Aaron Spectre is an American musician based in Berlin, Germany, with origins in Massachusetts and Genève. He works across a range of electronic styles, including breakcore, raggacore, IDM, experimental music and ragga jungle, and he is best known for live performances that combine multiple MIDI controllers with a laptop and, more recently, electric guitar.

Background

Spectre begins as a drummer in central Massachusetts hardcore bands at the age of 16. He is classically trained as a percussionist, and his early playing comes out of the Massachusetts hardcore scene. He later moves to New York City at 19, where he starts DJing and producing jungle, drum and bass, and ambient music. At 23, he relocates to Berlin and continues developing his solo work there.

Live work and touring

Since moving to Berlin in 2003 from New York, Spectre performs widely across Europe and also tours Japan. His live sets are known for their energy and for the use of hardware alongside computer-based performance. He first performs solo with a laptop and initially a dulcimer before moving to the current setup. Although he rarely plays dulcimer on stage, he remains closely associated with the instrument and has lectured and performed at the Cork Dulcimer Festival in Ireland.

Drumcorps

At 24, Spectre starts the project Drumcorps, adding live guitar to his performances while keeping the intensity of his hardcore background. He also releases a first full-length Drumcorps CD on Ad Noiseam and Cock Rock Disco. He continues to produce music across several styles, including dubstep, jungle and ambient, with each influencing the others.

Style and output

Spectre works in a broad electronic range rather than a single fixed genre. His output includes jungle, drum and bass, ambient music, dubstep and related bass-heavy styles, alongside the more aggressive breakcore and ragga-influenced material that he is associated with. He is also linked with Drumcorps as a separate identity or project.