A multifaceted Australian producer, DJ and live performer, and co-founder of Melbourne’s Analogue Attic label, Alex Albrecht has has always had a strong sense of emotional depth, patience and a finely tuned sense of flow to his music. Whether through deeply considered club records, his passion for field recordings or his immersive live performances, he’s always felt like a producer that consistently prioritises feeling over immediacy. Growing up between Perth and Melbourne, his musical landscape was shaped by a combination of jazz records, ambient music and late-night radio, with piano giving him a relationship to harmony long before electronic music production entered the picture. By his teens, he was starting to get drawn to the emotional and conceptual depth of artists like Susumu Yokota, Terre Thaemlitz, Move D and early Kompakt releases, influences that would quietly inform an approach rooted in texture, space and subtle movement. Over the years, Albrecht has developed a lush, melody-driven deep house language that drifts through ambient, jazz and electronic currents with his productions finding a home on labels such as Japan’s Mule Musiq, California’s A Strangely Isolated Place, New York’s Scissor & Thread and his own Analogue Attic imprint.
Albrecht’s latest EP, The Arboretum on Butter Sessions, finds him leaning into the dancefloor without sacrificing intimacy. Across five tracks, his signature deep house is decontextualised with a more hypnotic, driving energy, balancing function and feeling with ease while threading his love for field recordings throughout. It’s a record built for both larger systems and later hours, both playful and reflective and designed to stretch and breathe across the long blend. Beyond the studio, Albrecht continues to nurture community. His newly launched Pearl party series, alongside fellow Australians Pjenne and Andy Hart, reflects a shared interest in long-form storytelling across a night, moving from ambient meditations and downtempo tides into deeper, driving sounds.
With his live performances being such an important aspect to his work, that same approach shapes his Truancy Volume mix, a special live recording that captures him in fluid motion, weaving hypnotic momentum with emotive synth lines, revealing its depth through repetition, subtle harmonic shifts and evolving detail. It’s a beautifully transportive mix with a host of standout moments that wouldn’t go amiss during a sunset/sunrise set surrounded by nature.
Hey there! How have you been recently? So as we get closer to 2026 how has 2025 been to you too? Any highlights or moments that stand out to you? “Hey! I’ve been good, thanks. 2025 has been one of those years that feels dense in a good way. Lots of movement, lots of shows, lots of time spent both travelling and also really locking in creatively. The two trips to Japan, the long Europe stretch over summer and the recent show at Wonderfruit were definite highlights, but there were also quieter moments that stand out just as much — finishing music late at night, making field recordings, and doing photography on the road.”
So as this is your first interview on site, I thought we’d just go back a bit. Could you tell us a little bit about where you’re from and what are some of your earliest musical memories of maybe growing up there? “I’m from Perth but grew up in Melbourne. My earliest memories are hearing jazz records, ambient music, radio late at night, and car trips where music set the emotional tone rather than being the focus. I started piano pretty young, which gave me a relationship with harmony before I really understood production. Melbourne itself also shaped those early memories — gigs in weird rooms, warehouse parties, art spaces where music felt part of a wider culture rather than a separate thing.”
Could you next tell us how you first got into electronic music and DJing following that? What were the initial influences, people, music that set you down this passion? Was there any one party or person you attended or met where everything clicked for you and you thought yeah I want to start making music. I read you were around 16 years old, correct? “Electronic music and DJing came when I was about 16. People like Terre Thaemlitz, Susumu Yokota, Move D, early Kompakt stuff, and the deeper end of house and techno really pulled me in. There wasn’t one single moment, but there were nights where I’d come home feeling completely rewired — like this is a language I want to speak.”
So what were the initial years like of you producing music? What were some breakthroughs for you in being able to get out the sound you wanted to? Any VST or synth that you just fell for and have used regularly in your music? “The early production years were really exciting. Breakthroughs came when I stopped overcomplicating things and focused more on feel and space. I’ve always relied on a good piano sound and the ability to discover new inspiration through field recordings or sound banks, especially using my Yamaha synth.”
Looking back now, your path has felt quite organic rather than forced. How have you made sense of the different roles you’ve moved between — DJ, producer, collaborator, label head — and have they all fed into each other in ways you only notice in hindsight? “It definitely feels organic in hindsight, but at the time it just felt like following curiosity. DJing taught me patience and structure, producing and collaborating taught me listening. All of it feeds back into the music in different ways.”
