Aad De Mooy a.k.a. Alex Cortiz is a famous and versatile musician. He started and worked with several pseudonyms like the also known D-Shake. With the others pseudonyms, his music travels into genres like disco, trance, techno etc. Under the name of Alex Cortiz, he expands his creativity into downtempo, lounge, jazz, bossanova, chillout, funky groove, cinematic scores…

Since the 90’s he was a key figure in Notherland’s music scene, extending its popularity into the world. As a Dj and Producer he works in many countries. Many of his videos have been broadcast by the international channel video MTV. Alex Cortiz has already released eight albums, the ninth is in working in progress and soon we’ll provide news.

What follows is my interview with him:

01. How and when your career started?
Before I became a muscian, who works mainly with electronic equipment, I played in little Amsterdam based new wave bands (guitar, vocals) and experimented with an old analog 4 track recorder, a Roland TR 606 drumcomputer and a Korg MS 10.
My career in music started really as a producer of techno music. With the name D-Shake I had a worldwide hit in 1990, with the track Yaaah Technotrance.
In the years after, I kept making techno, but also variations on techno, such as ambient and dub (Paradise 3001) and more club oriented music (house) with artistnames such as Sauza Doble and Lucid.
In 1998 I did a disco album with the artistname Flygang (Disco Machine) In the same year I produced the first album of Alex Cortiz (Volume 1), which was – uptil now – followed by 7 other albums of Alex Cortiz.

02. Is there someone who has contributed in meaningful way to your musical choice?
That would be Xavier Perec, a friend, and at that time, dj.

03. What led you to this specific musical genre?
I listen to a lot of music. So, that’s why. The firstt lounge production I heard was the first album of Sven van Hees (Geminii) Before his album I had released Volume 1 by Alex Cortiz, which contains more funky and triphop stuff. At the time of Sven van Hees’ Gemini, or probably a bit after, I released the album Moodfood, with loads of lounge classics on it, but lounge then was in it’s child’s shoes.

04. Please, tell us a meaningful or amusing anecdote related to your career.
What striked me a couple of times, is that when people send me an e-mail with a question or a compliment, and I answered, quite a few said: you’re not Alex Cortiz. because if you were, you wouldn’t answer me.

05. Who is Alex Cortiz, musican apart?
Trying to be a nice guy, which is difficult enough 🙂
I’m thinking a lot about stuff. Stuff going on in my life, stuff going on in the world. I like that, but not always. Sometimes it becomes a whirlpool.
I also write. A book is to be published, and I’m working on my second book.
I love football, which has made me an agonised person during the last years, due to the underachievements of the club I support 🙂
I love eating out and drinking a good wine. I love cats, but have not taken a new one since my last one died.

06. Do you believe that when you were a child, there was already in you the artist that you would become?
I really don’t know. My sisters and brother had organ lessons, and I didn’t, because I hated that organ and the teacher. But pretty early I asked for a acoustic guitar, which I jammed on. Also I started buying records real early and built up a pretty big collection and I ain’t gonna tell you the artists in it!

07. To follow our passions it needs determination and discipline. It’s also needs the component of the game, the fun, the child who always live in us.
If you agree, how much and as the child that’s in you, it contributes to your creativeness?
The nicest part of creating a song is finding the elements you built it with and the excitement you have in putting them together. This is the child part. Then comes the disciplne, in constructing it to something useful, worth listening to. This is the adult labour part.

08. What do you transmit with your music?
Just a wide array of moods, most of them pleasant and good, but sometimes also dark.

09. The music is the most abstract and intense art, maybe the most authentic. Do you believe that it can contribute to change the world as it is today, how?
That could be on various levels, but you shouldn’t give it too much credit. It depends on many cross-overing variables. Like what genre you use, if it comes with text, who performs it, what country, what culture and what political system. I primarily believe in that it can change tthe moods and maybe in some way, the attitudes of individual people.

10. Do you want to leave a message to your fans or to whom doesn’t know your music yet?
Please try & listen to my music: it could open a new world to you.

11. What are your plans for the immediate future?
I have 20 new tracks, waiting for their finishing touch. I don’t know yet if I’m gonna spread them over 2 albums, of which one on an American label. Also I have plans to go live on stage with my techno alias D-Shake, but this depends on if I can create sometning atrtactive live.

12. If you could return on yours musical scores, which chord would you change?
I think, I would choose to repair some beats!

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press release by Katia Vit