Over the last 2 years I have been subject to several stages of totally colossal life changes. It has been hard to focus on music, even though I have continued digging and love it as ever. Music has been my lifeblood and given me a sense of meaning since I was a kid. A platform upon which I had a sense of purpose to exist. I started to DJ after my dad died when I was really young (1997). I had already been into it but after this event, collecting and playing records became a crutch, a coping mechanism. It got me through, it was a colourful, intellectually benign yet absorbing way to distract myself from the pain of existence.

One thing I have noticed is that even though privately I have always been deeply obsessed with music, my expression with it publicly has been inconsistent, stuttering based upon how I felt at any given time, allowing life events to eclipse music and stopping me from getting my ideas out there. Also, I allowed various things to block my outlet... "it's not the right style" / "it's too different to all my other mixes" / "it's not a proper underground selection" etc. BULLSHIT!

I have come to a point where I feel settled and ready to commit to a new regular series. I created a variety of DJ mix series in the past: Cement Mix, the ongoing Avenue Red Podcast among others. This one I intend to become my regular heartbeat for reflective, thoughtful, personal expressions with any kind of music.

Labelled in respect of the great philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (a nod to existentialism, his teachings), it is all about accepting that we are not here for a long time, we are here for a GOOD TIME! It is all about not letting ego, fear regarding acceptance or some creative apathy block access to expressing ones true self in its truest form. Unless our musical expressions are unleashed, released from our minds and committed to the physical world somehow, all of our crazy, precious and unique ideas are gone forever. Blown away and scattered with the sands of time. Once we die, there is no time left, no chance to express anything further and the universe can never know what potentially amazing things were locked up in our minds. This also represents a loss of cultural progress, as discoveries we have personally made are not being documented for posterity. This new Nietzsche Lessons series is a special zone for total freedom of musical expression.

All of the artwork is going to be my own photography from my life/travels.

Regarding guest spots, the established Avenue Red | https://soundcloud.com/avenue-red crew will always have priority - they are my clan and they are all fucking legends to me. I want 1/3 of the Nietzsche Lessons sessions to be guest spots, but we will see. Love to all, Alec xxx

"To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Alec Pritchard pres. Nietzsche Lessons

Finally I found the inspiration to make a 3rd episode for Nietzsche Lessons! I'm back with more blissful, thoughtful musical introspection. From trip-hop to chillout, from liquid drum & bass to IDM and all kinds of weirdness in-between.

"When you stare into the abyss the abyss stares back at you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Picture taken from my balcony in Castlefield, Manchester.

=====

01 Medway - Slow Resurrection // Hooj Choons (1998)
02 Pizzicato 5 - Porno 3003 (Thievery Corporation Remix) // Eighteenth Street Lounge Music (1999)
03 Ursula Rucker - Circe (Jazzanova Remix) // Guidance Recordings (1999)
04 K-Scope - Outer Mind // Earth (2002)
05 Christian Zimmerman - Diary Of A Lost Girl // Giant45 (1999)
06 Robi Uppin - Journey/Teekond (Tammsaar ja eutanaasia ETV2) // Not On Label (2015)
07 Funki Porcini - 50,000 Ft. Freefall // Ninja Tune (2002)
08 Susumu Yokota - Kaiten Mokuba // Skintone (1983)
09 Commix - Envious (Original Commix Demo Version) // Metalheadz (2012)
10 Om Unit - Vibes Is Right // Not On Label (Om Unit Self-Released) (2012)
11 Illinton - New Dreams (feat. Coco Sapur) (Chillout Beats) // Hooj Choons (2002)
12 Kid Loops - Meridian Helix // Filter (1997)
13 Circulation - Sepia // Circulation (2003)
14 The Black Dog - Dials & Dialers 2 // Soma Quality Recordings (2008)
15 Moonstarr - Fucked Up Love (feat. Fineprint & Sarah Linhares) // Public Transit Recordings (2008)
16 Nacho Sotomayor - Remember You // House D'arret (2003)
17 Synkro - Acceptance // Apollo (2013)
18 Gramatik - Adriatic Summer Nights // Cold Busted (2010)
19 Nightmares On Wax - Survival // Warp Records (1999)
20 Blame - Revival // Earth (1996)
21 Ben Christophers - Leaving My Sorrow Behind (Fila Brazillia Remix) // V2 (2001)
22 King Louis - Paraplegic Soul (Fila Brazillia Remix) // Twentythree (2003)
23 SBTRKT - Something Goes Right (feat. Sampha) // Young Turks (2011)
24 Daedelus - Admit Defeat // Alpha Pup Records (2006)

