ArtistInfo

Alka

Dance
A.k.a. Bryan Michael

Alka formed in 2000 by Bryan Michael as an outlet for his electronic compositions after playing assorted roles in bands around Philadelphia. Composing with synths since childhood it was a welcome return and in 2005, Alka saw an official release with The Cure keyboardist Roger O’Donnell’s label 99x/10 Records. A solo EP, A Theory of Naught followed on Skeptical Productions in 2006. A comprehensive IDM sound was developed after signing with EE Recordings and 2 full length albums followed, Principles of Suffocation in 2007 & A Dog Lost in the Woods in 2009. Textura magazine described the material as "meticulously assembled, multi-layered tracks that are lush, strongly melodic, and equally melancholic & uplifting.” Using rare EMS synths as part of the Synthi Group project showed a desire for alka to expand its sound. A sonic sabbatical followed in which Michael delved into electronic instrument building whilst attempting to break what he defines as beat-based genre prisons present in much electronic music. These explorations intrigued Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Yaz, Erasure) to release alka’s 3rd full length, The Colour of Terrible Crystal on his VeryRecords label. Here you will find the melodic sensibilities that coloured the 2 earlier albums but also hear the sound of a restless, mercurial musician unafraid of crashing together diffuse elements – faltering stop-start rhythms, glitches, drifting ambience, near-pop & crisp beats inflected with the boldness of early electro.

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