Violinist, producer and songwriter Alex Stolze has built a well-deserved reputation – both as composer and as collaborator – for his unique blending of different musical worlds. Shifting seamlessly between stark modern classical works, fiercely intelligent electronica, and off-kilter indie pop, he manages to craft his own consistent sound throughout. Middle-Eastern scales create a beguiling tonal landscape, to which complex polyrhythms and unusual time signatures are added – and turned into addictive, danceable beats. Meanwhile, analogue synthesisers, minimal piano and his bespoke five-string violin all combine to create a uniquely textured sound- world.
Already widely acclaimed for his work with electronica acts Bodi Bill and Unmap, and the experimental avantgarde trio Dictaphone, his emergence both as a solo artist and as head of new label Nonostar has opened up a range of new musical possibilities. His 2018 debut album “Outermost Edge” showcases a compositional and lyrical perspective that is both innocent and experienced. Dark minimal compositions are placed in contrast to timeless love songs, while a political message encouraging empathy with outsiders and warning against a time of division and blind conformity emerges. As Stolze sings on the effortlessly catchy Way Out: “If we don’t change our ways to behave, there is no way out of destruction on earth…”
The same utopian eclecticism drives the Nonostar label, based at Stolze’s remote studio on the German- Polish border. Nonostar’s roster of underground artists, drawn from alternative pop, modern classical and minimal techno, are united by their shared and uncompromising commitment to originality. The talents of art collective CargoCult provide the label with a distinctive visual style, consistently innovative in the merchandise, record sleeves and music videos they create. The buzz around Stolze and Nonostar is growing with each new release: we can expect to hear a lot more from the artist and his label.
