Beginnings
“I’ve always been fascinated by music, even from an early age. I used to listen to my parents’ cassettes when I was really young. I sat on the floor watching the reels go around! Artists included Vivaldi, Jackson Browne, Sting, and Vangelis. I had a few music lessons in primary school on the piano/keyboard and trumpet.
But in terms of building my own independent musical interests, that didn’t really happen until a bit later. I first remember recording songs from The Lion King off of my VHS. I bought my first CD in 2001. It was Michael Jackson – The 12″ Mixes, an old Australian import that somehow made it to a local HMV. A little later while at secondary school, I was introduced to Will Smith and Scooter and my tastes grew from there, eventually discovering Trance via Ralph Fritsch, CJ Stone, Above & Beyond, and the incredible Airbase.“
Where I Started
“I may have technically started in 2003, using primitive budget programs like Dance eJay 2 Plus, experimenting with loops. But I consider my true start in early 2004, when I bought Music 2000 for the PlayStation and had my first experience of electronic music composition. Soon after, I bought the PC version so I could properly save and export my tracks for listening away from the computer. And just a year later in the summer of 2005, I purchased a copy of FL Studio 5. Despite dabbling in other audio workstations such as Logic Pro and Propellerheads Reason, FL has been my mainstay for over 20 years.”
Project Identities (Aliases)
| NAME • YEARS ACTIVE • STYLES | COMMENT |
| ICEFERNO • 2004-PRESENT • HOUSE + OTHER | My main project name went through several working titles, some I’m less willing to admit! But the first originals created under it were “Set The Night Alight!” (remade in 2024 as Firework Street) and “Conflagration”. |
| ALECTRO • 2007-2013 • ELECTRO/TECH HOUSE | Alectro started with the ambitious “Cyber City”, a multi-version Progressive track which I’d love to remake someday. The final project under this name was Alectro – Rage Dub (a Progressive take on Yuzo Koshiro’s Fighting In The Street). |
| BLEC AROOKE • 2010-2012 • EXPERIMENTAL + FUNK/SOUL | This name was conceptualised through experimental projects made on a Music Technology course I took between 2009 and 2012, ending with a Future Funk(ish) remix of Christina Aguilera – Your Body (re-composed into 2024 instrumental “Double Helix”). |
| CLOUDDRIFTER • 2004-2012 • CHILLOUT & ORCHESTRAL AMBIENT | Starting off as slow dance (unknowingly close to Ambient Italo House) with a remix of Yuzo Koshiro’s Dilapidated Town, it evolved into symphonic Vangelis-inspired “Rebuilds”, and exotic Bossa Nova reworks. It made a brief return on the 20 Years Of Iceferno album. |
| SILVER SANCTUARY • 2006-PRESENT • UPLIFTING/PROGRESSIVE TRANCE | A name I invented through an alternative version of “Across The Sea”. It was years until I had the kind of resources to really convey my ideas, so it’s one of my less frequent identities. |
| WHIRLWING • 2004-PRESENT • EURO/HARD TRANCE & HAPPY HARDCORE | Whirlwing is actually the oldest of my aliases. Originally known as Whirlwind in 2004, I posted some video game remixes to a website. The end ‘d’ became ‘g’ through inspiration of Ralph Fritsch’s RedWing production team. |
“Though several of the above names have since been ‘retired’, I have considered using them exclusively in my own future releases, as a way of distinguishing additional versions. As stated, Clouddrifter returned in 2024 for “Torrential Gardens (Clouddrifter Rebuild)”, so there’s always possibilities for the others.”
Iceferno 