Alexander Flood - Artifactual Rhythm [Atjazz Record Company]

Steeped in classic dancefloor beats and sounds, ARTIFACTUAL RHYTHM presents a reinterpretation of club and DJ music through the lens of a live band with a jazz sensibility. Inspired by the sounds of the 90s and 2000s, but with one foot firmly in the present (and beyond), Flood’s new work is made for both the dancefloor and attentive listening. Tagged as nu-jazz, electronica, and jazz house, Alex’s sound draws primarily from house, UK garage, drum n’ bass, and broken beat.

Artifactual can be defined as “made by human hands,” and that’s exactly what Alex explores on this record: taking inherently electronic sounds and styles and giving them new life through the raw energy of a jazz-guided live band and improvisation. Music made by human hands. Recorded live in a studio in Naarm/Melbourne, and engineered, mixed, and co-produced by Lewis Moody (Energy Exchange Records), the album features some of the most prominent musicians from the southern hemisphere, including Erica Tucceri (flute), Finn Rees (keyboards), and Dylan Paul (bass), as well as vocal collaborations such as lyricist Cazeaux O.S.L.O on LIFE IS A RHYTHM, Kara Manasala on the UK garage track DON’T WAIT 4 ME, and New York soul queen Vivian Sessoms bringing classic house heat on CAN’T GET ENOUGH.

Alexander Flood is one of Australia’s great rhythm masters, with a unique and refined arsenal of groove, power, and drumming mastery. Leading his own band from the drum seat, Alex’s music drives a new rhythmic and dynamic dimension of live dance music, leaning into nu-jazz, deep house, broken beat, DnB, funk, and experimental sounds. Recently, the band has performed at festivals such as the Wellington Jazz Festival, Melbourne International Jazz Festival, SXSW Sydney, WOMADelaide, JazzMontez Frankfurt, and various clubs across Europe and Australia.

Winning the award for Best Emerging Drummer in Australia in 2016 was just the beginning of an upward career for Flood. After graduating top of his class in jazz in 2017, he signed with the American label Stretch Music to release his debut album HEARTBEAT, followed by his second work The Space Between in 2022. That same year, Alex toured Europe with the band of six-time GRAMMY nominee Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah. In Berlin, Flood recorded his third album Oscillate alongside a stellar cast including Horatio Luna and Abase, released by Jakarta Records in May 2023. In the same year, Alex received the prestigious Young Achiever award at the Ruby Awards, as well as the Robert Stigwood fellowship (Government of South Australia).

In 2024, Alex joins forces with Atjazz Record Company to release new music from his upcoming album ARTIFACTUAL RHYTHM, as well as touring with his band across Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and the UK.

Some of Alex’s notable collaborators include Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Abase, Horatio Luna, Atjazz, Vivian Sessoms, Cazeaux O.S.L.O, Nelson Dialect, the ASO, WASO, QSO, in addition to working with brands such as Red Bull Music and Istanbul Cymbals.