Alec Berlin has been surprising audiences all over the world with his unique music, both original and performances of award winning broadway shows…Alec is a household name with a bright musical career and an even brighter future awaits him.

Moving to Brooklyn, New York 25 years ago, Alec completed his Masters Degree in Jazz Performance at Boston’s New England Conservatory, shortly after he found himself playing on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical “Come From Away”….which would have been already a huge success for any musician, but Alec moved on ahead, continued his brilliant work which found him sharing the stage with icons like Elton John, James Taylor, Ben Folds, Kenny Wheeler, and Rufus Wainwright.

Alec also has been releasing his own music…where does he get the time to do all of that?

He is an absolute example to go by, he’s literally following his calling in life, doing amazing professional work on stage, in the studio and on his own terms with his own solo work.

Alec has already released several projects, including his debut record “Crossing Paths” in 2000, followed up with a couple of songs, “Beauty” & “Grazing at the Trough”, both during 2007, then in 2012 he released “Innocent Explanations”.

Now in 2023, Alec released his album “Space Punk and Other Junk”, which we’ll be exploring today…so why don’t we jump into our space suit and into our rockets to go and discover what “Space Punk and Other Junk” has in store for us?

Before we lift off…we need to address the very nature of the album, which is a very unique premise…it’s an album with 12 voiceless songs, 12 song based music tracks that doesn’t have any singers…it was a challenge that Alec wanted to win over, so the 12 songs in the album are song-based compositions but doesn’t have a singer’s voice…he wanted to make the music literally sing….we’ll see how Alec faced that challenge.

Ready for liftoff?

Liftoff!

“Space Punk and Other Junk” starts out with “Space Punk”…

It’s a pop/rock song…I will use the word song, because Alec absolutely nailed creating a singer-less instrumental song here….and I will continue to use the words “singer-less” and “song” together in this article

This song is an energetic start for our flight into the world Alec created.

Composition-wise, the song is fresh, actually very fresh…something that will instantly hook the ears of the audience with its amazing scale changes, melodic lines and upbeat tempo.

Going further into the album, we find “Man’s Best Friend”…starting as a pop song, shortly to go literally into overdrive mode and into full rock territory…epic rock guitar riffs, huge drums and melodic lead guitars…after midway Alec transitions into a poppy-funky territory…all is perfect.

“Beat Confabulator”….is the unique name of the third track in the album…

…as the songs that came before, the guitar is singing…and it’s a more rocky territory here.

Riffs, melodic bridges and once again a fresh take on singerless songs.

The guitar solo in the second half…you’ll wish it never ended.

With some jazz guitar work too…this one is an absolute treat.

Going further into the album we reach “LaNoise” a country pop song that came at the right time in the album to chill the audience during this journey…relaxing and mind-clearing.

Going deeper we reach “Minir Maad”…a pop/rock and very melodic song, reminiscent of 80s/90s pop rock music…it brought back many memories, the music and the instrument effects choices are perfectly nostalgic.

…even further in the album, at the midpoint of it actually we reach “Patchen Avenue”.

Once again taking us into the country/pop territory…the melodic guitar work here is so pure…both sounding and also on an emotional level.

…moving past the midpoint of the album, we get to “Life in the Bog”.

A deeply storytelling song…with a cinematic intro…and a rock-infused with ambient mysterious melodic parts…this has to be paired with some visuals for the absolute maximum impact.

Moving past the Bog, we find the once again nostalgic realm, presented with the next song “What I wish I had Said”….which feels like…driving on a Tokyo highway at night, passing al exits, just going as far as we can to explore and both the world and ourselves…I can’t put it in musical terms, but this is the emotion that the music created within me.

After some time on the extraplanetary Japanese highway, we eventually took an exit and we found ourselves at “Iota”…a bold melodic presence can be sensed strongly here, it’s more mellow and full with character…once again, on the nostalgic side.

Melodies are beautiful, lead guitar solos are shining.

Going past this…we reach “President’s Day” , a rock track with some country infused in it…

The main guitar riff is iconic and shouldn’t be missed.

…you know what is missing at this point? A ¾ waltz/rock fusion….no worries, take this “Flatbush Jaywalk”…it’s full of storytelling, unique melodies and high gain riffs…the guitar solo here is extremely artful.

…we’re almost at the edge of the universe…at the final song “ROYGBIV”…a more technical pop/rock song with strong melodic aura, it’s the perfect goodbye for this journey, it’s maybe Alec’s way of saying “good ride, but there is more in the future, hang on tight”.

“Space Punk and Other Junk” is a unique album that doesn’t really come by frequently…the closest example I could ever think of is Nick Johnston, so if you like Nick’s music, you’ll be blown away with Alec’s album.

…this was an absolute joyful ride, going through the end of space and time with Alec Berlin’s “Space Punk and Other Junk”

…this album couldn’t be recommended enough, for any, literally any music lover and enthusiast…and basically anyone who wants pure and perfect instrumental music in multiple styles.

Alec, you got yourself a new fan here…we wish you all the best in life, you’re awesome and you make awesome music…can’t wait for your new adventure that we are sure you’ll expertly craft, and for us to explore.

