Alexander Ridha (born 22 August 1982), better known by his stage name Boys Noize, is a

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

-based German-Iraqi

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

record producer, songwriter, and DJ. It is similar to the name of Ridha's label, Boysnoize Records, which he established in 2005. Ridha has remixed the work of a number of other artists, including Snoop Dogg and Depeche Mode. In 2019, he produced

Frank Ocean Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean ...

's song " DHL".

Biography

Ridha started producing and DJing from an early age, including a period in which he supported

Felix Da Housecat Felix da Housecat (born Felix Stallings Jr., August 25, 1971) is an American DJ and record producer, mostly known for house music and electro. Felix is regarded as a member of the second wave of Chicago house Musical career Early life Stall ...

and

DJ Hell Helmut Josef Geier (born 6 September 1962), known professionally as DJ Hell, is a German DJ. Biography 1970s and 1980s DJ Hell described his musical beginnings in an interview with '' The European'', telling them “I was socialized with ...

under the alias of Kid Alex. He has been named one of the "Top 10 DJ's Who Rule The World" by ''Rolling Stone'', elected "Best Electronic Act" by Beatport 3 years in a row, and was awarded the Independent Music Award in 2010. His music is known to merge various styles, with influences of hip-hop and disco roots as well as heavy noise and electro house sounds. Ridha released his early work on labels such as International Deejay Gigolos Records, Kitsuné Music and Turbo Recordings. He established Boysnoize Records in 2005. He remixed David Lynch,

N.E.R.D N.E.R.D. (stylized as N⋆E⋆R⋆D and N.E.R.D, a backronym of No-one Ever Really Dies) is an American hip hop and rock band, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1999. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were signed by Teddy Riley to Virgin Recor ...

, Depeche Mode, Snoop Dogg, Daft Punk,

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

, and

the Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat gen ...

amongst many other well-known artists and became a producer of note, having worked with

Kelis Kelis Rogers-Mora (; born August 21, 1979), known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer, songwriter and a professionally trained chef. At age 14, she was admitted to New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Perform ...

, UK rapper

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria * Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries **Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hi ...

, and the South Korean band

BIGBANG Big Bang (; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean boy band formed by YG Entertainment. The group consists of four members: G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang, and Daesung. Originally a five-piece band, Seungri retired from the entertainment industry ...

and has also collaborated with the New York band

Scissor Sisters Scissor Sisters were an American pop rock band formed in 2001. Its members include Jake Shears and Ana Matronic as vocalists, Babydaddy as multi-instrumentalist, Del Marquis as lead guitar/bassist, and Randy Real (who replaced Paddy Boom) ...

on their album "Only The Horses".

Chilly Gonzales Jason Charles Beck (born 20 March 1972), professionally known as Chilly Gonzales, is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and producer. Currently based in Cologne, Germany, he previously lived for several years in Paris. Gonzales is a musical polymat ...

' ''Ivory Tower'' is his first fully produced and co-written album, released in August 2010. He has further collaborated with

Erol Alkan Erol Alkan (born 30 May 1974) is an English DJ and producer of Turkish Cypriot descent. He grew up in Archway in North London. Career DJ and club promoter In 1993, Erol Alkan started DJing in various indie nightclubs in London. His fir ...

: the first record "Death Suite" / "Waves" was released on Ridha's imprint BNR, followed by "Lemonade" / "Avalanche", which came out on Erol's label Phantasy Sound. In October 2010, the first release of the newly launched sublabel BNR TRAX was presented. In 2012, Boys Noize released his third studio album, '' Out of the Black''. In 2012, Boys Noize formed a side-project with

Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead si ...

called

Dog Blood Dog Blood is a side project formed in 2012 by music producers Skrillex and Boys Noize. Their debut single, ''Next Order / Middle Finger'', was released on August 12, 2012, on Beatport and iTunes and other music streaming platforms. The song "Ne ...

which is in the electro genre. Dog Blood performed at the 2013 Miami

Ultra Music Festival Ultra Music Festival (UMF) is an annual outdoor electronic music festival that takes place during March in Miami, Florida, United States. The festival was founded in 1999 by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes. It was first held on Miami Beach, ...

