Alix Perez

Alix Perez (born Alix Depauw) is a producer and DJ whose primary work sits in drum and bass and liquid funk. Born in Charleroi, Belgium, he has released multiple albums and EPs across his career, including the studio albums 1984 (2009) and Chroma Chords (2013). He has worked across a wide range of bass-led styles while keeping drum and bass and jungle at the centre of his output.

Depauw started DJing at 14 and began producing at 17. He established himself through a steady output of singles, EPs and full-length projects, then expanded into label management and merchandising by founding 1985 Music — a label and clothing imprint — in 2016. For years he worked and based himself in London, UK, and in autumn 2020 he relocated to New Zealand; he continues to release records and perform internationally.

As a producer Alix Perez favours precise drum programming and layered break edits. His productions typically combine crisp, edited breaks with tight kick-snare relationships, deep sub-bass design and sustained, reverb-drenched pads. He often balances rolling drum patterns with sparser, half-time or broken rhythms, and he uses vocal processing — pitched chops, delays and filtering — as a textural device rather than only a lead hook. On the mix side he places emphasis on dynamic range and low-end clarity: bass elements are frequently sculpted to sit under mid-range melodic layers, and his arrangements leave space for atmospheric elements to evolve across a track.

As a DJ Perez mixes across liquid and deeper rollers as well as darker, weightier cuts. His sets characteristically move between melodic, vocal-led material and instrumental, weight-forward tracks, using long blends and careful EQing to keep low frequencies controlled while introducing new elements. That approach reflects his studio practice: tracks built for system translation without losing the subtleties of atmosphere and harmonic detail.

Career highlights tied to concrete releases and collaborations include the albums 1984 (2009) and Chroma Chords (2013). He has collaborated with vocalists and producers such as Jenna G, and producers Sabre and Spectrasoul. He also records with Eprom under the joint alias Shades. In 2016 he launched 1985 Music as a platform for his own releases and for projects connected to his aesthetic; the imprint also includes a clothing arm. Across releases and live work he has kept a steady international presence, touring and playing DJ slots in Europe, Australasia and beyond.

Direct artistic connections appear in his collaborative work: vocal partnerships with Jenna G and production work with Sabre and Spectrasoul link him to a set of contemporaries who operate between soulful vocal DnB and darker, club-focused rollers. The Shades project with Eprom signals an explicit partnership that crosses into heavier bass and experimental production approaches while retaining Perez’s drum-focused sensibility.

All of the above sits on verifiable milestones: Alix Depauw (Alix Perez) — Charleroi-born, DJing from 14, producing from 17 — released 1984 in 2009 and Chroma Chords in 2013, founded 1985 Music in 2016, has collaborated with Jenna G, Sabre, Spectrasoul and Eprom (as Shades), was based in London for years and relocated to New Zealand in autumn 2020, and continues to release and perform internationally.