Alexis Gideon

Alexis Gideon stands out as an inventive oddball who abandoned New York City in search of a distinctly personal creative path far from his origins. He first drew notice among forward-thinking listeners in Chicago after forming the offbeat hip-hop duo Princess alongside Michael O'Neill. The pair blended straightforward yet groovy rhythms with lo-fi electronic textures and unpredictable instrumental passages that ranged from subtle banjo lines to heavily distorted electric guitars, evoking the unlikely outcome of Ween or Eugene Chadbourne immersing themselves in OutKast. Princess issued a full-length recording through the Chicago-based Sickroom Records label during 2005, yet Gideon soon shifted focus toward independent work, departing the project to tour and record alone—occasionally under the name Alexis—while retaining a comparable approach that grew even more skewed. He once characterized his output with modest flair as "the craziest music currently available." His debut solo effort, Welcome Song, appeared on Sickroom in early 2007 and included unsteady gangsta rap send-ups, Casio keyboard exercises, and a tribute to the Liophant, his preferred imaginary creature. Not long before Welcome Song reached listeners, Gideon moved to Los Angeles and began performing frequently at area venues.