Alexander Sowinski facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alex Sowinski
|
|
|---|---|
.png)
Sowinski performing with BadBadNotGood in Mexico, 2019
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alexander William Sowinski |
| Born | October 11, 1991 Mississauga, Ontario, Canada |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario |
| Occupation(s) |
Musician
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 2010–present |
Alexander William Sowinski (born October 11, 1991) is a Canadian musician, producer, and drummer. He is best known as a member of the instrumental band BADBADNOTGOOD. With his band, he has released several studio albums and is known for his amazing jazz drumming skills.
Contents
Alex Sowinski's Early Life and Music Journey
Alexander William Sowinski was born on October 11, 1991, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. He grew up there and later moved to Toronto as a teenager. He went to high school with Charlotte Day Wilson, who also became a musician. Alex has Polish family roots.
How BADBADNOTGOOD Started
Alex studied jazz music at Humber College. This is where he met his future bandmates, Chester Hansen and Matthew Tavares. Before they formed BADBADNOTGOOD, Alex played drums in another band with musician Tommy Paxton-Beesley, also known as River Tiber.
BADBADNOTGOOD officially started in 2010. They became very popular in 2011 after they posted jazz versions of songs by the group Odd Future online. Their first album came out in the fall of 2011. Alex plays the drums and also acts as the band's MC (or host) during their shows. As the band got more famous, Alex left college to focus on music.
Alex's Work with BADBADNOTGOOD and Other Artists
By 2021, Alex Sowinski had released six full-length albums with BADBADNOTGOOD. This includes a special album they made with rapper Ghostface Killah. Their albums have even been nominated for the Polaris Music Prize twice, which is a big award in Canadian music.
With his band, Alex has also helped produce many songs for hip hop, R&B, and electronic music artists. Some famous names include Kendrick Lamar, Daniel Caeser, and Kali Uchis. Alex has also worked as a session musician, playing drums for other artists, and as a songwriter. He has collaborated with producers and musicians like Kaytranada, Frank Dukes, and Charlotte Day Wilson.
Alex's Creative Projects
In 2018, Alex helped create a design group in Toronto called Arrangement Studio. When it launched, Alex released some experimental music under the name Arrangement. He called his first album Vol. 1. and has released more songs since then.
He also worked with another group called Group Climate. In late 2020, he produced a collection of drum beats for other musicians to use in their songs. Alex also started being a DJ in 2019. He has created many experimental DJ mixes for Arrangement Studio and has been a guest on a radio show called Worldwide FM.
In 2019, Alex Sowinski and his BADBADNOTGOOD bandmate Leland Whitty wrote the music for a Canadian movie called Disappearance at Clifton Hill.
Alex Sowinski's Drum Kit
Alex Sowinski uses a Ludwig Maple drum kit. It usually has four pieces: a 14-inch tom drum, an 18-inch floor tom, and a large 26-inch kick drum. He also uses a Roland SPDS sampler, which is a device that can play different sounds.
In the early 2010s, he often played without a rack tom (a drum that sits on top of the kick drum). Instead, he would put his SPDS sampler on top of the kick drum. He uses cymbals from Istanbul and older Zildjian cymbals. He plays with Headhunter drumsticks.
Alex Sowinski's Music Albums
With BADBADNOTGOOD
- BBNG (2011)
- BBNG2 (2012)
- III (2014)
- Sour Soul (2015) (with Ghostface Killah)
- IV (2016)
- Talk Memory (2021)
As Arrangement (Arrangement Studio)
- Vol. 01 (2018)
- "Sway" (2020)
Other Albums and Soundtracks
- Disappearance at Clifton Hill soundtrack (2019) (with Leland Whitty)
- Lost Keys (short film; directed by Amandla Baraka) (2021) (with Leland Whitty)
Production and Songwriting Work
Alex Sowinski has helped produce and write many songs for other artists.
Notable Production Work with BADBADNOTGOOD
- Kendrick Lamar: "...." from .... (2016)
- GoldLink: "Fall in Love" (featuring Cisero) (2016)
- Daniel Caesar: "Get You" (2016)
- Kali Uchis: "After the Storm" (featuring Tyler, the Creator and Bootsy Collins) from Isolation (2018)
- Khalid and Swae Lee: "The Ways" from Black Panther (2018)
Other Music Credits
- Down by Riverside – From the Ground Up EP (2011); played drums
- River Tiber – "Motives" from Indigo (2015); played drums, sang vocals
- Mac Miller – "Perfect Circle / God Speed" from GO:OD AM (2015); played drums
- KAYTRANADA and Tuxedo – "The Right Time (Kaytranada Rmx)" (2015); played drums
- KAYTRANADA – "Flippin on You" from 0.001% mixtape (2017); played drums
- Matty – Déjàvu (2018); played drums
- Jaunt – "Best Case" from Cue (2018); played extra drums
- Charlotte Day Wilson – Stone Woman EP (2018); played keys, cymbals, helped write and produce
- Mick Jenkins – "Understood" from Pieces of a Man (2018); played drums, produced with KAYTRANADA
- KAYTRANADA – "Puff Lah" and "Vex Oh" from Bubba (2019); helped write, played drums
- FRANK LEONE & Hanni El Khatib – "Crown" (feat. Monster Mike) b/w "Solid Gold" from Flu Dogs (2019); helped write, used sampled drums
- Jaunt – All in One (2020); helped with sound engineering
- Jonah Yano – "anywhere" and "what i can do to help" from Souvenir (2020); played drums/drum programming
- Slauson Malone – "The Wake Pt. 3 & 2" from Vergangenheitsbewältigung (2020); played drums
- Justin Nozuka – "summer night o8" single (2021); producer, helped write
