Alec Jeffery Koone (born April 14, 1991), better known by his former stage name Balam Acab, is an American electronic musician and producer originally from

Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Mechanicsburg is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough is west of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area. As of the ...

Biography

Koone began creating hardcore and

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

at the age of 13 with a group of musician friends. While studying music at

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca (town), New York, Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a Music school, conservatory of music. Ithaca College is known for its media-related programs and entertainment program ...

Ithaca, New York Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...

in 2009, he began to experiment with

post-rock Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes Texture (music), texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings wit ...

and

ambient music Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes Musical tone, tone and atmosphere over traditional Musical form, musical structure or rhythm. Often "peaceful" sounding and lacking Musical composition, composition, beat, and/or structured melod ...

. He eventually dropped out of Ithaca College to focus on his music career. His first release, the 2010 EP '' See Birds'', got him categorized as

witch house ''Witch House'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Evangeline Walton. It was published in 1945 by Arkham House in an edition of 3,000 copies. It was the first full-length novel to be published by Arkham House and was listed as the initial ...

according to Pitchfork. He followed that up with his first full-length album, '' Wander/Wonder'', in 2011. ''Wander/Wonder'' was recorded entirely in the same bedroom he slept in as a child and heavily incorporated

Creative Commons Creative Commons (CC) is an American non-profit organization and international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has release ...

-licensed nature recordings he found on the Internet. His song "See Birds", title track of the ''See Birds'' EP, was featured in a

L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French multinational personal care corporation registered in Paris

mascara ad starring

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

in early 2011. After a long hiatus, Balam Acab self-released his second official album, ''Child Death'', on December 17, 2015 via

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

. In April 2016, the album was pressed on vinyl and released by the DIY record label Orchid Tapes. Since the release of ''Child Death'', Balam Acab has released many singles and collaborations in a variety of styles through

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

and Bandcamp."Music , BALAM ACAB"
''Bandcamp'' Among numerous side projects and aliases, Balam Acab recently teamed up with producer Goodbye to form the duo hospice_dreams, releasing the debut demo "because i am true". A full release was expected to be released late 2018. The name "Balam Acab" was taken from a rainbow-creating deity in

Maya mythology Maya mythology or Mayan mythology is part of Mesoamerican mythology and comprises all of the Maya tales in which personified forces of nature, deities, and the heroes interacting with these play the main roles. The legends of the era have to be ...

that Koone learned about in Spanish class.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Wander/Wonder'' (2011) * ''Child Death'' (2015)

EPs

* '' See Birds'' (2010)

References

External links

* 1991 births Living people American electronic musicians People from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Ithaca College alumni Musicians from Pennsylvania {{electronic-musician-stub