Perc (Perc Trax)

From his earliest demos to his current position as a key figure in the global techno scene Perc (aka Ali Wells) has taken the established forms of the music he loves and twisted them into something new and fresh. Key to Perc's recent success was the release of 'Up' on Kompakt. With its unmistakable relentless rising tone 'Up' lodged itself in record boxes including those of Richie Hawtin, Luciano, Chris Liebing, Misc, Slam, John Digweed, Green Velvet, Erol Alkan and Steve Lawler and refused to move, inspiring a wave of imitations that continues to this day. Perc's 2nd Kompakt release 'Headphone Heart' showed his versatility, mixing industrial-strength percussion with a haunting flute melody, a combination that on paper should never work, but Ali pulled it off with style.

To cement his techno credentials Ali's 'Sticklebrick' EP on Adam Beyer's Drumcode label made him the first non-Swedish artist to release on the label in 7 years and showed that he could produce to a standard equal to the world's best.

Recently Ali has built a successful relationship with Chris Liebing's CLR imprint. Releasing his 'Serious Moonlight EP' in 2008 and following it up with the Berghain approved 'Submit EP' in May 2009 Ali's CLR releases have covered a wide range of territory from driving peak time techno to dubbed out broken-beat excursions.

2009 will also see Ali make his debut on Josh Wink's internationally renowned Ovum label, the first time he has worked with a US label and a release that could easily be the most significant of 2009 for Ali.

On top of all this is Ali's own Perc Trax label, with over 50 vinyl and digital releases featuring a who's who of modern house and techno including James Holden, Nathan Fake, Misc., Peter Van Hoesen, Norman Nodge, Gary Beck, Kyle Geiger, Avus, Mihalis Safras, Matt Tolfrey, Ripperton and many more. Constantly evolving without chasing trends Perc Trax's releases for the rest of 2009 come from Xpansul, Donor & Truss, The Delta and drum & bass legend Ed Rush, demonstrating the label's eclectic nature perfectly.

Perc is also in-demand remixer having been commissioned to remix a host of world-class names including Trentemoller, James Holden, DJ Hell, Misc, Phil Kieran, DJ Yellow, Blood & Tears, Jeff Bennett, Gary Beck and many more. His most notorious re-rubs include his driving take on Holden's own 'First Light' and his reworking of DJ Hell's 'Buttersaure' that had the cream of Europe's techno scene salivating. 2009 has seen Ali remix Misstress Barbara, Kyle Geiger, Max Cooper (for Cologne's Traum imprint) and white-hot new Perc Trax talent Sawf.

As Perc's profile grows his booking schedule has become busier and Ali's touring has covered all of Europe plus tours of USA, Canada, Mexico, South Africa and 3 tours of Japan. Personal highlights for Ali are a back-to-back set with Oliver Ho in Tokyo, playing in the Drumcode Arena at Dance Valley 2008 and playing on the same bill as Richie Hawtin and Speedy J at 2008's Queen's Day party at Melkweg, Amsterdam. Ali also holds down residencies at Phil Kieran's Kranc night in Belfast and for the London-based Lost Souls collective.