Jeffer — Boys Noize

“Jeffer” was never a single, and it did not need to be. It is a short track from Power, the 2009 album on which Boys Noize followed up the electro sound of his debut.

Boys Noize in 2009

Boys Noize is Alexander Ridha, born in Hamburg on 22 August 1982. In 2005 he started his own label, Boysnoize Records, which released his Kill the Kid EP in 2006 and his debut album, Oi Oi Oi, on 25 September 2007. He was also busy as a remixer; his take on “Le Disko” by Shiny Toy Guns is one example. In 2009 alone he remixed Depeche Mode, Röyksopp, Editors and The Black Eyed Peas.

Power

Power, his second album, came out on Boysnoize Records on 1 October 2009 in Japan, and in Europe and North America over the following days. It has twelve tracks and runs just under an hour. “Jeffer” is track four, after “Gax”, “Kontact Me” and “Starter”, the album’s 2009 single, and before “Transmission”, which became a single in 2010 along with “Nott” / “Trooper”. Reviews were mixed: Clash gave the album 8/10 and State four stars out of five, while Chart Attack gave it 2/5. It reached No. 23 on the US Dance/Electronic Albums chart.

In the mix

At 3:47, “Jeffer” is one of the shortest tracks on Power. That makes it a tool rather than an epic: something to drop between longer records in an electro or techno set. For the French side of the same scene, read about Justice.

Since Power, Ridha has formed Dog Blood with Skrillex, made three albums as Handbraekes with Mr. Oizo, released Out of the Black (2012), Mayday (2016) and +/- (2021), and co-written Lady Gaga’s “Rain on Me”. He also earned a 2019 Grammy nomination for “Midnight Hour”, his collaboration with Skrillex and Ty Dolla Sign.