Alex Uhlmann
Alex Uhlmann | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alexander Uhlmann |
| Born | 26 February 1981 Luxembourg |
| Genres | Dance-rock, synthpop, electronic rock, indie rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Website | www.alexuhlmann.com |
Alexander Uhlmann (Born in Luxembourg, 26 February 1981), is a Luxembourgian singer, currently fronting Planet Funk (since 2010).
Biography
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:
Due to my technical ignorance, I try out things that in theory shouldn’t work, but somehow these often turn out to be precisely the things that in the end make the songs work and sound interesting.[1]
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.
In 2010 Uhlmann left‚ Friday Night Hero to join the prestigious international band‚ Planet Funk’.
On 22 September 2011 the album "The Great Shake" was released (the forth 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[2] campaign for which he shot a tv spot in Paris. Together with Planet Funk he also designed a Reebok shoe ,the "PF 1999",[3] that will be released in March 2013.
Today Uhlmann lives between Italy and France and fluently speaks five languages.
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Discography
Friday Night Hero
- 2009 – Tourist In Your Own Town (label: Capitol East Records)
Planet Funk
- 2011 – The Great Shake (label: Universal Music)
- 2012 – The Great Shake + 2 (label: Universal Music)
Collaborations
- Giuliano Sangiorgi: vocals on "Ora il mondo è perfetto" on the album "The Great Shake"
- Ivan Cotroneo: Director of the music video for "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"