This is a series of interviews with our favorite electronic music artists, celebrating the Arrival of Thump and made possible by the new Heineken Star Bottle. In this edition: Alex Metric. For more Arrivals, check here.
Alex Metric is sexy in a “Hey girl! I’m a nice British lad in a nice suit making sexy French house music just for you” kind of way (oof). He kind of reminds me of the long-limbed, shaggy-haired, bird-like boys I was too afraid to talk to when I lived in Paris—so it wasn’t surprising when he cited Justice’s trademark mix of bracing rock riffs with groovy, hook-heavy disco as one of his biggest influences. Of course he’s into that aggressively sexy French stuff. Just look at him.
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In the five years since he quit his job as a waiter, Alex has been specializing in putting out jacked-up, rock-and-rave club anthems, which you can hear in any of his remixes for fellow Brits like U2 and Ellie Goulding, his production work for Snow Patrol’s hook-filled “Called Out In The Dark,” as well as his own series of Ammunition EPs.
I Skyped him one morning and got him to open up about the turning points of his career, including that time he discovered himself while spinning at a random Russian club in the middle of nowhere.
THUMP: What was your first foray into the electronic music scene?
Alex Metric: I can remember the exact moment. I missed my bus home from school one day, so I went to a local record store, and Fatboy Slim’s Better Living Through Chemistry was on the listening post. I had 20 minutes to kill, and I thought I should just listen to see what it was. I remember standing in that shop and having my mind totally blown by what I was hearing. I had never heard anything like it before, and I didn’t know that music like that was out there.
What was it about Fatboy Slim’s album that blew you away?
There were guitars, but there were also big electronic beats. It was just a total revelation, and that was exactly the turning point for me. That exact moment was when I was like, that’s the music I want to make.
Right, and what did you do after that revelation?
Man, I’ve been doing it for a while now—it’s been five years of touring heavily. What were the early gigs like? I used to play Fabric a lot, and have fond memories of cutting my teeth there. I loved every minute of it.
How did your attitude towards DJing change as you continued to hone your skills?
I did just think of one particular turning point in my career. I remember when I first started putting out records, I was sort of associated with the breakbeat scene. I remember playing in Russia in the middle of nowhere, playing breakbeat records to the crowd, and thinking, This is not me. I don’t like this, this doesn’t feel right.
It was around the time that “Waters of Nazareth” had come out. And I remember dropping that, and it was like, this is exciting for me. This is a sound that is making me happy to be up here. I came back from that gig with a clear vision of what I wanted to do. Which isn’t that I wanted to sound like Justice, but I imagined this rock aspect I could bring to electronic music. That gig really threw me forward for the next few years.
Why did you feel more comfortable playing “Waters of Nazareth” over your breakbeat records? What is it about that sound that you connected with?
As a kid, I was thinking, Man, I need to get some records out and make some money. So I cut a couple of those breakbeat records even though my heart wasn’t in it. Then, the electro wave came through in 2006, and it reminded me of the Big Beat mentality of throwing everything into the mix—guitars, distortion, nothing too clean or clinical. It also reminded me of the French house I loved when I was growing up. So, suddenly, two of my biggest influences were coming back around.
Were there any particular DJs who helped you along the way?
I was really good early on in my career at making sure I chatted up people at gigs. Darren Emerson from Underworld was took me under his wing when I was still getting the grip of things. I met Adam Freeland at Fabric one night, at the bar. I was like, I’m going to just go over to him and have a chat. One year later, I’m producing his album in LA. It’s weird how people who you look up to as a kid can suddenly become your peers.
At what point did you realize that this was more than just a hobby, and that you’d arrived at a full-fledged DJ status?
I was still working as a waiter in 2007 when I got the call from Adam Freeland. He said, “Do you want to come to LA to write my album with me?” And I said, “God, yeah.” I asked my boss, “Can you keep my job open? I’m going to go to LA but I might be back.” And he said, “Totally cool, of course,” and then of course I never went back. That was four or five years ago. I still have my waiting job open I guess. [laughs]
The Arrival series is made possible by the new Heineken Star Bottle
