finetune artist: Alec Empire

b. Alexander Wilke, 2 May 1972, Charlottenburg, West Berlin, Germany. Wilke grew up in Berlin developing a strong social conscience from a young age, attracting him to genres of music where he could express his political and social views. At 12, he joined punk band Die Kinder, five years after first having picked up a guitar. Four years later Wilke left both the band and punk behind, feeling it no longer relevant to the culture he belonged to. Moving on to DJing and adopting his new moniker, he joined the popular underground techno scene in Berlin, before forming Atari Teenage Riot in 1992. This iconic unit created a new genre of music, digital hardcore, after which Empire later named his record label. Following a seven-year run performing with artists such as Beck and Nine Inch Nails, the band arrived at a natural end and Empire was free to throw all his energy into his already emerging solo work.

Listen to Alec Empire at Finetune.

Down With the Shit
Hard Like It's a Pose
Night Of Violence
Bang Your Head!
Fire Bombing