A Message From Alex...

"An Open Invitation to my New Community"

Dear friends and loved ones,

I hope you’re all doing good regardless of the overwhelming circumstances we are all presently facing. It’s quite scary to realize just how fast everything happened, how different our lives have been since the middle of March… It feels like forever, but it’s been “only” (even though terrible) a few weeks. And now, which puzzles me as much as how everything fell so quickly, we are slowly invited to get back to the light… no matter what it means for each and everyone of us.

That turmoil period truly spoke to me in many ways, not only because I was part of the few blessed ones being “confined” with my best friends at my label’s HQ, but also because it felt like it was all taking place in a moment of great transformation for me as a person, as an artist, and as an independent entrepreneur. It's as if my vision scope was widening a little more, and I wanted to get even closer to others, to turn what used to feel like motion blurs revolving around my life into real living focused entities invited to share however brief of a moment with me… to commune.

It’s strange because we are bombarded with all sorts of slogans since the pandemic began, “In it together”, “It’s gonna be alright”, “United & Stronger”… None of them really talked to me, to be honest… Maybe because I’m part of the elusive world of entertainment, because I’m the head of the creative department at my label and so I know what creating slogans is all about, or simply because I know that in 18 months from now, life won't be that much different from what it used to be; a world of self-gratification made of staged selfies and plastic form of happiness. It’s human nature. It’s who I am and who I am fighting against ever since I went to Tangier to “disappear” almost 4 years ago, where I emerged through other people's kind affection and loving patience. 


Therefore, since I’ve been dreaming everything again in my personal and creative life from the moment I left North Africa to settle down in Virginia, I realized just how significant that connection with people is for me and just how significant it seems to be for so many others as well. So I talked with Jeff, who, amongst so many other things, is my best friend, brother in arms, business acolyte at “Hopeful Tragedy Records”, as well as the guitarist in my longtime band “Your Favorite Enemies” and now bassist for my new band “The Long Shadows”, about redefining the Secret Family Cult Club (SFCC), which has been the fan club of our creative universe for the last 10 years.

That conversation led to a better understanding of what we wanted to do, based on who we are now - as individuals and as artists. We want to be closer to the people who are looking for a place to commune in different ways than our usual social media platforms, to share our creative projects in a more insightful way, to engage with people, to bring you home, especially as I’m getting ready to start working on my second solo album with The Long Shadows…

Consequently, Jeff, who’s always been the socially enthusiast and passionately outspoken one of our atypical brother duo, will become the SFCC community host and will guide you through every single aspect of what we do, may it be through my solo projects or my collaborations with The Long Shadows, Your Favorite Enemies or others. Jeff will be the one opening the doors to a place where you’ll get insights, from music demos, extended lyrics, alternative artworks, up to the creation and confection of lathe-cut vinyls, silkscreen-printed posters and more!
Major changes are on the way for the community, of which we will let you know more very soon!

Stay safe my dear friends and loved ones,


Much love,
Alex.