Alec Pritchard - Nietzsche Lessons #003

A CD-length kaleidoscopic DJ mix composed of a wide range of musical styles. Introspective, often relaxing music with trippy atmospheres, challenging themes and thought-provoking, juxtaposed selections. This is my musical freedom of expression zone.

"It is hard enough to remember my opinions, without also remembering my reasons for them!" - Friedrich Nietzsche

Picture taken at Deansgate Square Towers in Manchester.

=====

01 Mr. James Barth - Dope Movin' // Svek (1998)
02 Jordan Fields - Wheels Of Steel // Mo' Wax (2002)
03 Jimpster - B:Mine // Kudos Records (2002)
04 Susso - Alagi // Soundway (2016)
05 Thievery Corporation - Focus On Sight // Eighteenth Street Lounge Music (2000)
06 Nor Elle - Heavy Blunt // Mole Listening Pearls (2003)
07 The Tolhouse Men - So Double U // Siena (2019)
08 Linda Wesley - Wild On The Isle (Good Block Edit) // EMI (1986)
09 Nicolas Jaar - Keep Me There (Alec Pritchard Edit) // Circus Company (2011)
10 Takuya Matsumoto - Transit Oasis Point // Iero (2010)
11 Gramatik - The Culture // Cold Busted (2009)
12 Gramatik - Doin' It // Cold Busted (2009)
13 James Brown - The Payback // Polydor (1973)
14 David Shrigley - Hopping + Wiggling // LateNightTales (2006)
15 Flying Lotus - German Haircut // Warp Records (2010)
16 Flanger - Intro // Nonplace (2007)
17 The Black Dog - Dials & Dialers 1 // Soma Quality Recordings (2008)
18 The Black Dog - Ghost Vexations // Soma Quality Recordings (2008)
19 Aphex Twin ‎– SAW Volume II (Untitled #12) // Warp Records (1994)
20 The Future Sound Of London - Enviroments - Gong // fsoldigital.com (2007)
21 Plaid - Tak 3 // Warp Records (2001)
22 Jimi Tenor - Xinotepe Heat // Warp Records (1999)
23 Tosca - Busenfreund (dZihan & Kamien Dub) // G-Stone Recordings (2000)
24 Luomo - Let You Know // Huume (2006)

Alec Pritchard - Nietzsche Lessons #004

Me: "Hello! Thanks for sending. Really nice selection. I would love to put this one onto my personal page series that I started during lockdown times. For me, this is the perfect next edition: Cenk Akyol - Nietzsche Lessons 005"

Cenk: "Dear Alec, glad you've liked the mix as well as I have. As we are in the mid-summer, filled with plenty of sunshine and the joy of getting together and socialising, I've felt like choosing brighter songs and tracks. And if you believe Nietzsche can boogie, then why not use it?! :)

There's a lack of seriousness in overall sound when compared with my previous selection for Avenue Red (which is not necessarily a bad thing), but to me these records are sincerely produced music for positive mind. And you have been always a positive mind. So certainly you can... Warm regards" Cenk Akyol, July 2022

https://soundcloud.com/cenkakyol

"We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Picture taken by Alec Pritchard inside The Church of Our Saviour, a baroque church in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Cenk Akyol - Nietzsche Lessons #005

Top class gentleman, DJ and Distant Worlds label owner from South London - Paul Rimbaud - has joined the philosophical ride, enticing us into his inner sanctum with an expressive mix of 90's vibes rave & breaks action. The "matchball" he refers to below is to get a mix onto my new Nietzsche Lessons series, Avenue Red and Avenue Red 1210 - the only man in the known universe to do so, so far. And he's smashed this one 5-0. Invisible mixing, totally seamless. Get your raving boots on. Reach for the lasers. Safe as fuck!

