Alex Banks operates in an electronic world of his own. Drawing from the diverse styles of jungle, broken beat, techno and IDM, he cooks up scintillating sounds with grand architecture. Analogue machines are often at the heart of his work, and his boundary-pushing ideas have come across three experimental albums and plenty of EPs for labels like Max Cooper’s forward-thinking Mesh as well as Modeselektor’s Monkeytown and Ninja Tune. As such, he is a perfect fit for Sasha’s label where he now returns with ‘Afterlife’ after previously contributing to the ‘TEN’ compilation. DMCWorld goes Back To Mine with Alex Banks.
Jon Hopkins – Immunity
One of the best electronic albums ever made in my opinion. The level of detail in the production, beautifully raw analogue synths, driving beats and atmospheric atmospheres set a new bench mark.
Four Tet – Rounds
This album has beautiful melancholy that runs throughout it. The production feels very warm and inviting, and has provided the perfect soundtrack to bring myself and mates back to earth after epic nights out.
Moderat – Moderat
My first introduction to the sound of Berlin. Just the right mix of techno, breaks, vocals and warm pads to make the transition from club to sofa a smooth one.
Burial – Untrue
Dark and moody but beautifully melancholic. 18 years old but still sounds fresh today.
The Howling – Sacred Ground
Something about RY X’s vocals and songwriting transcends whatever feelings are going on and cuts through to the core. Paired with Frank Wiedemann’s production, it’s a beautiful album for home listening or headphones.
Bonobo – Black Sands
A seminal album from Bonobo. I’d been a fan of his since the start but with this record he stepped up a level with the production and songwriting. My remix of the track ‘The Keeper’ featuring Andrea Triana launched my career as an artist so this record is extra special to me.
Daniel Avery – Drone Logic
This album has a sense of immediate familiarity from the very first listen. It’s super stripped back sound means you can hear every sound in totally clarity, capturing vintage rave elements and making something that sounded very forward thinking.
James Holden – Imagine This Is A High Dimensional Space Of All Possibilities
Meandering modular synth textures create psychedelic journeys that lead you down a winding sonic path. A beautiful cerebral journey.
A Winged Victory for the Sullen – The Undivided Five
Classical instrumentation with a sprinkling of electronic production, each track is breathtaking in its composition.
Orbital – Brown Album
Where it all started for me. Seeing Orbital on TV at Glastonbury in ‘94 then many times in real life after was what inspired me to get into Electronic music and want to perform live.
Alex Banks ‘Afterlife’ is released February 28th 2025 on Last Night On Earth.
