How's Life?: Aleqs Notal

Aleqs Notal, a French DJ and producer, has been shaping the underground house and techno scene since the early 2000s. Influenced by Detroit and Chicago, his sound blends sharp percussive elements with deep grooves. From DJ battles to launching his label in 2020, Aleqs continues to leave his mark. Time to get to know him a little bit better in our "How's Life?" series.
Hi! Can you please introduce yourself to our readers? Hi! I'm Aleqs Notal, my real name is Alexis Talneau. I'm based in Paris and have been DJing for 25 years and producing in the underground electronic music scene for 15 years now. In 2020 I started my label, Industrial Light Recordings. Some of my productions were released on Sistrum Recordings Detroit, Phonogramme Paris, Salon Recordings, and Forbidden Dance. How did you get into music? Can you take us back to the beginning of your musical journey? Nothing crazy just started scratching records in my friend’s room on a shitty mixer in the 90s, I practiced my skills making DJ routines until I was ready to participate in a DJ competition that I won in my 18’s, it was the DMC French championship. When I was too young to go to the night club, I didn’t understand the dance music scene, I was focused on Hip-hop music until the summer of 98 when I saw DJs playing House music everywhere. Coming from the Turntablism scene, we were always inspired by electronic music records with which we scratched. Years later, I pushed the door to the musical journey that became my life. To this day, what was your favorite gig, and what made it so special? Oh man, there are a lot of good memories even though I haven't played much lately, but I’ll say Heideglühen in Berlin in September was special!! The atmosphere, the crowd, the sound, the team, everything was aligned. I also have good memories at Peti Kupe in Zagreb, this venue is dope!! Panorama Bar in 2015 with the ClekClekBoom fam or Russia and Taipei before the Coronavirus shit was some of my best experiences. I don’t have specific moments to describe, just going to a gig with talented DJs, the preparation to dig records, the excitement to play unreleased tracks, the crowd, etc. You are hosting a stage, who would be on your dream line-up? I would say only dead artists that we miss to whom I would pay tribute. Mike Huckaby, Kelli Hand, and Paul Johnson would be a good example of who I’d like to hear play.
Your favorite place to shop for records and why? I live in Paris so I will say Syncrophone for the new records, Heartbeat for the second hands, and Yoyaku for the in-store sessions. What’s your favorite record to play in front of a crowd at the moment? What time would you play it and what makes it so good? I like to play A Path from Fingers. Inc by speeding it up. I don't play a lot of vocal tracks so when this one comes in with Robert Owens’ vocals and Larry Heard’s bass line on 707 beat, there are always reactions to the sexy vibe of the track.  Everybody has a guilty pleasure, what’s yours? Scratching a “fresh“ and an “aaaaah“ over shitty beats is my guilty pleasure, it's a geek thing that I like to keep doing like when I was young, and which reminds me of the world before. What’s the number one thing on your bucket list? (not related to DJing) Find Love! Any advice for the beginners out there? Take the time to practice, find your touch, and pay attention to history, taking in the bad and the good of everything that got you to where you are.