Interview: Alexi Delano

The world of techno can often be one of fads, unwarranted hype, and even nepotism, though Alexi Delano is unquestionably the antithesis of all these things.

For more than a decade, the Stockholm-based artist has been releasing his original music on some of the genre’s top labels, including Plus 8, Drumcode, and H-Productions.

His most recent outing finds him work with CMND CTRL, for the release of his new ‘CTRL007’ EP, a 3-track offering which combines his ‘FOMO Tech’ original with remixes from both KIMONO and Gaetano Parisio.

We recently had a quick chat with him to talk about the new release, what he thinks of the included remixes, and what advice he would give to anyone that wants to work with the kind of labels he’s affiliated with. Get the full discussion with Alexi Delano below.

Hey Alexi, we hope you’re good, how are things in Stockholm right now?

Hi, and thank you for having me. Today Stockholm is gorgeous, the sun is shining after a long, dark, cold winter. The snow and ice are finally melting away. When Stockholm is sunny it’s dreamlike, the tough part then is to jump in the studio because all you want to do is have a drink in the sun and not sit in a basement.

You recently released your new ‘CTRL007’ EP on CMND CTRL, how would you describe the ‘FOMO Tech’ original in your own words?

I wrote the track on my laptop in my hotel room while waiting to play at Club Space in Miami. The main wall of my room had a floor to ceiling, wall-to-wall window overlooking the city, it was already nighttime so I could see the endless city lights from my 30th-floor room.

Gazing over the sea of lights of downtown Miami I wondered “what’s out there”, “who is out there”, it was only for a quick second, but I had to catch it sonically. I grabbed the laptop and started writing.

The track was done in a couple of hours. I did a quick master on my headphones and played it out that same night. So I guess I’d describe it as, “wonder” or a sense of “longing”.

And it includes remixes from both KIMONO and Gaetano Parisio, what are your thoughts on those?

I’ve been such a fan of both artists for many years and we’ve also been friends for many years as well. I really like how they both left their signature on their versions.

I can hear that it’s Gaetano on his remix and the same goes for KIMONO, which is exactly what I wanted. The remixes have different tones so I tend to drop both in my sets, timing them to the mood of the dance floor.

In the past you’ve also released music with Plus 8 and Drumcode, what advice would you give to anyone that’s aiming to work with these kinds of labels?

The sound of these two labels are very specific, both Richie and Adam know exactly what they want to release, and they are very picky when selecting music.

My advice would be that before sending music to any of them, or any label for that matter, is to make sure the music you are sending has something new and original to it, most likely the head of the label you are reaching out to receives many demos, but many new producers are copying what has already been released on the label, not adding anything new to the sound of the label.

In the case of these two gents, I can bet a penny that if it doesn’t have that extra little thing they will pass on it. Most likely the music you hear that is being released on the label that you like, with that EP that makes you go “I should send my music to them…” that music, is probably already one year old at least, so if you are sending music that sounds just like that, then you are in the past, you need to be in the future.

And which other labels will we see Alexi Delano on in the near future?

I produced quite a lot of tracks during the first two years of the pandemic, most of them have now been released but there are still some to see the light. A few will be on the UK label Bombis, others on Orlando Voorn’s Triangle, I also have some deeper tracks coming out on the US-based Toy Opulent, and of course, my label, AD ltd.

You just played in Miami, Chile, and the Netherlands, how does it feel to get back behind the decks after long periods of lockdown and club closures?

It feels fantastic! I believe that in the EU, Sweden was the last country to close down clubs, there was never any enforced quarantine here either, so I could play events for a while longer than my colleagues in other countries, but after those extra months were done it was down to zero gigs. I am a DJ at heart so the yearning for a dance floor was quite heavy at first.

And what’s one country you’re busting to get to, now that things are back to normal?

Japan, Tokyo is one of my favorite cities to visit, I am dying to head back there. I find it to be uber inspiring, I’m constantly writing music in my mind walking down its streets.

Thanks for answering our questions, is there anything else you would like to plug before we go?

For any followers of my deeper house sounds, I have a remix coming out on the 20th of May for my old friend, and frequent collab partner, Pablo Sanchez. It will be released on his new label Sisternoise.

I will also have the follow-up EP to FOMO Tech, which CMND CTRL looks to release sometime in late Summer of this year. It will feature 2 new original tracks by me and the remixes are already in and they sound exquisite, so stay tuned! Thanks to everyone supporting my music!

Alexi Delano – CTRL007 EP is out now on CMND CTRL.