With all this Swedish House Mafia hoo-hah, it’s easy to forget how much other electronic talent lies within the country that gave us Abba, Dr. Alban and Ace Of Base. Sprightly young producer Alexander Berg – aka Cloud – is one of the most wondrous producers we have come across this year, thanks to that bastion of lovely eclectic electronica, Exceptional Records. With a fluffy, melodic, pretty sound that combines elements of Metro Area, Phonique, Booka Shade and 808 sensibilities, his new album
The
Hökarängen
Space Program is one of the finest records we’ve heard in the deeper end of 4/4 music for some time. It’s a tremendous effort, and deserves to be exposed for all it’s worth to potentially interested parties.
How and when were you first infected by dance music?
Through Radio or from my brothers records. I remember that music from the Swedish label SVEK really inspired me to make dance songs myself. It was the first kind of deep house that I discovered. But since I was too young to go out clubbing, my own songs were more about listening.
When did you start making music / producing, and how long was it before you started making tracks that you were really happy with?
I started playing around making music on the first computer we got in our family. My father is a guitarist so he had got this recording / sequencer software and I made a lot of songs using MIDI. I think I was like 10 or something and had a very diverse output. Some stuff sounded like medieval hymns and strange filmscore, other songs I remember was a bit like videogame music. Later I did a lot of hip-hop beats for friends then my first Cloud song around the age of 16. It got picked up by Exceptional Records and I’ve continued to work with them since.
What have been your personal favourite tracks / productions so far?
From my own work I’d say Bye Bye which is one of the 1st Cloud songs I ever made, Innocence from ’08 and Jupiter Drift from this year.
Where does your name come from?
I got one song on a compilation but didn’t have any artist name. I remember them stressing me about it and for some reason I went with Cloud. Unfortunately there’s not a great story behind it other than I found the word suitable with the music I made at the time.
Who would you most like to work with?
I’m gonna answer with the first name who crossed my mind, even though he’s not alive, and that’s Raymond Scott. He was one of those early pioneers of electronic music, and also an inventor. I could play around with his crazy old machines and show him how to use the newer technology. Would have been cool!
What have you got in store for the coming months?
Just in the process of finalizing the next release on Aniara Recordings, a small label being run by friends in Gothenburg. We’re like a small collective of people hosting parties around Gothenburg with our own soundsystem. We’ve built pretty awesome bass horns for that extra punch and are running every Saturday if the weather is nice enough. That and more productions keeps me well busy!
What can we expect from one of your DJ sets or live sets?
Deepness!
If you weren’t a DJ/producer/artists, what would you be?
Hm… I think I would have studied Astronomy and kept myself busy philosophising about space and eternity.
Which other producers and DJs and artists do you really rate?
There are many, but for example I really like Ju Ju and Jordash who did the remix on my latest 12”. Others I think are great right now are Anton Zap, Esther Duijn, Prosumer, Robert Johnson, Hunee…
http://www.myspace.com/alexakacloud