Victor Axelrod

Ticklah
Victor Axelrod aka Ticklah on the street outside his Brooklyn studio Photo by: Tatiana McCabe
Background information
Birth name	Victor Axelrod
Origin	Brooklyn, New York, United States
Occupation(s)	Musician, producer, engineer, DJ
Instruments	Piano, organ, keyboards, drums, bass guitar, melodica, guitar, harmonica, percussion
Labels	Indie
Associated acts	Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Easy Star All-Stars, Mark Ronson

Victor Axelrod aka Ticklah is a Brooklyn native and independent music producer and artist, who has been a continual and integral part of the NYC music scene for over a decade. As an artist he is a founding member of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, and the Easy Star All-Stars. As a producer he contributed to one of the most successful reggae albums of the 21st century, Dub Side of the Moon (co-production, mixing), as well as releasing his own critically acclaimed solo projects, including Ticklah vs. Axelrod.

Axelrod's most prominent alias is Ticklah, a name created for roots reggae. He recorded his debut Polydemic album under the name Ticklah, on Razorfish Records in 1998. But in 2001 he put out his second solo album on Guidance Records under the alias Roots Combination, crediting the songs to fictitious performers due to contract obligations with Razorfish which prevented him from using the Ticklah alias. In 2007 he reverted to the Ticklah name with the release of his third album Ticklah vs. Axelrod. Axelrod also used the alias Earl Maxton, as the organist and one of the original members of the Soul Providers.

Axelrod began playing the piano at a young age. By the age of 17, he earnestly studied jazz, but also held a special interest in classic reggae and dub. While still in high school, he was already playing gigs with local bands in NYC's ska scene, including the Boilers. He went on to study music composition at SUNY Purchase, where his musical career began to cultivate and take off. After college he played alongside other New York natives, including Tortured Soul's John Christian Urich, in the band Cooly's Hot Box and Easy Star All-Stars' Michael G. (born Michael Goldwasser) in Special Request. His involvement with Cooly's Hot Box eventually lead to his introduction into music production. He recorded his first album in 1998 and produced his first reggae album in 2001.