Victor Axelrod

Victor Axelrod, best recognized through his Ticklah alias, has channeled his energies into an expansive array of projects, among them retro-soul duties with the Dap-Kings and Nigerian funk explorations alongside the Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, while also helping launch the Easy Star All-Stars and their widely praised dub reinterpretations of Dark Side of the Moon and OK Computer. Brooklyn-born and immersed early in classic reggae and dub, he turned serious attention to jazz studies upon reaching age 17. During his SUNY Purchase years he supplied keys for assorted ska and reggae groups, moving after graduation into Cooly's Hot Box and later occupying the keyboard chair in Special Request through 1996. His debut solo effort, the 1998 album Polydemic issued under the Ticklah name, coincided with his entry into the original lineup of Sharon Jones' Dap-Kings; he became an Antibalas member the next year. Recognition as one of the scene's most adaptable multi-instrumentalists soon led him to deepen his studio production work at Don't Trip, the sidewalk-level space he maintained in Gowanus, while he partnered with Michael G. inside the Easy Star All-Stars and oversaw the aliased solo venture Roots Combination. Between his own recording sessions he delivered remixes for DJ Spinna, tracked material with Ronny Jordan, and helmed production on Dr. Israel's Inna City Pressure. Further session contributions through producer Mark Ronson placed him on recordings with British artists Lily Allen, Robbie Williams, and Amy Winehouse, among them the track "Rehab." In 2007 he narrowed his focus strictly to the Ticklah identity, issuing Ticklah vs. Axelrod that September.