Alexander John Joseph Doyle (born 28 August 1980) is a British musician. He is best known as the guitarist and

synthesiser A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

player for British

indie electronic Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produce ...

band

Hot Chip Hot Chip are an English synthpop band formed in London in 1995. The group consists of multi-instrumentalists Alexis Taylor, Joe Goddard, Al Doyle, Owen Clarke, and Felix Martin. They are occasionally joined by former member Rob Smoughton for ...

and American rock band

LCD Soundsystem LCD Soundsystem is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy, co-founder of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals, various instruments), Nancy Whang (synthesizer, keyboards, vocals), Pat Mahoney ( ...

. He is also a founding member of British electronic band New Build.

Early life

Doyle took

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

and

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

lessons from as young as 5 or 6 years old. He lost interest in these instruments as he began studying at university, when he began teaching himself other instruments, such as the guitar, drums, and bass guitar, and learned how to create music with computers. Doyle later won a place at

Sidney Sussex College Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wife ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

to read English alongside future Hot Chip bandmate Felix Martin.

Career

Hot Chip

Doyle joined British

band

in 2003 before the recording session for their debut studio album, '' Coming on Strong'' (2004). Band co-founder Alexis Taylor called him to invite him to join the band while Doyle was unemployed and living in London, and he accepted. He remains a member of Hot Chip as of the release of ''

A Bath Full of Ecstasy ''A Bath Full of Ecstasy'' is the seventh studio album by English synth-pop group Hot Chip. It was released on 21 June 2019, and was co-produced by Hot Chip, Philippe Zdar, and Rodaidh McDonald, marking the first time the group worked with outsi ...

'' (2019), their seventh studio album.

LCD Soundsystem

Soon after the release of their self-titled debut studio album, Doyle joined American rock band

as a live member, as noted in the liner notes of their second studio album, ''

Sound of Silver ''Sound of Silver'' is the second studio album by American rock band LCD Soundsystem. The album was released jointly through DFA and Capitol Records in the United States and EMI elsewhere, first on March 12, 2007, in the United Kingdom. ''So ...

'' (2007). He would go on to play the Yamaha CS-60 and guitar on their 2010 song "You Wanted a Hit", the sixth track from their third studio album, ''

This Is Happening ''This Is Happening'' is the third studio album by American rock band LCD Soundsystem. It was released first on May 17, 2010, jointly through DFA and Virgin Records in the United States and Parlophone elsewhere. It was recorded over the course o ...

'' (2010). In 2011, band frontman James Murphy announced that they were disbanding and would perform a farewell show at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...

, where Doyle also played. The band would reunite, however, in 2015, to release a new album. Doyle became a much more prominent studio member of the band during the recording sessions, receiving writing credits on seven tracks out of the album's ten, and performing several instruments, including piano, cello, bowed mandolin, and electronic drums. The album, titled '' American Dream'', was released on 1 September 2017.

New Build

Following LCD Soundsystem's disbandment in 2011, Doyle created the band New Build along with Hot Chip member Felix Martin and audio engineer Tom Hopkins. On 5 March 2012, they released their debut studio album, ''Yesterday Was Lived and Lost''. They released a second studio album, ''Pour It On'', on 20 October 2014.

Discography

With Hot Chip *'' Coming on Strong'' (2004) *'' The Warning'' (2006) *'' Made in the Dark'' (2008) *'' One Life Stand'' (2010) *'' In Our Heads'' (2012) *'' Why Make Sense?'' (2015) *''

'' (2019) With LCD Soundsystem *''

'' (2010) *'' American Dream'' (2017) *'' Electric Lady Sessions'' (2019) With New Build *''Yesterday Was Lived and Lost'' (2012) *''Pour It On'' (2014)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doyle, Al Living people Place of birth missing (living people) English male guitarists English rock keyboardists English songwriters LCD Soundsystem members Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge 1980 births British male songwriters Hot Chip members