Paul Rimbaud wrote: "God is dead" spoke Nietzsche but somewhat negated the power of the declaration when he went and died himself, thus allowing God to declare "Nietzsche is dead". At least he would have if Nietzsche hadn't already done him dirty. Anyways turns out that the only positive maxim we can lay our faith in these days regards the late 20th century assertion that "hardcore will never die". Accordingly I've engaged in a Hegelian dialectic on the hardcore continuum in an effort to reach some degree of polyrhythmic synthesis; old stuff, new stuff, all sharing a common denominator - the breakbeat. 

To be quite honest, being a miserable sod, I always related more to Schopenhauer personally but I think we can all at least agree that there has never been a party that hasn't been livened up by debating long-dead German existentialists. In a direct affront to nihilism I am proud to collect the Pritchard match ball with this mix so may I implore all the listeners to let inspiration be your ecstasy and ecstasy, your inspiration.

My hand-picked quote:

"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." - Friedrich Nietzsche

https://soundcloud.com/distantworldtransmissions
https://soundcloud.com/theimaginarymuseum

Paul Rimbaud, February 2023

Picture taken by Alec Pritchard with pipe & slippers from the top of The Great Northern Tower in Manchester, England.

=====

Tracklist out soon...
Downloads available soon too... 
Don't ask when soon is or will be. Soon is undefined. But, soon...

Paul Rimbaud - Nietzsche Lessons #006

Avenue Red regular Gusev from Berlin via St. Petersburg, Russia made a strong coffee, grabbed a bag of fine house & techno records and laid it down for an explosive, impulsive, party poppin' Nietzsche Lessons episode! Spring grooves, straight from the heart.

"My main idea was that the mix should sound like a trip or like a flight. I hope it worked! Every mix for me is like a short life. You have to live a life like a trip." Dmitry Gusev, March 2023

https://soundcloud.com/gusev-1

"Death is not the enemy of life at all, but the means by which the meaning of life is revealed." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Picture taken by Alec Pritchard in The White Hotel, Salford, England.

=====

Tracklist out soon...
Downloads available soon too...
Don't ask when soon is or will be. Soon is undefined. But, soon...

Gusev - Nietzsche Lessons #007

Over the last 2 years I have been subject to several stages of totally colossal life changes. It has been hard to focus on music, even though I have continued digging and love it as ever. Music has been my lifeblood and given me a sense of meaning since I was a kid. A platform upon which I had a sense of purpose to exist. I started to DJ after my dad died when I was really young (1997). I had already been into it but after this event, collecting and playing records became a crutch, a coping mechanism. It got me through, it was a colourful, intellectually benign yet absorbing way to distract myself from the pain of existence.

One thing I have noticed is that even though privately I have always been deeply obsessed with music, my expression with it publicly has been inconsistent, stuttering based upon how I felt at any given time, allowing life events to eclipse music and stopping me from getting my ideas out there. Also, I allowed various things to block my outlet... "it's not the right style" / "it's too different to all my other mixes" / "it's not a proper underground selection" etc. BULLSHIT!

I have come to a point where I feel settled and ready to commit to a new regular series. I created a variety of DJ mix series in the past: Cement Mix, the ongoing Avenue Red Podcast among others. This one I intend to become my regular heartbeat for reflective, thoughtful, personal expressions with any kind of music.

Labelled in respect of the great philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (a nod to existentialism, his teachings), it is all about accepting that we are not here for a long time, we are here for a GOOD TIME! It is all about not letting ego, fear regarding acceptance or some creative apathy block access to expressing ones true self in its truest form. Unless our musical expressions are unleashed, released from our minds and committed to the physical world somehow, all of our crazy, precious and unique ideas are gone forever. Blown away and scattered with the sands of time. Once we die, there is no time left, no chance to express anything further and the universe can never know what potentially amazing things were locked up in our minds. This also represents a loss of cultural progress, as discoveries we have personally made are not being documented for posterity. This new Nietzsche Lessons series is a special zone for total freedom of musical expression.

