Biography

Apraxia is a SynthPop, Electro, New Wave, EBM, Industrial, Dance Pop & Sound-Art project from Minneapolis and originally from Detroit. Apraxia is influenced by bands like Kraftwerk, Erasure, Nitzer Ebb, Information Society, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, New Order, Daft Punk, Le Tigre, Cut Copy, LCD Soundsystem, Marilyn Manson, Madonna, David Bowie & many more.

The Grid, the latest full-length Apraxia album, was just released on January 15, 2010. It includes "Fight", "International Space Elevator", a cover of Iggy Pop's "I Wanna Be Your Dog", "Delicious Vixen", and "DNA Nanobots".

The 2008 release, Trite Permission was given 5 stars by Side Line Magazine and became Album of the Month on Radio Fabrik in Salzburg Austria.

The project is primarily the work of Alex V, also known as "Siren313". Alex grew up in SW Detroit in the 80s.  He is of German and Hungarian decent.

Alex does much of the production in his home studio using primarily Roland and E-MU synths.  However he has been known to experiment with pots and pans and electronic toys. 

As a child Alex listened to Classic Rock, Motown, New Wave, Swing, Electro-Funk, Early Hip Hop, Techno and Industrial.  He was also influenced by ethnic music and the Fluxus art movement. 

Jack White, Diana Ross and Lilly Tomlin graduated from his high school, Cass Tech.  Indeed, Jack and Alex were in the same grade.  When Alex was a kid he used to listen to Jeff Mills and The Electrifying Mojo on the radio.  While working at Greenfield Village, he was fortunate to meet Rosa Parks.

In the 90s while living in Detroit, some of his hangouts included: Leland City Club, Luna, Ascension UK, @critical, The Shelter, Room 213 in Windsor where he more than once sipped coffee with Ritchie Hawtin and many other then emerging greats on the Detroit/Windsor techno and industrial scenes. 

Apraxia was played on the radio as early as 1993 on WDBM, CJAM, WHFR and WCBN.  Apraxia published the first demo in 1995, and was featured on a string of compilations in the 90s and 00s.  Among them are the Chain DLK Compilation vol 3 published in Italy, Detroit Electronica Coalition vol 2, Twin Cities ElectroPunk vol 2 and many others. 

Alex spent a short time as an intern at Harmonie Park Studios.  His music has been used in television commercials for Dearborn Music and Yazaki North America. 

Alex has collaborated with Gabe Gonzales from the P-Funk All-Stars, Laura Hillman from Somegirl, and hEADACHE.  In between albums Alex played drums with a band called Ceoxime which opened for Pigface and God Lives Underwater. 

Alex moved to the Twin Cities area in part because of the economic effect the September 11th attacks had on the Detroit Area. Looking for work he and a few friends picked up and moved to the Twin Cities in February 2002.

Apraxia played shows with Shiny Toy Guns, All the Pretty Horses, Screaming Mechanical Brain and many others.  Apraxia played after-parties for Ministry and the Detroit Electronic Music Festival. 

Alex scored and music directed for the cult movie called Shadows on the Wall which notably featured the music of Stromkern, Endless Blue, Envy is Blind, and Brainclaw. 

In 2007 Alex was given an awarded by the Southern Poverty Law Center and added to the Wall of Tolerance for his work fighting racism and ethnic hate-speech online.

While working on The Grid Apraxia released a collection of rarities and demos called Protoform.

Alex interviewed Paul Robb from Information Society in March of 2009 on KFAI.

If you want to hear Apraxia locally, try KFAI, Hard Mondays or The Chamber.  It's also been added at college and community radio and featured on podcasts and webcasts like IPM Radio.