What makes Komplete a philosophical toolkit for electronic artists like The Alexsander

The Alexsander has been in the game long enough to have moved past sound bites and passing moments. His new album Awareness is built like a timeline – 12 tracks that each reflect a stage in spiritual awakening, scored in cinematic techno and layered with personal history. The album moves between AI-manipulated vocals, Persian instrumentation, and modular synthesis, but the heart of the entire production relied on Komplete.

Kontakt became the foundation for many textures, atmospheres, and tonal contrasts, helping him bridge synthetic modulation with organic resonance. From Massive and Hypha to Guitar Rig, Komplete offered the flexibility and depth to support an album that’s more philosophical than performative.

In this interview, The Alexsander breaks down how Komplete fits into the workflow, how sound design became part of his authorship, and what helped him stay focused on the message instead of chasing trends ahead of his hybrid AV show tour across Europe, slated for August to December later this year.

Jump to these sections:

• How Komplete helped shape the sonic themes of Awareness
• Why The Alexsander sees sound design as narrative authorship
• The evolving role of hybrid hardware and software in his setup
• What makes Kontakt, Massive, and Guitar Rig his go-to tools
• Workflow systems that help him commit early and stay intentional

Interested in some of the album’s key sounds? Get free Massive presets from The Alexsander to experiment with you in productions.

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You’ve described Awareness as a personal and philosophical statement – how does that mindset shape the way you use tools like Komplete?

When I approached Awareness, I wasn’t just trying to produce music – I was trying to tap into a deeper state of being, something that speaks to this era of spiritual awakening and inner clarity. For a project like that, every sound had to carry intention. Komplete became more than just a toolset; it was a philosophical companion. I wasn’t searching for presets that “sounded good” – I was sculpting sonic metaphors.

Every layer had to feel like it had a pulse, a breath, a question, or a truth in it. The expansiveness of Komplete gave me the freedom to express that.

In particular, the ability to shift between organic textures and synthetic atmospheres allowed me to express the duality I feel in today’s consciousness – humans vs. machines, emotion vs. logic, chaos vs. stillness.

Instruments like Ethereal Earth and Hypha helped me paint those inner dimensions. It’s less about tools and more about what they allow your soul to say when the intention is pure.

Pro tip from The Alexsander: Layer intention, not just sound. When sound designing, ask yourself what emotional state you want the listener to feel. Then build towards that, not just a cool patch.

Do you see sound design as part of authorship, or more as the lens that lets your core ideas take form?

Sound design is authorship. It’s my fingerprint. I think of every synth patch or sampled texture as a character I’ve created. They each have a backstory and an energy that contributes to the whole. I rarely use anything “as is.”

Even when I find a sound I like, I morph it, reshape it, layer it, until it fits the emotional landscape of what I’m trying to communicate. In that way, design isn’t just a lens – it’s the ink and paper.

I’m also fascinated by how certain frequencies or modulations evoke specific psychological or physiological reactions. So when I’m shaping sounds in Komplete, I’m also consciously designing how the listener’s inner state might shift during the track. To me, that’s authorship at its highest form – not just storytelling, but state-altering artistry.

Pro tip from The Alexsander: Use random modulation in Massive to bring life to static textures – it helps your synths breathe.

What keeps Komplete at the center of your setup when you’re building something as expansive as Awareness?

Komplete 15 is the only suite I’ve found that feels like it matches my scale of imagination. With Awareness, I was scoring an emotional arc across 12 tracks that each represent different stages of awakening – from confusion and ego death to clarity and transcendence.

I needed a toolkit that could follow that evolution without bottlenecking creativity or compromise. With Komplete, I could move from cinematic strings to modular mayhem in seconds.

Also, I love the interconnectedness.

I could design in Massive X, pull textures from Eternal Earth, in Kontakt, and route everything through Replika or Guitar Rig for final coloring. That seamless integration keeps me in a flow state, where I’m less a “producer” and more a conduit for something higher to come through.

Pro tip from The Alexsander: Build your own FX chains in Guitar Rig and save them for quick transitions or tension builds – they add a human edge.

Do you save custom presets or instrument chains as part of your workflow, or rebuild sound design with every track?

I save custom chains obsessively – but I treat them as evolving templates rather than fixed sounds. I’ll usually start each track with a “sound DNA” folder I’ve built during experimentation. It’s full of modified patches from Kontakt, and Massive X. From there, I resample, distort, and automate the life into them. I like when something familiar becomes unrecognizable.

That said, I also believe in honoring the energy of the present moment. So I often rebuild chains when I feel like the sound I’m reaching for doesn’t yet exist. For example, in Awareness, many of the pad textures were created through Kontakt.

Pro tip from The Alexsander: Bounce your Kontakt instruments to audio and reimport them to avoid over-editing – sometimes the first take holds the real magic.

With electronic music constantly shifting, how do you stay focused on your own direction without getting pulled into what’s “current”?

It’s easy to get distracted in today’s landscape – a new trend or sound is always “hitting.” But my compass is internal. I constantly ask myself: “Is this honest?” I’ve trained myself to chase emotion over virality. I’m not here to ride a wave but to make one.

Awareness reflects that.

It’s not designed to be trendy, but to be timeless, like a mirror you keep returning to.

I stay focused by building systems of solitude. I spend much time in silence, meditating, journaling, and reflecting on the human condition. From that stillness, the music emerges. That’s why I use Komplete not as a trend-chasing engine, but as a soul amplifier. It’s like having a philosophical toolkit to score my inner universe.

Pro tip from The Alexsander: Start with a field recording and layer instruments from Komplete to score that natural ambience – it creates unique sonic stories.

How has your use of Komplete changed as your sound has evolved over the years?

When I first used Komplete, I was just scratching the surface – mainly using it for drums, synths, and a few FX chains. Now, it’s become the backbone of my sonic identity. As I matured creatively, I became more interested in space, texture, and emotion, and Komplete evolved with me. Tools like Ethereal Earth, Hypha & Jacob Collier Audience Choir, opened new doors I didn’t even know I needed.

Also, my workflow has become more hybrid. I combine modular gear with Komplete’s instruments inside Logic X, often resampling and reprocessing with third-party hardware. But Komplete remains my sandbox – the place where sketches become blueprints, and blueprints become sound worlds. It’s not just a collection of tools anymore; it’s my co-creator.

Pro tip from The Alexsander: Granular vocals in Jacob Collier Audience Choir can turn even simple phrases into spiritual textures – great for ambient intros or breakdowns.

Wrapping it all up

The Alexsander has always built his music from a place of intention, and Awareness pushes that even further, into a space where sound design and philosophy overlap. Komplete both provided sounds that matched the record’s tone while also giving him the flexibility to keep his ideas evolving without compromising the clarity of his vision.

It’s a reminder that tools only go as far as their intention – and that when you know what you’re trying to say, the right system helps you say it clearly.

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