A.L.C.A.

Laurențiu Mihalca (A.L.C.A., Laurence Douss, Renzo Heaviside)

Location: Originally from Baia Mare; moved to London, UK in 2014.

Education: Art-focused school (drawing, painting, ceramics, modeling) in Baia Mare; Music Production & Sound Engineering at Point Blank Music School.

Debut: Started DJing in 1997, associated with the Cluj Raving Society (CRS), one of the first rave collectives in Transylvania.

Activities: DJ (initially vinyl only, a collector, using Technics SL-1200 MK2 turntables), audio production and post-production, analog and digital mastering, sound engineer, label manager (Fly High Recordings), compiler, event organizer (Fly High Showcases), cultural promoter, with multidisciplinary interests (photography, graphic design).

Musical genres: Techno, Progressive, Tech-House, Minimal

Events: 2000-2010: regular event collaborations with CRS (DJ's Gathering, Transylvania Summit, the Delahoya festival, the Romanian Electronic Music Festival), as well as releases through Skills Records. Fly High Events in Baia Mare (Athos Club), which hosted many artists, including Livio & Roby, Pagal, Raoul Russu, Praslea, Vania, The Model, Adrian Eftimie, Sebo, Thornado, Haute Culture, Liquid, Carlos & Jasc, Colin, Markus Homm, Marco Brigulia and Rosario Internullo. Then the Showcases in London (from 2015, over 50 editions, contributing to the visibility of Romanian artists on the London scene, with participants including Martin Bundsen, The Real Xperience, Radu Cristian, Roman T, Classic Wabasso, Laura Melillo, Dario Picchi, Cassimm, Queen Bee and Bala Khan), plus events at Egg, Bar 338, Aquarium, McQueen and private parties. In parallel, he worked as a promoter/event organizer at Traffic Club (London) and as an event photographer for organizations such as "Stump," "The Sundays Afters," "Paradox" (Club Egg), "Grooves London," "Point," "Keep On Going" and "Soft Porn." He has played sets alongside international DJs including Pacou, Valentino Kanzyani and Alex Bau.

Studio activity and record labels:

2007/2016: Founded Fly High Recordings LTD/Waves Sounds. Through this label, A.L.C.A. released three personal techno and progressive projects and promoted emerging artists from Romania and the diaspora. Fly High Waves Sounds is a digital extension dedicated to online distribution and supporting emerging producers.
Other label appearances: Skills Records, Doppelgänger, Cutz, Magnetic Grooves, Dirty Stuff Records, Tzinah Records.

Selected discography:

Made his recording debut with the "Nyssa Expression" EP (2006, Cutz, his techno debut); "One1" (2006, Peeled Tracks, includes "Minimalische"); "First Flight" EP (2008, Fly High Recordings, the label's inaugural release); "Express in My Way" EP (2008, Skills Records); "The Real Entertainment" (2009, Skills); "Space Drums" (2013, Fly High Recordings); "Free The Album" (2014, Fly High Recordings, a house/tech-house LP); "Calling Africa" (Magnetic Grooves); "Pathways" (2018, Fly High Recordings); "Micro Tec" (2018, Fly High Recordings); "This Time Tomorrow" (2018, Fly High Recordings); "Encounters" (2019, Fly High Recordings); "Age Of Aquarius" (2019, Fly High Recordings, album); "Solaris" (2024, Fly High Recordings).

Biography:

A.L.C.A. is originally from Baia Mare and, from childhood, was drawn to drawing, painting, ceramics and modeling. He was also attracted to music, building his own instruments, improvising and creating a small home "studio." Professionally, he evolved in an interdisciplinary direction, into web design, photography and advertising. In music, his debut came with the CRS collective in Cluj, where he took part in events and stood out for his vinyl-only mixing technique. Locally, in his hometown in the 2000s, he founded the Fly High Events party series, held mainly at Athos Club, where he invited many representative artists of the Romanian scene. From 2007, the brand became Fly High Recordings, an independent label dedicated to underground electronic music, which signed artists such as Morris Nowtone, Delph Meer, Keed and Colin. His own productions have also appeared on other labels, including Skills, Cutz, Doppelgänger, Magnetic Grooves, Dirty Stuff, Tzinah, Complex Textures, Wasabi, Sea of Sand and Async, and have reached the playlists of international DJs such as Marco Carola, Carlo Lio, Henrik B., Marcel Woods, Tim Wolff, Paride Saraceni and others. The move to London opened the way to further training, skill development and the creation of a multifaceted platform.