. Boysnoize Records celebrated its 100th release in 2013, with electronic dance heavyweights The Chemical Brothers and Justice remixing Boys Noize's "XTC" and "ICH R U". In 2014, Boys Noize did the music composition for a German movie named ''

Who Am I – No System Is Safe ''Who Am I'' (german: Who Am I – Kein System ist sicher; English: "Who Am I: No System Is Safe") is a 2014 German techno-thriller film directed by Baran bo Odar. It is centered on a computer hacker group in Berlin geared towards global fame. I ...

''. Ridha also collaborated with Chilly Gonzales to form Octave Minds. The self-titled debut album was released on BNR with track premieres on Pitchfork Dazed and Confused and Fader. Besides the album features a track called "Tap Dance", which features Chance the Rapper and the Social Experiment. Boys Noize released his ''Go Hard'' EP in 2015, a 1 album release on Beatport. In August 2015 it was announced that Ridha had collaborated with

Jean-Michel Jarre Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompani ...

on the track "The Time Machine" from the album '' Electronica 1: The Time Machine''. In 2016, Boys Noize released his fourth studio album, '' Mayday'', which included collaborations with

Benga Benga may refer to: Ethnonym * Benga people, an indigenous ethnic group of Equatorial Guinea * Benga language, spoke by the Benga people * Benga music, a genre of music originating in Kenya Places Romania * ''Benga'', the old name of Mo ...

, Remy Banks,

Poliça Poliça (often stylised in all caps) is an American pop band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, formed in 2011. The band consists of Channy Leaneagh (vocals, synth), Chris Bierden (bass), Drew Christopherson (drums) and Ben Ivascu (drums), with Ryan ...

Hudson Mohawke Ross Matthew Birchard (born 11 February 1986), better known by the stage name Hudson Mohawke, is a Scottish-American producer, composer, and DJ from Glasgow. He is known for his influential work in 21st century hip-hop and electronic music. A ...

, and

Spank Rock Naeem Juwan, better known by his stage name Spank Rock, is an American rapper and songwriter from Baltimore. He rose to fame with his 2006 album '' YoYoYoYoYo'', which was produced by former group member Alex Epton (XXXChange). A harbinger of p ...

. He described it as " issignal against blind categorization and conformist synchronization", "a call for individuality and diversity", and "a tribute to outsiders". It peaked at number 8 on '' Billboard''s

Top Dance/Electronic Albums Top Dance/Electronic Albums, Dance/Electronic Albums (formerly Top Electronic Albums) is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine which ranks the top-selling electronic music albums in the United States based on sales compiled by ...

chart. In 2020, Boys Noize started a

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...

channel where he later produced an album with the input from his followers. He even used Twitch to make a poll of which tracks he should release and what he should name the different tracks. He was the first in the world to do this.

Discography

Albums and EPs

Studio albums as lead artist

Remixed albums

* '' Oi Oi Oi (Remixed)'', 2008

Mix albums

* ''Bugged Out! Presents Suck My Deck (Mixed by Boys Noize)'' (2008) * ''I Love Techno 2008 (Mixed by Boys Noize)'' (2008) * ''Radio Soulwax Mix'' (2009) * ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...

Presents Electro Techno Thunder!'' (2009) * ''South West Four Clapham Festival Preview'' (2010) * '' FABRICLIVE 72: Boys Noize'' (2013) * ''BNR10YR Bang Mix (Mixed by Boys Noize)'' (2013)

Extended plays

Collaborations

Singles

Singles as lead artist

Collaboration tracks

Remixes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boys Noize 1982 births German people of Iraqi descent German electronic musicians German house musicians German DJs Club DJs Remixers DJs from Hamburg Musicians from Hamburg Living people Nu-disco musicians Kitsuné artists Electronic dance music DJs