Melbourne and Australia seem to leave a glowing imprint on the people who grow up making music there. What does the city mean to you now, and how does it sit in your life compared to earlier years? “Melbourne will always be home, even as my relationship to it changes. It feels more like an anchor now. I come back and it recentres me. The city’s openness, its nature, and its lack of hierarchy really seep into my music. I still feel very shaped by it and its surroundings.”
Can you tell us a little bit about your relationship with field recordings? Are there any field recordings you’ve made that now hold personal meaning beyond their use in music? “Field recordings are a big part of how I process places. They’re like emotional bookmarks. Some recordings have totally outgrown their musical use — rain hitting a tin roof in Sri Lanka, cicadas in Japan, birds in the Victorian bush. Even if they never end up in a track, they carry very vivid memories when I revisit them.”
In terms of your most recent music, what can you tell us about making ‘The Arboretum’ on Butter Sessions? “The Arboretum felt like a moment to lean into movement without losing emotion. I wanted to make something that rolled and evolved. ‘Wake Up Mate’ in particular came from thinking about repetition as comfort rather than tension. The record was about momentum, but also warmth — not peak-time aggression, more that clarity when the floor is locked in and you can play really different things.”
The press release said the record was built for dancers, but also for home listening. How often do you think about that balance between feeling and function? “I think about that balance a lot, but not in a calculated way. Feeling usually comes first, and function follows naturally if the feeling is honest.”
You also recently produced ‘Tangible Dreams’ with Grant, released on Last Year At Marienbad. What can you tell us about this collaboration? “Tangible Dreams had a very different energy. Much more conversational, less driving. It was about texture, patience, and letting ideas flow. Working with Grant felt very natural, and it was really nice meeting him after my show in New York at Public. There was a lot of leaving space for each other and trying to weave our languages together.”
In terms of other collaborations, what was the Circle of Live performance like this year with Sebastian Mullaert and Move D? “Circle of Live was pretty special. Playing with Sebastian and Move D for three hours gave us space to really explore a lot of different places and styles.”
There’s a vulnerability to playing live that doesn’t exist in DJing alone. What keeps drawing you back to that format? How has the live set evolved over the years? “Coming from a jazz and improvisational background, live sets have become the main way I like to perform. It’s changed a lot over the years, but it feels like it’s in a really comfortable place now — where I can break out and jam or weave different ideas together freely.”
What can you tell us about Pearl and the concept for the night? “Pearl is something I’m really excited about. Working with Andy and Penny feels very natural. We have a good balance of similarities and differences, which keeps things dynamic. The idea was to let things unfold naturally through the night — starting focused with a live set to lock people in before going deeper. We’ve got some big things planned next year.”
Can you tell us about three of your favourite sets you’ve seen from other people? “DJ Sprinkles at First Floor in Melbourne for about four hours was incredible. Donato at Terraforma felt almost ritualistic. And Fred P at Labyrinth, playing the most beautiful house music.”
What sort of other hobbies or interests do you have outside of electronic music? “I surf and mountain bike whenever I can — it clears my head and helps me connect with nature. Photography has always been important too. I like capturing moments that can be woven into my musical story.”
16. Can you tell us about three albums that:
a) define you getting into electronic music,
b) represent a midway point when you were fully invested, and
c) a more recent one?
“Midtown 120 Blues, Animals, and Sakura.”
What was your approach to crafting your Truancy Volume mix? “I approached it like a live conversation. I prepared some core ideas and sounds but left a lot open. It’s mostly improvised and pulls from different jams — you might hear small elements from other tracks if you’re familiar with my live recordings.”
Looking ahead, what territories are you eager to explore going into 2026? “I’m excited to explore more hybrid spaces between ambient, jazz, and dance music. Less genre, more mood. I’m also keen to keep integrating field recordings and live musicians in subtle ways.”
Last question — what was the last thing to put a big smile on your face, and when was the last time you had a proper dance? “The last big smile was probably after Labyrinth — such a special event. And the last proper dance was at Wonderfruit with Yama!”
Alex Albrecht: Soundcloud, Instagram, Bandcamp, Resident Advisor
You can download Truancy Volume 359: Alex Albrecht in 320 kbps here. No submitted tracklist for this one as a live set from Alex! Your support however helps cover all our costs and allows Truants to continue running as a non-profit and ad-free platform. We urge you to support the future of independent music journalism—a little goes a long way.