All of the artwork is going to be my own photography from my life/travels.

Regarding guest spots, the established Avenue Red crew will always have priority - they are my clan and they are all fucking legends to me. I want 1/3 of the Nietzsche Lessons sessions to be guest spots, but we will see. Love to all, Alec xxx

"To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Picture taken in Vinca, near Belgrade in Serbia. Stray dogs are endemic in the Balkans. No owner, no collar, no lead. They exist, accept their reality, always living on raw impulse and instinct. We can all learn something from this...

=====

01 Bibio - Light Seep // Warp Records (2011)
02 Gramatik - Indigo Child // Cold Busted (2009)
03 Thievery Corporation - The Richest Man In Babylon // Eighteenth Street Lounge Music (2002)
04 The Long Lost - The Art Of Kissing // Ninja Tune (2008)
05 Aim - What People Do All Day // Grand Central Records (2002)
06 Daedelus - A Bloodworth // Bleep (2009)
07 Paul Hunter - The Warning // Earth (2001)
08 A.P.E. - No. 5 // Dorado (1995)
09 Seefeel - Ashdecon // Rephlex (1996)
10 Susumu Yokota - Robed Heart // Skintone (2006)
11 Prefuse 73 - Nuno // Warp Records (2001)
12 The Black Dog - Tahr // Warp Records (1995)
13 Plaid - Getting // Warp Records (1997)
14 Detroit Escalator Company - Duat // Peacefrog Records (2001)
15 Tosca - Rosa (Live) // G-Stone Recordings (2009)
16 DJ Krush - Shinjiro (with Mos Def) // Mo Wax (1997)
17 Group Home - Supa Star // Payday (1994)
18 Prefuse 73 - Invigorate (Interlude) // Warp Records (2003)

Alec Pritchard - Nietzsche Lessons #001

Well, it's now officially a series because there is a second episode. And already my friends are getting involved! I am pleased to present Álfbeat, a lady with a very interesting music mind whose mixes are endlessly eclectic and she sounds unlike anyone else I have heard... she comes from Reykjavik, capital city of Iceland and features a lot of odd, intriguing music from her homeland. This is her impulsive selection, her raw expression, big ups to the first guest on Nietzsche Lessons!

"As a philosophy teacher and a DJ I was very excited for the new Nietzsche Lessons series my friend started. This mix is a funky ride of Icelandic trip-hop with some international electronic and hip-hop gems. This kind of music has been a saviour for my existence during the post-Covid fatigue and lockdown. Good mental health is so important. Lots of Love, Álfbeat." Ása Lind Finnbogadóttir, December 2020

https://soundcloud.com/djalfbeat

"Without music, life would be a mistake." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Picture taken by Alec Pritchard. Multi-spectrum LED lights in a greenhouse in Offenham, Evesham, England.

Álfbeat - Nietzsche Lessons #002

Just another wish.com Eraserhead
AVENUE RED: @avenue-red
~ ~ ~
○ 2025
‣ Fri 05 Sep - Avenue Red @ SUPERMASSIVE, Manchester w/ @albradley3am, @alecpritchard, @robert-vigh
https://ra.co/events/2242940
https://www.facebook.com/events/2016334442519816
https://www.instagram.com/p/DNoEWkiI_Vb
‣ Sat 26 Jul - Kasia's 30th Birthday @ OverDraught, Manchester w/ @alecpritchard, @robert-vigh, @quadrantsoundscape + co.
‣ Fri 18 Jul - Avenue Red @ SUPERMASSIVE, Manchester w/ @alecpritchard
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‣ Thu 1 May - Kim’s Kitchen & Bar, Manchester w/ @alecpritchard
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○ 2024
‣ Sat 28 Sep - Avenue Red @ OverDraught, Manchester w/ @alecpritchard, @robert-vigh, @quadrantsoundscape, @lou-start
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‣ Sat 1 Jun - 40th Birthday thing: Avenue Red @ Disorder Manchester w/ @alecpritchard B2B @damo-b, @quadrantsoundscape, @user-565739154-531076511, @viperfisch, Sam Burton, Spillar [ https://www.facebook.com/events/826545836198783/ ]

