2018, please give us a short comment for each track:
Will Atkinson - Seventh Heaven. After hearing this track being played twice at our last Cuckoo event in Nottingham where we had Dan Stone headlining, I was mesmerised by how dynamic and full of life this track is. From the tight, offbeat groove to the nostalgic, over-defined synth ostinatos in the intro section and the breathtaking, melodic breakdown, this track is it all. It’s full of pace, drive, euphoria, and musical creativity.
EverLight - Microgravity. I remember hearing about many big names playing this track at some of the best events before it’s release and when I received the promo for it, I understood why instantly because of its nailed-down, techy groove and contrasting floaty, melodic parts. It sounded huge on the sound system at Anomaly’s 2nd Birthday and I even had the privilege of being asked by Matt to remix this, which you should hear in both of our upcoming sets in the future.
Stoneface & Terminal - Berlin 2000. As soon as I heard this, I fell in love with its otherworldly breakdown and moody atmosphere. The tribal, percussive groove is bang on and the buildup is absolutely killer on a knowledgeable dancefloor. (I had the joy of finding this out when playing it in my headline set at Aurora last weekend).
2) Your 3 Best of 2018 personal productions, give us more background info about them:
Sueño[Pure Trance]: As I mentioned previously, this track was picked up by Rich and even featured on Disc 1 of Pure Trance Vol. 7. I feel extremely happy with the selection of samples I used to create the groove and mood of this piece, which felt to me like a cross somewhere between a dreamy, Latin-flavoured dancefloor journey and classic, Balearic Techno / House / Trance.
Aswan: When I found out that Monoverse was starting FSOE Parallels, I was intrigued to find out what direction this label would take sound-wise. After hearing the first few releases, I was instantly hooked by the warm, melodic, progressive sound of tracks like Pablo Artigas - Daybreak and Alan James - Empathy which reminded me of when I first discovered Anjunadeep in the late 00’s. I took inspiration from this to write Aswan, which has a catchy melody and great supporting melodies that I’m very satisfied with.
Mnemba: The reactions I’ve received to this track both online and right before my eyes at gigs has shown me how effective this is on inducing euphoria. During promo it got aired on ASOT where Armin himself described it as a “hidden gem” and other DJs such as Aly & Fila, Ferry Corsten, Kyau & Albert, and countless others played it, including Passion resident Marc West who played it to a packed main room after Paul Van Dyk’s headline set.
3) Best Artist in 2018(DJ & producer):
Alex Wright: Stoneface & Terminal because they’ve been around for decades and still do their own thing, keeping it fresh and exciting for everyone who follows them. I’m so excited to hear their album ‘Altered Floors’ properly!
4) Best Remix in 2018, please explain why you liked it so much:
Alex Wright: Lostly - Colourways (Outer Pulse Remix). I heard both mixes in the promo email which was nice as it’s not common to receive remixes together in a release package with the original on the more established labels nowadays. While the original was good, I was captivated by the bendy, electro-tinged bassline and glitchy, trippy breakdown of the remix by these geniuses from South America. Music like this really stands out to me from the more typical sound that many other people prefer.
5) Best Remix that you have produced in 2018, please tell us why you believe is your best work?
Alex Wright: Cosmaks & Armedio - Alternative Lights (Alex Wright Remix): Along with my remix of Marfen - Marbella which I also made for Midnight Aurora this year, this remix is my favourite in terms of how all of the elements fell together sound-wise when working with the MIDI parts I was given. Both are really expressive and chilled out, which will hopefully work as great opening material for a progressive set in the future.
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