It's been said that you hear the truth from insane people and kids. Nowadays, include YouTube commenters. One comment to the Boys Noize club hit Jeffer hits the nail on the head: tuneage!!!!! An electro perfection like this isn't made by itself, it requires both talent and hard work. Alex Ridha sure has got the talent. The hard work for his part started at the tender age of 14.

My first DJ gigs were at school parties and small bars. I started producing at the same time. I stopped playing drums and instead began making music with a friend of mine who had a PC with some shitty music program installed.

As things got more serious Ridha started buying instruments. The first piece of equipment he laid his hands on was the venerable Roland Juno 106 because of its ability to produce warm pads. His collection of gear has since then grown considerably.

I first heard the Machinedrum in the studio belonging to my friend Housemeister and was really impressed. Changing the kick drum to a bass line or turning a percussion sound to a synth part is just crazy for a drum machine. I have the Machinedrum synced to my main sequencer and use it as the master for a lot of other equipment. Most of the time I use separate parts of it, like the kick, snare or hi hats. I rarely make a full track using the Machinedrum, even though it's certainly possible.

His first album, titled Oi Oi Oi, was a full frontal sonic assault. Abrasive and harsh, but still with a special kind of mellowness displayed in tracks like Shine, Shine. The follow-up, Power, had a more toned down and refined sound while retaining the energy that distinguished the debut.

Back in 2005 and 2006, when I produced Oi Oi Oi, I wanted to do something totally radical that differed from what was trendy at the time. When I worked on my latest album, Power, I distanced myself a bit from the aggressiveness but still tried to keep the same attitude. I always want to surprise myself. I don't use the same kick drum or snare drum sound twice. Each track should have its own color.

Most of the time I'm looking for sounds that excite me. I then try to put them together in unusual ways. When I record audio I often record long sessions and extract the best bits. I think I get better at producing after each track I make, but that doesn't necessarily means the music gets better you know.

Apart from both albums being successes, Ridha beats have been embraced by artists like the Black Eyed Peas, Kelis and the UK grime act Kano. He is also a sought after remixer. In 2006 he got one of those life-changing calls. On the other end of the line was the manager of Depeche Mode. The band loved Ridha's work and asked if he was willing to remix their classic song Personal Jesus. He accepted the challenge and was sent all the song material needed.

Hearing Dave Gahan's voice dry in my studio was one of those really big moments. I was a bit nervous when I sent them my remix, but in the end they put it A1 on the vinyl.

It seems to be more and more common for producers to take care of all aspects of their labor, from start to finish. Alex Ridha is no exception. His own label, Boysnoize Recordings, is his primary musical outlet. It's the home for other acts as well. Djedjotronic, Shadow Dancer and Strip Steve were discovered by Ridha thanks to MySpace. D.I.M., who's no other than the PC-owning friend with whom Ridha took his first musical steps, is also a label mate.

It was always a little dream of mine to have my own label. Initially I started it because I had so many tracks I couldn't release anywhere. Then I discovered some great talents and everything evolved from there. During the first three years I was doing everything by myself. I thought it was easy to just press 1000 vinyls of my own music, but quickly realized it was really a lot of work. Once I started releasing music from other people the workload got even bigger. You have to take care of your artists, let them know how much they sell and stuff like that. So today three additional persons are involved in the administation of the label.

You have quite a following on Twitter. How important is social media and the internet for you?

Two or three years ago I didn't care about any promotion as DJ's could find my music in record stores. Now vinyl is dead and record shops are closing down so doing promotion is more important than before. Twitter is the easiest way to spread news directly to those who really care. Blogs are still a love and hate thing for me. There's no filter. Good and bad stuff are just right next to each other.

With the abundance of material available online it's sometimes easy to forget there's a real world out there. Anyone who has seen Boys Noize in action knows that he really should be experienced in a club setting.

I love playing in front of a big crowd, I get a lot of energy from that. Small clubs where I can play more experimental tracks is of course good fun too. Three years ago I think there was a big change in the club scene. Rock and indie music fans got into electronic music. Young kids, dressing up like crazy, started coming to the clubs. Before that you wouldn't really see people like that giving the DJ a lot of attention. For me it has always been clear though that techno music is another form of punk.

Interestingly enough, Ridha doesn't really play live. His sets are more like elaborate DJ-sets where he mixes edited tracks while adding effects.

I'm still trying to figure out how to play live. I don't want to stare at a laptop all the time. Maybe you guys can help me?

Checkt out the official Boysnoize Records website here.