Alec Empire
| Alec Empire | |
|---|---|
Alec Empire DJing at Throbbing Gristle's 2005–2006 New Year's Eve party
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alexander Wilke-Steinhof |
| Also known as | Alexander Wilke Death Funk DJ 6666 feat. The Illegals DJ Mowgly E.C.P. Jaguar LX Empire Naomi Campbell Nero Nintendo Teenage Robots P.J.P. Richard Benson Wipe Out |
| Born |
2 May 1972 Berlin, Germany |
| Genres | Digital hardcore, electronica, hardcore techno, industrial dance |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, producer, DJ |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, synthesizer, sampler, drum machine, mixer |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Labels | Digital Hardcore Recordings, Eat Your Heart Out, Grand Royal, Phonogram, Force Inc., Mille Plateaux, Geist Recordings, Riot Beats |
| Associated acts |
Atari Teenage Riot The Curse of the Golden Vampire |
| Website | http://www.alec-empire.com/ |
Alec Empire (born Alexander Wilke-Steinhof on 2 May 1972 in Charlottenburg, West Berlin) is a German musician who is best known as a founding member of the band Atari Teenage Riot. Also a prolific and distinguished solo artist, producer and DJ, he has released well over a hundred albums, EPs and singles and remixed over seventy tracks for various artists including Björk. He was also the driving force behind the creation of the digital hardcore subgenre and the record labels Digital Hardcore Recordings and Eat Your Heart Out.
Wilke's father was a working-class socialist, himself the son of a radical activist who perished in the Nazi concentration camps of the Second World War. His maternal grandfather, Karl Steinhof, was a self-made millionaire who patented the first domestic hand-knitting appliance during the economic boom in Germany in the 1950s.
Wilke grew up during the Cold War near the Berlin Wall, which he passed every day on his way to school. The frequent sight of patrol guards with guns influenced his outlook on life from an early age. He describes Berlin at the time as: "Probably the most left radical place in Germany in the 70s, terrorists, a lot of demonstrations, and probably the first address to hear the latest American music, because of the radio shows the US soldiers brought to Berlin."
At the age of ten, Wilke's love of rap led to a vogueing career on the streets of Berlin. Later disillusioned by that genre becoming increasingly commercial, he left it behind in favour of a completely different form of musical expression. He had played guitar since the age of eight which coupled with his politically charged upbringing eventually led him to punk music; he formed his first band, Die Kinder (The Kids), at age twelve.
By sixteen, however, Wilke came to believe that the punk movement was "dead" (though the anti-establishment punk attitude would figure significantly in his subsequent output). After leaving Die Kinder, he began listening to classical music and experimenting with electronic instruments. He eventually became fascinated by the rave scene, and, following German reunification, frequented underground raves in East Berlin, believing his native West Berlin scene to be too commercialised. Known earlier in his career as LX Empire he produced a great deal of what he refers to as "faceless DJ music". In 1991, while DJing on a beach in France with his friend Hanin Elias, he caught the attention of Ian Pooley, which led to the release of a number of 12" records on the Force Inc. label.
...
Wikipedia