Alex L'Estrange was surrounded by music from a young age. As the son of a classical pianist and a hi-fi speaker designer, audio has been a passionate, everlasting pursuit his entire life.
As a writer, producer, mixing, and mastering engineer, his ambition is to uncover the true nature of a song or soundscape. If the art is represented authentically, it has the power to create profound meaning, suspend disbelief, and transport the listener to impossible places. He approaches audio as both a technical pursuit, and an emotional endeavour.
Alex began his audio career when he moved from the Byron Bay area to Brisbane to study. A lifelong musician, he joined a few local bands and started experimenting with recording. He built his first studio in the basement of his share house, each year adding gear and decor until it accidentally evolved into a professional space. As a multi-instrumentalist and solo artist, he toured extensively throughout Australia and the UK. He later moved to London in 2017, where he spent many years immersed in the British and European music scene.
Alex has been nominated for an ARIA Award, received an ARIA number one album for Blues and Jazz, and has accrued tens of millions of streams on DSPs for his work with various artists. He holds a Bachelor of Music from QUT and currently works between Sydney and his own facility in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales called Sound Aquarium.
Located on Bundjalung Country in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Sound Aquarium is Alex's purpose built mixing, mastering and production studio boasting a hybrid analogue and digital workflow, and a second to none listening environment.
As natural light flows through the room, sound is provided by the ultra-linear, low distortion hyperboloid drivers of blue-printed, modified Aaron HMF-600s speakers. Along with custom acoustic treatment, and subtle DSP, the room is calibrated and tuned for precise, analytical (but immensely musical) listening. If it sounds good in here, it sounds good everywhere.
Alex uses a purposeful collection of outboard gear which includes a stereo matched pair of Pultec EQM-1A3s, a Manley Variable Mu, API 5500, API 3124V along with the rare Technics RS1500 1/4" tape machine. He works neither strictly analogue or completely in-the-box, and modifies his approach from project to project.
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The room is not only a great listening environment, but is also used as a creative space for co-writing, production and tracking/over-dubbing.
For attended sessions please get in touch.
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"Alex is what I like to call a ‘lifer’. Music runs deep in his blood. He is devoted to and has a rich understanding of music, and this will never change. I have performed, recorded, mixed and mastered alongside Alex and all of these endeavours were a pleasure. When we worked together I noted his patience, enthusiasm and focus for the job and I would have zero hesitation in recommending Alex for any musical project."
- Sam Cromack (Ball Park Music, My Own Pet Radio)
"My EP 'Cash Only' was co-produced and mixed by Alex. Working with Alex brought so many incredible ideas and impeccable sound to my vision, things that I couldn't even think of, but knew I wanted in the finished product of my EP. I am always impressed with Alex's work and am so grateful to have had him add so many amazing elements to my music. I can't recommend him enough."
- Hope D
"Always beyond satisfied with Alex’s work, always reliable and quick but most of all he really cares about the art and what you want from it."
- David Versace (First Beige, Solo)