Alex Smoke

An esteemed techno producer and DJ based in Glasgow, Alex Smoke maintains strong ties to Soma Quality Recordings in addition to running his own imprint, Hum+Haw. From 2002 onward he has issued numerous 12-inch singles showcasing glitchy, shuffling minimal techno alongside several albums that steer his aesthetic toward experimental terrain, frequently weaving in his own vocals, cinematic soundscapes, and sporadic acoustic instrumentation. Born Alex Menzies to a mother employed as a music teacher, he pursued classical studies in childhood after earning a scholarship to Durham Cathedral Choir School, where he performed on cello, piano, and drums. Under the alias Alex Smoke he entered the recording arena in 2002 via the Savalas Underground Developments label with the 12-inch EP Random As. That release attracted notice from Berlin’s Vakant and Glasgow’s Soma Quality Recordings, the latter long established since its 1991 founding and home to prominent names such as Slam, Daft Punk, Percy X, and Funk d'Void. Starting in 2004 both imprints began issuing 12-inch EPs by Smoke, with Vakant offerings comprising Simple Things (2004), Ring.Click.Tink (2005), and Hanged Man (2007), while Soma counterparts included Chica Wappa (2004), Lost in Sound (2005), and Prima Materia (2007). Soma additionally put out two full-length albums—Incommunicado (2005) and the vocal-centric Paradolia (2006)—plus the mix CD Sci.Fi.Hi.Fi. _03 (2006). By 2007 Smoke had also become a busy remixer whose clients encompassed Mylo, Junior Boys, Steve Reich, and Radio 4, among many others. After delivering the Hanged Man EP on Vakant and Prima Materia on Soma, he launched Hum+Haw in early 2008 with the Vaporub EP. F in F surfaced on Vakant in 2009, followed by further EPs on Hum+Haw that culminated in Lux, Smoke’s third album and the label’s sole full-length release. Following a pair of remix singles on Soma in 2011, he issued the original-track EP Mu on Vakant in 2012. In 2013 he unveiled a full-length under his experimental alias Wraetlic on Convex Industries and made his first appearance on the Belgian label R&S with the 12-inch Dust, which featured a remix by Tessela. Another EP, RS1403, arrived on the same imprint in 2014. April 2015 brought the Stauner EP on Optimo Trax, and the next month saw the more experimental, classically inflected LP Order & Disorder—credited under his birth name—appear on Ricardo Donoso’s Kathexis label. Early 2016 marked his return to R&S with Love Over Will, the Alex Smoke album least oriented toward the dancefloor to date.