Q+A: Boys Noize

For someone who’s happy to tell us his early ambitions amounted to little more than wanting to make mixtapes, Alex Ridha has certainly achieved a fair amount since bursting onto the scene 12 years ago. The German DJ first won attention in the mid-noughties with his maximalist take on electro and techno. Dropping records with everyone from Kitsuné to Turbo to Cocoon in those early years, Ridha built up an enviable discography and even launched his own Boys Noize Records very early on in his career. Since then he’s worked with everyone from Erol Alkan to Mr Oizo, to Snoop Dogg and Jean Michelle Jarre as well as teaming up with Skrillex for their Dogblood collaboration and helping launch the careers of artists like SCNTST. With new album ‘Mayday’, Boys Noize is at his tough and uncompromising best, offering a thrill ride of an album that takes in everything from industrial techno to jungle to hip hop with collabs with people like Hudson Mohawke and Remy Banks along the way. On top of that, he’s back with a new live set-up after retiring his festival slaying skull stage show. We caught up to talk 10 years of Boys Noize Records, the new live set-up and why he’s still just the kid in the record shop.

What is it that drives you to change and not be tied to a certain sound?

For me, there’s no reason for making another techno track of the kind that already exists. I always try to bring something new to the table. Away from the linear club music, where the loop can repeat over six minutes, but also away from the usual song structure, while taking the essence of techno and house and transforming it into something a bit more special.

Is there anyone who’s influenced you in that way?

I really loved some of the early Chemical Brothers stuff. There’s actually one release they did as The Dust Brothers that brings in these sped-up hip hop breaks and mad sounds. I was also a little bit inspired by some of the LFO stuff, which I always loved. LFO to me always brings the techno punk vibe. It’s a little noisy, but really clever.

How does your new live show differ from the skull stage? How do you top that?

I don’t really try to top anything. I just try to create something that is exciting for myself. It’s the same with the DJ sets I do. When I play in London, every time you see me, I will play something fresh and something that you haven’t heard before. That’s probably why people come back and appreciate my stuff.

Can you describe the new stage design?

It has an industrial look. It’s pretty raw. There aren’t many digital effects. It’s really a stage piece. It’s pretty modular as well, so I can make it bigger or smaller if I want, but it’s got a heavy industrial look and it’s a lot about lights. I’ve been rehearsing a lot and I’m programming a lot of lights myself that I trigger when I play.

You’ve worked with a number of people on this record, from Benga and Hudson Mohawke to Poliça. How did you end up working with them?

In the last two years working on new music there were moments where you’d go have a beer with TEED and end up making a record like ‘2 Live’. I was pretty open-minded to let things happen and didn’t really choose the artists. The only real collaboration I wanted to do was Poliça, a band from Minneapolis, who I got introduced to through Bon Iver. We made this really crazy rhythm which is kind of unusual. It’s quite chaotic as well, but I didn’t want to just make a deep house record where she sings over it.

You also worked with Benga?

Benga was a funny story. I’ve been a big fan of his music for a long time. When I listen back to ‘Night’, the track he did with Coki, Benga was always a step ahead with rhythm. I got back in touch with him last year. He was sending me new tunes and we were both saying let’s do something, but then he showed up the next day in Berlin. He just booked a flight, and knocked on my door without me knowing he was coming!

What was working with him like – especially given that it was one of the first songs he’s released since he opened up about his mental health issues?

He’s such a lovely person and it’s not easy to survive in this crazy music industry. It’s just not right for everybody, but he’s doing really well at the moment. The industry is fucked up. It fucks up musicians and it fucks up music. That’s why I’ve always done things on my own terms. That’s why I release my music on my own label, because I can’t do it the way the industry wants it to be.

You’ve always seemed like a bit of an outsider, but at the same time you’re in demand as a DJ at huge festivals and clubs all over the world

I like what I do, but I just always follow my heart with almost every decision. I’ve been DJing for 17 years and I just love it so much. I’ve worked in a record store and had two jobs to finance all my vinyl, turntables and all that. Back when I was 14 I never thought about being a DJ who flies around the world. I just wanted to make mixtapes.

Boysnoize Records hit its 10th anniversary last year. Did you ever think it would go on for so long?

It is crazy how time flies. I didn’t even notice it was 10 years, to be honest. I try to do things in the moment. For me, the label is a platform for my creativity and for all the artists that I sign, like SCNTST and Djedjotronic. I signed them because I believe in what they do. Sometimes there’s a shitty track, sometimes not, but I even like their shitty tracks because I like how they hear things. I never sign music because I thought they could sell. We’ve never really had hits on the label anyway!

SCNTST was your prodigy on the label for a while. How does it feel seeing him doing so well these days with his Skee Mask project?

It’s cool because people really love his stuff and he’s so diverse as well. He can make something very musical where there’s some techno in it, but the second album was more like dub techno, like a Hard Wax or Basic Channel-inspired techno.

What’s happening with your Dog Blood project with Skrillex?

Nothing much, to be honest; in the last two years I’ve tried to focus on my own music again and he just won two more Grammys with another project so obviously he’s busy.

Skrillex has produced some huge pop records for Justin Bieber. Do you have any desire to follow in his footsteps?

No, I had my taste of the pop world a few years ago when I did something with the Black Eyed Peas. I’m not mad at the music itself, and I could imagine producing something bigger. The only problem is the [pop] industry. I’ve had a little taste of it and I quickly realised that it’s not really the place for me to grind that hard. I’d rather make three new techno tracks for a new Strictly Raw album. At least I know there’s an output for it rather than spending half a year trying to make big pop records that might never come out because there’s some weird politics around it.

‘Mayday’ is out now on Boysnoize Records