○ 2023
‣ New Year's Eve - Alec Pritchard - All Night Long @ The White Lion, Manchester (7-2)
‣ Sat 23 Dec - Avenue Red @ OverDraught, Manchester w/ @alecpritchard + Spillar
‣ Sat 11 Nov - Avenue Red @ OverDraught, Manchester w/ @quadrantsoundscape + Sam Burton
‣ Sat 9 Sep - Avenue Red @ OverDraught, Manchester w/ @damo-b @lou-start
‣ Fri 7 Jul - Avenue Red @ The Talleyrand, Manchester w/ @joshlentink @slickyrik
‣ Sat 20 May - Woodland Festival, Thetford, Norfolk w/ @enclaverecs
‣ Fri 24 Mar - Dub Explorations @ Eastern Bloc w/ @verdant-recordings
‣ Sat 4 Mar - The Prog Lag vs Avenue Red @ The Loco Klub, Bristol w/ @guy-j @budakid @avenue-red @owaink @tomb1986
‣ Thu 19 Jan - Café Bakeliet | Rotterdam 🇳🇱 w/ @michalensink

○ 2022
‣ Fri 16 Dec - Dub Explorations @ Eastern Bloc
‣ Fri 30 Sep - Dub Explorations @ Eastern Bloc
‣ Sat 6 Aug - The 212 Café & Bar, Leeds w/ @enclaverecs
‣ Sat 18 Jun - Avenue Red @ Movement Bar, Tib St, Manchester
‣ Fri 27 May - Dub Explorations @ Eastern Bloc
‣ Sun 22 May - Woodland Festival, Thetford, Norfolk (Chill-out set)
‣ Sat 21 May - Woodland Festival, Thetford, Norfolk (Night time set)
‣ Fri 11 Mar - F L ō K Bar
‣ Sat 12 Feb - Lost Minute @ Edith | Budapest 🇭🇺
https://soundcloud.com/avenue-red/live-session-003-alec-pritchard-lost-minute-edith-budapest-hungary-12-02-2022?in=avenue-red/sets/avenue-red-live-session
‣ Thu 3 Feb - F L ō K Bar
‣ Fri 14 Jan - F L ō K Bar
‣ Sat 8 Jan - The Prog Lag @ Folklore | London

○ 2021
‣ Thu 30 Dec - Dub Explorations @ Eastern Bloc
‣ Sat 11 Dec - F L ō K Bar + Wilson Logan [@quadrantsoundscape]
‣ Fri 10 Dec - F L ō K Bar
‣ Thu 2 Dec - F L ō K Bar
‣ Sat 27 Nov - @damo-b pres. Nothing But The Truth @ Eastern Bloc
‣ Sat 27 Nov - F L ō K Bar pre-bar for @damo-b pres. Nothing But The Truth
‣ Fri 26 Nov - F L ō K Bar
‣ Sat 13 Nov - F L ō K Bar + @asphalt_layer
‣ Fri 12 Nov - F L ō K Bar
‣ Fri 15 Oct - Dub Explorations @ Eastern Bloc
~ ~ ~
Music collector, DJ and occasional artist/producer. DJ'ing since 1997, I play a wide range of music that is mainly focused on the deeper/dubbier shades of house, techno & electro. I also love all kinds of eclectic stuff including disco, boogie, Italo, synth pop, nu jazz, jazzdance, lounge, trip-hop, downtempo, dub, reggae, jungle, liquid drum & bass, IDM, electronica, Warp, Ninja Tune etc.

In summer 2013 I set up the Avenue Red (@avenue-red) imprint to push quality material from a wide plethora of DJs and artists who I have particular respect for in terms of their musical output, artistry and dedication to the cause.