Cheers!

In my opinion, instrumental songs are the ultimate medium for musicians to convey their emotions and tell stories through their instruments, and Alec Berlin accomplishes just that with “Man’s Best Friend”. The track begins with an acoustic jam layered with melodic and cheerful melodies, and progresses into a heavier soundscape without losing its lighthearted tone. Berlin’s jazzy roots shine through in an experimental and progressive interlude, before the song returns to its initial acoustic jam. What’s most impressive about “Man’s Best Friend” is Alec Berlin‘s smooth transitions and ability to paint vivid imagery with his guitar without words. In my own interpretation the track tells the story of a puppy’s adventurous day.

“Man’s Best Friend” is truly a well crafted, written and produced track that has a scenic touch to it. It’s a testament to Alec‘s creativity, guitar skills and storytelling ability. Don’t miss the chance to check out “Man’s Best Friend”, as it deserves a spot on anyone’s playlist.

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Originally from Cleveland, Ohio -the current New Yorker- Alec Berlin release his latest instrumental rocking, ice-melting ballad titled “Beat Confabulator”.

“Beat Confabulator” is a dancing rhythmic track that moves you round and around in a free circular body flow that spins around along with the multi-genre track.

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Beginning with an ambiguous guitar lick acquainted by a Jazzy intro drumming, until the main riff starts to play and suddenly you feel some power has been transferred to your body as if Pink Floyd were jamming in 2023.

The track is funky in vibe, but at the same time feels defiant in an ambiguous rebellious simple sound of guitars that shift around from clean to distortion and from riffs to solos.

Alec Berlin wrote the track perfectly in order to make it guitar sufficient as it didn’t miss any human vocal lines, and was adequate with the instruments introduced and especially the guitar that did all the talking. 

“Beat Confabulator” is a rocking party ballad that is having a touch of pop and vibes like an HBO intro theme track for a 90’s TV show. 

Stay tuned for the upcoming gigs and releases by Berlin.

Alec Berlin’s LaNoise is the chill guitar hero piece you didn’t know that you need until you push play. Berlin’s unique sound mixes a lot of techniques and styles from blues to country and even flamenco and classical, all in perfect harmony within a solid structure. LaNoise has a playful groovy pace that smoothly carries the listener throughout the song’s dynamic twists and turns, while Alec Berlin lays some bright, colorful, and extremely fluid melodies that softly slip into the back of your mind, and instantly switch your mood. Berlin‘s warm guitar tone kept the mood intact, this helped him move freely between different styles and techniques without compromising the mood and helped the listener focus more on his mesmerizing, enjoyable guitar playing.

LaNoise demonstrates Alec Berlin‘s writing and playing skills, he managed to cleverly create a lovely laid-back tune that’s approachable to a wide range of audiences, while giving a killer enjoyable performance that he made it sound like an easy job. Totally recommended, and will make me keep an eye on Alec Berlin‘s work as I look forward to more. Cheers, and keep on rocking!

Check out Alec Berlin‘s previous features here.

I’ve recently talked about Alec Berlin in a review you can read here, but while “Patchen Avenue” was like a trip through town, Alec Berlin’s latest release “Minir Maad” is like a trek in an open desert at sundown.

Alec Berlin’s newest flamenco-inspired instrumental guitar-driven rock single continues on his artistic vision of songs without words, and is another push in a new direction for his unique discography.

The flamenco inspiration can be heard largely in the chord progression known as the Andalusian cadence, which substitutes one of the minor notes in the scale with its major counterpart in the last chord of the progression in a technique referred to as modulation. This gives the song its exotic and rich melodic flavour. 

While the Andalusian cadence is not exclusive to the flamenco music from which it originated, and has been adapted to many other genres, I believe Alec Berlin’s extensive experience as a guitarist for over two decades is what allows him to blend elements from different genres so effortlessly and expertly.

Alec Berlin’s discography keeps growing with new releases such as this one, and we can expect a sandstorm of new innovative ideas being experimented with in his unique instrumental-song music.

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Alec Berlin moved to New York City twenty-five years ago after completing a Masters Degree in Jazz Performance at Boston’s New England Conservatory.

The instrumental single “Patchen Avenue” differs from most instrumental music in that it takes the form of a vocal-based song, but without the vocals. Alec makes this work by substituting this missing ingredient with concise guitar playing and pop songwriting that tells a story without words. 

A Radiohead-like intro, followed Weezer-like guitar licks set the tone of the track with elements that you wouldn’t think would work together, but actually do work together to create this very unique sound.

“Patchen Avenue” takes you on an uplifting and nostalgic journey around town, telling you the stories of all the corner shops and the people working in them.

The song’s sections repeat, like going round and around town where new places become familiar on second visit.

Walking at the pace of the drums feels like we’re in a hurry to see all the places, almost like Alec is too excited to show us around this tour of his new home-city in Brooklyn.

Alec Berlin has been an in-demand sideman on stages and in studio for two decades before deciding it was time to pour his experience on his fourth release Space Punk and Other Junk (what a cool name, too!). We can’t wait to hear more creative instrumental work from this veteran artist.

Photography by Jeremy Varner

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