Alka

Alka (Bryan Michael) is quickly becoming one of the world's most respected IDM artists. In a sea of jittery rhythm and precise melody, his unique blend of modular synthesis accentuates even the most subtle details of analog sound. Many would argue that his technique in the genre is nothing short of elite.

Roger O’Donnell, the Cure’s former long-term keyboardist/synthesist (who also performed and recorded with the Psychedelic Furs and the Thompson Twins), is an individual familiar with both music technology and amazing music. After discovering Alka in the early noughties, Roger signed him to his burgeoning label: 99x/10. This relationship flourished when Alka was recruited for additional drum machine and synth programming on Roger’s highly acclaimed solo album, “Songs from the Silver Box”; the album reaching top 5 across numerous college charts.

Throughout his own two full-length releases, “Principles of Suffocation” and “A Dog Lost in the Woods”, Alka explores various electronic styles, ranging from the very subtle to more heavy-hitting tunes. The term IDM is, at best, a narrow heading to describe a genre of music that one could easily lump Alka into, however the idea of Intelligent Dance Music does equate well. With the majority of Alka’s tunes, one could easily hit the dancefloor just as well as postulate the existence and reality of the soul. His variations of mood and structure can convey an enormous range of dynamics, even within a single track. Both Alka albums have garnered significant worldwide attention within the electronic music scene, appearing on various top 10 charts and receiving regular radio and internet airplay.

However, the tip of Alka’s musical surface is merely being scratched. One step into his Angel’s Den studios will assure you of big things to come from this artist. Careening vibrations and modulated melodies emanate newly forth from the monitors on a daily basis. Alka concerns himself not only with electronic machinery and what it can do musically, but with the encompassing aurality of electronics itself.

... blending (and bending) electronic styles, Alka’s music is vast enough for wide open spaces and/or condensed urban settings… it is the place where lucidity and obscurity meet.

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