Alex!

Alex Ayuli joined forces with Rudy Tambala under the A.R. Kane banner, laying early groundwork for both shoegazing and post-rock. During an initial conversation with Melody Maker’s Simon Reynolds, Ayuli introduced the phrase dream pop. Although the pair’s 69 and “i” albums demonstrated clear quality and lasting impact, the widest attention they received came from a single joint project with Colourbox personnel that appeared under the name M/A/R/R/S and yielded the worldwide number-one hit “Pump Up the Volume” in 1987.

Years after his split from Tambala, Ayuli adopted the solo alias Alex! and began issuing material on his self-run Dreampop label. The album Soul Surging arrived in 1999, followed by the 2000 single Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee and the 2001 full-length Alien Technology. Working almost completely alone on recording and production, Ayuli sought to prevent the genre he had helped originate from slipping into inactivity.