Birth name Alexander Uhlmann Website www.alexuhlmann.com Years active 2006–present | Instruments Vocals, guitar Role Singer · alexuhlmann.com Name Alex Uhlmann | |
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Alex Uhlmann, Edo - The Ocean (Official Video)
Alexander Uhlmann (Born in Luxembourg, 26 February 1981) better known as Alex Uhlmann, is a Luxembourgish songwriter and guitarist, frontman of the band Planet Funk since 2010. He started his career as a solo artist in 2017, parallel to the one he began with Planet Funk, under the name of Ben Alexander
Contents
- Alex Uhlmann Edo The Ocean Official Video
- Alex Uhlmann Butterfly
- Childhood and his beginnings with Friday Night Hero
- With Planet Funk and the international success
- Solo career
- Friday Night Hero
- Planet Funk
- Collaborations
- References
Alex Uhlmann - Butterfly
Childhood and his beginnings with Friday Night Hero
Born in Luxembourg of German parents, Uhlmann in his adolescence was a promising tennis player, representing his country in many international tournaments.
He started playing piano at a young age but later migrated to the guitar. Being self-taught he thought of it being an advantage rather than a burden especially in terms of songwriting:
Uhlmann quickly moved to the UK in order to explore the vast British musical landscape, and formed the indie rock band‚ Friday Night Hero, with whom he released the album Tourist In Your Own Town on 2 October 2009 on Capitol East Records. The band performed in several European countries and were nominated for the Indie award as “best UK live act” in 2008.
In his time in the UK Uhlmann also obtained a master's degree in international relations at the University of Sussex in Brighton.
With Planet Funk and the international success
In 2010 Uhlmann left Friday Night Hero to join Planet Funk, the famous international band, with whom he began a lively period of production. That is how he rose to international fame.
On 22 September 2011 the album The Great Shake was released (the fourth Planet Funk studio album and the first with Uhlmann on vocals and guitar), including hit singles such as "Another Sunrise" (used as the soundtrack for the Hyundai i20 Sound Edition TV advertisement), and "Ora il mondo è perfetto", with Giuliano Sangiorgi, frontman of the Italian band Negramaro’.
A month later Planet Funk were asked to record a cover of Nancy Sinatra’s classic "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", as the soundtrack for the movie La kryptonite nella borsa by Ivan Cotroneo. The song rapidly topped the Italian dance charts and was awarded gold status in Italy for over 15.000 legal downloads. Later on, the single was included in the new version of the album, entitled The Great Shake + 2. Moreover it was used for the italian Wind tv advertisement campaign in 2011/2012.
Since May 2011, Planet Funk played over a hundred live concerts as part of "The Great Shake Tour" throughout Europe, including shows such as the Formula One Gran Prix in Monza with Jamiroquai, the Olympic stadium in Rome with Tiesto and at the MTV Days in Turin in 2011.
In September 2012 Uhlmann was chosen as protagonist for the Italian Reebok campaign for which he shot a TV spot in Paris. Together with Planet Funk he also designed a Reebok shoe, the "PF 1999", that will be released in March 2013.
In the same year, during the MTV Digital Days in Turin, Uhlmann performed the "Planet Funk DJ Set" for the first time alongside Alex Neri and a successful tour of Italy followed, which included a set at the MTV European Music Awards after party in Milan in October 2015.
On October 13th 2015 Planet Funk released their single "We People", again with Uhlmann on vocals, chosen by Save The Children as soundtrack for their "Everyone" campaign, dedicating all profits to their fight against child mortality in the world.
"We People" will be included in the upcoming 2017 album, which Planet Funk recorded between London and Rome. The album also sees the comeback of two memorable singers of the band: Dan Black and Sally Doherty, who also feature in the "Recall Tour", that Planet Funk started in November 2016, promoting the revival of the "collective nature" of Planet Funk:
Thanks to his charisma, the success of "The Great Shake" album and tours as well as being able to interpret even Planet Funk's oldest songs with the necessary credibility, Uhlmann succeeded in establishing himself since 2010 as an integral part of the Planet Funk collective.
Solo career
Parallel to his activity in Planet Funk, Uhlmann started producing and writing for other artists as well as collaborating on a project created by Bluvertigo's drummer, Sergio Carnevale, the "Superband" which unites members of some of the most important Italian bands for events and special performances. With the "superband" (featuring Carnevale, Uhlmann, Ligabue's memorable guitarist, Federico Poggipollini and Marco Garrincha Castellani of Le Vibrazioni) Uhlmann took part in the documentary "Vinyl Talk", which was broadcast on Sky Italia in February 2016. A little later in the same year Alex and the "Superband" appeared for a guest performance in the final episode of the talent show "Top DJ", aired on Mediaset on July 4th 2016.
In 2017 Uhlmann has started a solo career under the alias Ben Alexander. His first song under this pseudonym is entitled "Anyway", released on January 24th 2017, in collaboration with one of the most important DJs of Central America, Francis Davila, from Guatemala: