Erol Alkan

Noted for his unique fusion of dance, punk, electronic, and industrial that proved irresistible to the many indie rock bands who clamored to have him remix their songs, Erol Alkan began his career as the lead promoter and main DJ for the club night Trash, based in London. His DJ mixes became the talk of the town during the great electroclash/dance-punk movement of 2004, and by year’s end he found himself playing some of the top clubs in the world. His first mix CD, One Louder, was given away free with copies of the dance music glossy Muzik in 2003, and he followed that two years later with the Bugged Out Mix double-disc session for !K7. It was also during this time that he found himself in demand for remixes, with his first big remix being the smash dancefloor hit “The Rocker” by German electronic duo Alter Ego. This led to other remixes for indie rockers Death from Above 1979; indie pop stars Annie, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, and Hot Chip; and established electronic heroes Daft Punk and Chemical Brothers. He also recorded mash-up remixes under the name Kurtis Rush, with his most popular one being “Can’t Get Blue Monday Out of My Head,” which combined Kylie Minogue’s chart-topper “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” with New Order’s legendary “Blue Monday.” On a more serious note, he formed the psychedelic remix duo Beyond the Wizards Sleeve with the Grid’s Richard Norris and did work for artists including Peter Bjorn and John, Tracey Thorn, Midlake, and Goldfrapp. While he continued to remix numerous artists, he stepped into producing for himself and others, though he had his greatest success with Mystery Jets’ Twenty One, Late of the Pier’s Fantasy Black Channel, and the Long Blondes’ Couples. In 2012, he mixed I Love Techno 2012 for Lektroluv and returned to !K7 for Another "Bugged Out" Mix & "Bugged In" Selection. His remix of Tame Impala’s “Be Above It” became a dancefloor hit in 2013, while 2014 saw the release of Fabriclive 77, his entry in the Fabric label’s long-running mix series, and a handful of remixes for Manic Street Preachers, Klaxons, and the Emperor Machine. Around this time, he and Norris decided to make a full-length Beyond the Wizards Sleeve album and began rounding up vocalists like Jane Weaver, Blaine Harrison of Mystery Jets, Euros Childs of Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, and Holly Miranda. The record, The Soft Bounce, was released on Alkan’s own Phantasy Sound label in mid-2016. Soon after the promotional duties for the record were done, Alkan headed to the studio to produce Ride’s 2017 comeback album, The Weather Diaries. Later in 2017, he released a 20-track collection of his remixes done between 2005 and 2015 under the title Reworks, Vol. 1 on Phantasy Sound. ~ Rob Theakston