Boys Noize - Mayday Remixes Part 1 (2017)

Berlin-based Boys Noize producer Alexander Ridha creates music similar in style to the French electro of Kitsuné Music and Ed Banger Records. He also runs his own label, Boysnoize Records, which features other producers of a similar style, and he is a prolific remixer whose credits include well-known acts such as Bloc Party, Depeche Mode, Feist, and Justice. Born in Hamburg, Germany, Ridha moved to Berlin when he was 21 years old. Chiefly inspired by Daft Punk, he established himself as a talented producer in 2004 with the International Deejay Gigolo Records 12" single The Bomb!/Boy Neu. In 2005 Ridha founded Boysnoize Records and released a pair of Boys Noize 12" singles (Optic/He-Man, Volta 82) on the label, which subsequently featured the work of Einzeller, John Starlight, Eastwest, I-Robots, PUZIQUe, Housemeister, Lady B, Les Petits Pilous, and others. Meanwhile, he produced one-off releases for Anthony Rother's Datapunk label (Are You In?, 2005), Tiga's Turbo label (Erole Attakk, 2006), and Kitsuné Music (Feel Good [TV=Off], 2007). Oi Oi Oi (2007) marked the full-length album debut of Ridha as Boys Noize; Last Gang Records licensed the album for release in North America, along with an EP of remixes, Oi Oi Oi Remixed. A popular Boys Noize remix of Feist's "My Moon My Man" was included as a bonus track on Oi Oi Oi. It was one of several remixes -- most notably Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus," Bloc Party's "Banquet," and Justice's "Phantom, Pt. 2" -- that helped popularize the Boys Noize brand. The studio albums Power and Out of the Black followed, respectively, in 2009 and 2012, while Ridha continued to field remix duties for the likes of the Chemical Brothers, N.E.R.D., and Daft Punk. He also briefly joined with Skrillex in 2012 for a collaborative project they called Dog Blood. Ridha was tapped for the 72nd volume of Fabric's long-running Fabriclive DJ mix series in 2013. Out of the Black: The Remixes followed in 2014, with artists like Justice, Chromeo, and Jimmy Edgar reworking that album's tracks. In May 2016 he released his fourth studio LP, Mayday, which featured appearances by Benga, Remy Banks, Hudson Mohawke, Spank Rock, and Poliça. ~ Jason Birchmeier