Noize for Boys

Not many remixers have had an impact on the electro scene such as Boys Noize's. In fact, only a few names come to mind: DFA, Digitalism, Tiga…


Boys Noize is, in truth, a side project of Hamburg-based electro-rocker Alexander Ridha, AKA Kid Alex. A true child prodigy, Alex has been professionally crafting music since the tender age of fourteen, first as a DJ then as a musician. The Kid's career picked up in the early 2000s, DJing across Europe as Kid Alex and eventually working on his own electro-rock tracks with friend Andi Meid. By 2004 a first Kid Alex album, Colors, saw the light of day and would be followed by 2006's Restless. Oh, and he's also the man… err… kid, behind German electro act Einzeller.

But as far as Boys Noize is concerned the adventure began in 2003. Fusing disco, electro and rock into an unstoppable blend of hard-hitting dance music, Kid Alex quickly attracted the attention of DJ Hell, who rapidly picked up the first Boys Noize 12'' for his International Deejay Gigolo label. Anthony Rother followed suit, printing the next Boys Noize vinyl under his own Datapunk imprint. Hell & Rother's faith, along the support of DJs such as Erol Alkan and Tiga, ensured that the Boys Noize project got the attention it deserved.

Kid Alex's subsequent Boys Noize records would appear under his own Boys Noize Records label. Tracks such as "The Bomb", "Jaguare" or "Volta 82" still work well to fill any dance floor, and recent release "Kill the Kid" is set to do the same.


However, what Boys Noize is best known for is its remixes. The Boys Noize approach is simple but effective: re-structuring tracks around heavy drum hooks, imposing a dance beat to rock songs or inversely rocking up inaccessible club tracks.

As Boys Noize, Kid Alex has carved hits out of several tracks during the last 18 months. Bloc Party's "Banquet", I-Robots' "Frau", John Starlight's "Shadowbreaker" & Kaiser Chief's "Everyday I Love You Less & Less" all went under the Boys Noize knife and the results have been marvelous.

Recently, Kid Alex crafted a hectic remix of Tiga's already intense "Move My Body", and proceeded to club up and dub out Weird Al's "Eat It".

Where will Kid Alex go next, and where will his Boys Noize take us? If his recent Kid Alex song "Loverboy" is any indication, we should be reaching electro-bliss on the dance floor pretty soon…

Kid Alex will be in town as Boys Noize this Saturday for a DJ set at Mile End Bar. Admission is free before 11pm, and $8 afterwards. What better way to celebrate the Saint-Jean during Grand Prix week-end?