BIOGRAPHY
Hailing from the streets of West Berlin, Alec Empire - born Alexander Wilke, 2 May 1972 - was radicalised by his home city growing up in the 1970s and 1980s; the sight of the, in his words, "occupied city" with the armed guards at the Berlin Wall, along with the influence of Western culture on West Berlin itself. The latter aspect led to his interest in hip-hop, leading to a breakdancing career as a child, along with the punk scene which influenced his first band: Die Kinder. This band was short-lived, however, with them disbanding in 1988 when Alec was 16, disillusioned with the scene and believing that punk was dead.
However, the anti-establishment attitude didn't end with Die Kinder. This attitude would directly impact his work thereafter. Post-German reunification, his career in the rave scene sparked under the name LX Empire. His DJ career was prolific, but eventually he and friends Hanin Elias and Carl Crack became disillusioned with rave culture as well for its nihilistic self-indulgence and formed Atari Teenage Riot in 1992; it was highly political, radical, and energetic, with plenty of beats, but, according to Alec Empire himself, "You can't read or do anything else while listening to our music" (I'd second this, but I've studied listening to thier albums, so...).
ATR briefly signed with Phonogram in 1993 while in England (since Alec was avoiding mandatory conscription), before parting ways over difficulties in shows and in the studio. Using the cash advance from the Phonogram deal, Digital Hardcore Recordings was born; a record label allowing more freedom of expression. Those signed on in the following years include ATR and Alec's own music, as well as musicians such as EC8TOR, Sonic Subjunkies, and Shizuo. In this time, Alec's solo work shone through with various psuedonyms such as Jaguar, DJ Mowgly, and E.C.P. He produced a variety of albums with Mille Plateaux such as Generation Star Wars (his first full-length solo album) and Low on Ice (which he recorded over a span of a three-day tour with ATR in Iceland), as well as ATR's first full-length album, Delete Yourself! and his solo album The Destroyer (considered to be the earliest breakcore album) with DHR. ATR would tour with many bands such as Ministry and Rage Against The Machine, introducing Nic Endo into the band and releasing solo works; NTR, Miss Black America, and Alec Empire Vs. Elvis Presley to name a few for Alec's solo work. However, things began spiralling downward with Alec Empire self-harming on stage and ATR performing a barrage of noise while supporting Nine Inch Nails, later to be released as Live At Brixton Academy in 1999, their last full-length album before their final EP (Rage EP) and hiatus due to exhauation, Hanin Elias' pregnancy, and Carl Crack's death from an overdose in 2001.
After ATR, Alec would release his next solo album in 2001, Intelligence and Sacrifice. Creating it with Nic Endo, he viewed it as a new beginning in his music career, and played it live at the Mount Fuji Rock festival that year. He would release the 2005 album Futurist (which had more of a punk sound to it) before announcing his focus on his new label, Eat Your Heart Out, and releasing 2008's The Golden Foretaste of Heaven (with a wholly electronic, somewhat New Wave-inspired sound) along with the 2009 album Shivers under the EYHO label. ATR would release two more albums in 2011 and 2015, titled Is This Hyperreal? and Reset respectively, under DHR. After this, Alec's most recent release is the soundtrack album of the German sci-fi thriller Volt (2017).
In recent years, Alec hasn't released anything, but he is active on Twitter, and he also has Instagram. He does talk a lot about his current beliefs, being a contrarian ("anarchist in art, libertarian in life"), investing in cryptocurrency, and vehemently supporting Israel. (I want to add that I don't share these beliefs or interests, in case anyone assumes that I support it. At the end of the day, though, he's his own person and it'd be petty, rude, and hypocritical to criticise him on a fansite dedicated to him).
I will update if I find any more in the future!