Remember those lines from LCD Soundsystem’s breakthrough hit „Losing My Edge“?

„I'm losing my edge. 
The kids are coming up from behind…“
[…]
„But I'm losing my edge 
to better-looking people with better ideas and more talent. 
And they're actually really, really nice.“

That’s probably exactly what the household names of techno DJs must be thinking when they see and hear Alex.Do get on the decks at Berghain, Rex Club or Trouw Amsterdam.
At only 24 years the Berlin techno wunderkind is sending the masses onto another planet with his deep, long and far out techno sets. He found home to uprising Berlin label Dystopian with his roommate Recondite and Rødhåd where he just released his Stalker EP two weeks ago. When we asked Alex for a mix „that could also be a little off-dancefloor“, he was totally into the idea, but we didn’t expect such a diverse mixtape from someone at this age and someone who’s known for straight four to the floor party mayhem - so yes, we had to ask:

Alex, as being known for deep and hypnotic techno sets, this mix is musically wide spread, versatile, more on the softer side and has a melancholic approach to pop. From that it’s actually not quite easy to point out your origins. Where would they be, where’s the starting point of your musical socialisation?

My first musical socialisation was my father. He's having a great taste of music and introduced me to amazing stuff like John Lee Hooker, Marvin Gaye or Bill Withers, the Blue Note Records camp, The Rolling Stones and Cream already at a very young age. But there was also some Depeche Mode, Eurythmics and Jimmi Sommerville. So, when I have to discribe my musical socialisation, I’d use the word 'wide'. And I think growing up with this kind of musical surrounding did lay the foundation for my present interest in music and my style of selection in a way. 
I tried to put some of it into the mix which was a lot of fun cause all these tracks are absolute no.1 hits for me and I connect the most diverse stages of my life and experiences with these tunes. 

Is that the sound you need to calm down after a long, sweaty night spinning or do you prefer silence?

I urgently need variety in my life. And I can't listen to techno music all the time. You know, I absolutely love that special feeling when you're playing deep or banging techno tunes on a fat sound system and the club is on fire... And I also feel that the booth is the place where I belong, but if I’d be listening to that kind of music all the time it would kill my creativity and some sort of musical overkill would eventuate very soon. 

The mix also feels like a mixtape, something you would record for someone you’re in love with or a good friend. If it were - what would that person be like?

Primary I did this mix to express myself and to try something new. Of course there are some special persons in my life who I deeply love and that are very important to me. So maybe this mixtape is dedicated to all of them. 

You were born in the early nineties - the time, mixtapes almost became extinct. What was on your first mixtape? Do you remember?

Only very vague. But I guess it was some sort of bad mixed electronic music.

Check his fb fanpage and soundcloud for more info.

Portrait © Matthias Wehofsky

Playlist:

01. Dirty Sound System - I Remember The First Time I Heard Your Voice [Dirty; 2010]
02. Kate Bush - Snowflake [Fish People; 2011]
03. Emily Jane White - Wild Tigers I Have Known [Saint Rose Records; 2008]
04. Sóley - I'll Drown [Morr Music; 2011]
05. The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - Cotard Delusion [Denovali Records; 2011]
06. Leonard Cohen - Darkness [Columbia; 2011]
07. Roy Harper - The Exile [Bella Union; 2013]
08. Jimmie Vaughan - Dengue Woman Blues [MCA Records; 1995]
09. Contemporary Noise Sextett - A Girl Killed Nicely [ElectricEye; 2008]
10. Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler) [Tamla; 1971]
11. Cymande - Brothers On The Slide [Janus Records; 1974]
12. Bonobo - Pick Up [Ninja Tune; 2003]
13. Nightmares On Wax - You Wish [Warp Records; 2006]
14. Bill Withers - The Same Love That Made Me Laugh [Sussex; 1974]
15. The Centurions - Bullwinkle Part 2 [Del-Fi Records; 1963]
16. Joy Division - Heart And Soul [Factory; 1980]
17. The KVB - Across The Sea [A Records; 2014]
18. Bauhaus - A God In An Alcove [4AD; 1980]
19. Daughter - Get Lucky [Unreleased; 2014]
20. Low Roar - Tonight, tonight, tonight [Tonequake Records; 2011]
21. Tropic Of Cancer - More Alone (Album Version) [Blackest Ever Black; 2013]
22. Molly Nilsson - I Hope You Die [Dark Skies Association; 2011]