Alec Koone (born April 14, 1991), better known by his former stage name Balam Acab, is an American

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

musician and producer originally from

Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Mechanicsburg is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. The borough is eight miles (13 km) west of Harrisburg. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 8,981. ...

. Koone began creating

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

and

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

at the age of 13 with a group of musician friends. While studying music at

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named ...

in 2009, he began to experiment with post-rock and ambient music. He eventually dropped out of Ithaca College to focus on his music career. His first release, the 2010 EP '' See Birds'', got him categorized as witch house according to Pitchfork. He followed that up with his first full-length album, ''Wander/Wonder'', in 2011. ''Wander/Wonder'' was recorded entirely in the same bedroom he slept in as a child and heavily incorporated Creative Commons-licensed nature recordings he found on the Internet. His song "See Birds," title track of the '' See Birds'' EP, was featured in a L'Oreal mascara ad starring Beyoncé in early 2011. After a long hiatus, Balam Acab self-released his second official album
''CHILD DEATH''
on December 17, 2015 via

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

. In April 2016, the album was pressed on vinyl and released by the

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

record label

Orchid Tapes Orchid Tapes is a Canadian–American independent record label based in New York City. It was founded in 2010 in Toronto, Ontario by Warren Hildebrand. Operated by Hildebrand, the label has released a number of indie compilations and original r ...

. Since the release of ''CHILD DEATH'', Balam Acab has released many singles and collaborations in a variety of styles through

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...

and

."Music , BALAM ACAB"
''Bandcamp'' Among numerous side projects and aliases, Balam Acab recently teamed up with producer Goodbye to form the duo hospice_dreams, releasing the debut demo "because i am true". A full release is expected to be released late 2018. The name "Balam Acab" was taken from a rainbow-creating deity in

Maya mythology Maya or Mayan mythology is part of Mesoamerican mythology and comprises all of the Maya tales in which personified forces of nature, deities, and the heroes interacting with these play the main roles. The myths of the era have to be reconstruct ...

that Koone learned about in Spanish class.

References

1991 births Living people American electronic musicians People from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Ithaca College alumni Musicians from Pennsylvania {{electronic-musician-stub