INTRODUCING: BOYS NOIZE
WORDS: JACLYN MARINESE
IMAGES: JANE STOCKDALE

Formerly known as kiD Alex, German-born Alex Ridha really was a kid when he first began doing music. Rhida scratched his first record at age five, was only 14 when he first performed for an audience, and released his first record at 17.

Not bad for a teen.

In 2003, Alex started producing electro-based tracks as Boys Noize, which were released on DJ Hell’s Gigolo Records. Boys Noize then also released music on Datapunk Records and has remixes for bands like Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, the Living Things, and Tiga among others under his belt. Now with his own Boys Noize Records imprint in full swing, our boy is taking on parties across the world with his high-energy tracks and DJing. He has finished writing and recording his first album, Oi Oi Oi, which will release it on his own Boys Noize imprint in Europe, and on Turbo/Last Gang Records in the US. ’SUP caught up with Alex in NYC after one of his first DJ gigs in the States.

You started playing music at a really young age. How did it all start?
My parents sent me to a piano school where I learned to play for about four years, but my dream was always to play the drums, so I started that right after.I played the drums for about four years and also had a little punk band. Actually, it was my brother who influenced me with dance music because he’s 10 years older then me and he had all of the first house, acid, hip house and rap records from ’86-’91. My mother was more into disco records like Donna Summer and Chaka Khan.

What stared the transition to DJing?
I scratched the first time when I was five-years-old and my brother got mad because I destroyed his Stetsasonic record [laughs]. When I was 14, I was fascinated by the turntables again, and because I didn’t get any money from my parents, I started to work more to afford records and my first two Technics, which was hard work. At this time I had two jobs at the same time, one as a cleaning boy and one in a record shop.

What were some of your earliest gigs like? Where did you play?
The first time I played in front of 500 people was when I was 16. It was a warm-up gig for a big night in my hometown, Hamburg. I wasn’t really excited but everything went well, so well that I immediately got a lot of bookings right after. Before that gig I had only played some hip-hop parties and school parties.

You also discovered a love for production pretty early on. Was that a natural transition for you?
I started to program my first tracks pretty young, when I was around 14. It was on a cheap music program at a friends place. It was kind of trance music. Two years later I met another guy who already had a little studio. We became good friends and started to work together. We produced together until I moved to Berlin four years ago. I learned quite a lot from him because he’s a very good engineer.

I understand that DJ Hell was pretty instrumental in getting your first single singed to International Gigolo Records. How did that relationship form and what was Hell’s influence on you?
I was a big fan of Gigolo Records and it was my dream to release a single on the label. One night in 2003, we played together in Berlin and I gave Hell and Westbam a CD of my first Boys Noize tracks. Both called me two days after to sign a 12-inch. I decided to put the record out on Gigolo.

Once you started remixing bands it seems that things started to really grow for you. Was all that work at once overwhelming at that time, or was it something you embraced without realizing?
I work a lot and I have fun working. To remix a track is easy for me. If my remix takes more then three days then I feel there is something wrong about it. So it really never felt like it was too much. Indeed, in 2006 it became busy because every indie band wanted a club mix. I made the Bloc Party mix in the summer of 2004 and my Kaiser Chiefs mix was released in August of 2005. Honestly, I am a little bored of all the indie mixes everybody’s doing now.

What lead to the decision to start your own label?
There were many reasons. One being that I would hand a track to Gigolo or Datapunk and, even though I was signed, I had to wait about one year for the finished products. That sucks. I wanted to be independent and have the options to release when and how I wanted. It’s more work than I expected. I’m still doing everything by myself.

I’ve also seen tracks by you on Tiga’s label and Kitsune.
Yeah, I had a lot of tracks and I wasn’t able to release them all on my label. So I gave them away. In the case of Kitsune, they had always asked me for a single. One day I produced a track that just fit so well with the French label that wouldn’t have worked as well on my label.

These days you seem to be doing a lot of touring. What has this experience been like for you?
I love traveling around the world because you learn a lot, see a lot, and get to know different people and cultures. There are also some points where I get a little diva though. I hate staying in little, stinky crab, single-rooms in shit hotels. In the beginning I was cool sleeping at a friend’s place, but nowadays I really need a good surrounding to relax after a long trip. That’s very important.

What is your favorite part about where you are right now with your music? Do you enjoy one aspect more than the other?
To produce, to DJ and to travel is all one part of being a musician and that is what I love. To decide when to get up in the morning is a great gift. It’s great to be successful in a way but you have to be aware that you can’t be successful all the time. Don’t believe the hype!

Do you have any ultimate goals for what you are doing right now musically and career wise? Anything you’re hoping for or would love to do that you haven’t yet?
Right now, I’m excited about my first Boys Noize album. I will release it on my label and that means a lot of paper work [smiles]. In the future I can imagine producing bands… or Madonna.

Website: myspace.com/boysnoizerecords