Soulfooled

Pokerflat

8Bits

Get Physical

Alex Niggemann

Background up to 2010: Persistent, stubborn, straight ahead

Alex Niggemann can be best described as idiosyncratic, impulsive and self-critical. What might be construed as negative for some people, are attributes that have paved the way to a remarkable career for this DJ and producer.

Born 1984 in Dusseldorf, Niggemann is a producer, DJ and label owner. His development until 2010 reflects a fairly traditional approach to becoming a DJ. At the same time, his career represents a very personal evolution.

Alex is erratic – in a truly human way. In the nineties, his impulsiveness led him to discover that playing classical piano was indeed very limiting. This motivated him to search for a more rewarding means of self-expression. As a teenager, he dressed in typical hip-hop fashion and spent his time focusing on rap and style-writing. When he was fifteen, his older brother took him to a techno party. This became the turning point for the young, headstrong musician and pointed the way in a new direction. By the time he was sixteen, Alex had picked up some turntables and transformed his room into a studio. The DJ scene in Dusseldorf was a close-knit network in 2000. Not everyone with talent who knocked on the door was invited to take his place on the DJ decks in the local clubs.

Niggemann decided to make a name for himself as a producer. He started working on techno tracks and soon turned to house. Gradually he found his way to the club turntables. Using an assortment of aliases he was soon playing clubs in the Dusseldorf area and gained recognition as a resident DJ. But Alex wanted more.

Alex was in search of something much bigger and better. After graduating high school in 2005, he headed for Europe's epicenter of electronic music. In Berlin he studied audio engineering to hone his skills as a producer. Besides he started working for DJ-T. His job was to run errands, capture vinyl, mix tracks and archive records.

The influential Get Physical label discovered in 2006 that they had a promising young producer in their own ranks. This led to the release of Booka Shade's "Darko" remixed on a vinyl EP featuring established artists including Tiefschwarz and Radio Slave. Careful networking soon led to a string of DJ gigs all over Germany. From this point forward, Alex performed exclusively under his own name.

After finishing his degree in 2007, Alex started focusing more on his music career. But, as a typical perfectionist, he could never get his own productions just the way he wanted them. Fortunately, Marc Poppcke, friend and current label partner, decided to submit one of Niggemann's tracks to a label. This led to the first release under his own name and ‘Assign Me’ debuted on Sportclub in 2008.

Things started to snowball in 2008 when a number of tracks and remixes were released on labels including Meerestief, Micro.fon, Moonpool, Sportclub and Freak Waves. In summer Alex was signed to Supernature, the home label for Audiofly, a UK duo. Niggemann's ‘Black Rose EP’ was released on the same label in May 2009 followed by his ‘Makayuni EP’ released on Nick Curly's and Gorge's 8bit records. Be Chosen records released another Niggemann EP and remixes followed. His productions enjoy a solid reputation. So it was no surprise to see him being number 8 position on Resident Advisor's "Top 20 Charted Artists" in the end of 2009 ahead of DJ's such as Loco Dice, Joris Voorn or Ben Klock.

Niggemann's bookings have taken him around the world. Gigs in North and South America and across Europe have become part of a standard business routine. Alex has been real busy in 2010. His ‘Play House EP’ was released in January on the dutch BlaBla records. The track 'Jewels' appearing on his own Soulfooled label and his ‘Take Control & Use Me!’ on Supernature this summer conquered the club scene. Alex has been performing his DJ set throughout the summer season on some of Europe’s and Ibiza's best known dance floors. While his latest production 'Trippin' was released in October on Tsuba, Niggemann continues his hectic schedule and will be headed for foreign shores with forthcoming tour schedules that take him to Brazil and North America and future plans to start conquering Asia.

Alex Niggemann launched his Soulfooled label together with Marc Poppcke and Oliver Fritsche from Superlounge in spring 2010 and the first record was released in June. The focus at Soulfooled is on creating a new music platform and promptly responding to the trends in the electronic music scene so that artists can release their music sooner. The label has already signed a number of famous international artists including Audiofly, Till von Seine Phonique and David Durango. Soulfooled artists represent a cross-section of electronic styles ranging from Deep House and Techhouse, to old school disciplines like Detroit and Chicago House. One important aspect is that they are expected to uphold the Niggemann standards. His solid reputation has opened the door to some of the world's leading, most influential clubs, including Ibiza's Privilege and Watergate in Berlin.

One of the things that distinguishes Alex Niggemann's style is that it's hard to define. With a highly anticipated EP for Steve Bug’s Poker Flat imminent; this headstrong producer isn't interested in sub-genres and likes to describe himself as a House DJ. He produces and plays whatever suits him at the moment: from dark tech house to vocal- heavy house music. Either way, he's always right on target with the club crowds who dance to his music all night long – all over the world. Wherever his mood takes him, the club scene will be paying close attention to what comes next on Alex Niggemann's turntables.