Alex Wellkers blends Rock, Pop, & Orchestral sounds on album, "Reach the Stars"
Right off the bat, this album is ambitious, but fully hits the mark in originality and truly feeling fresh. On Reach the Stars, Zurich-based songwriter and composer Alex Wellkers embodies that ambition with an album that feels as expansive as its title suggests. Fusing rock grit with pop accessibility and weaving in the drama of classical instrumentation, Wellkers has crafted an album that is both elegant, fiery, and timeless.
From the first moments, it’s clear this isn’t a standard guitar-bass-drums affair. Strings, harps, and lush orchestral layers thread themselves seamlessly through the arrangements, adding a cinematic depth that never feels kitchy. These classical flourishes aren’t there to dress up the songs, rather they’re integrated into the DNA of the music, elevating these songs into spectacles and giving the entire record a highly specific feel.
At the center of it all is Wellkers’ voice which is gritty, joyous, and emotionally charged. He doesn’t just sing the songs, rather he inhabits them, moving between vulnerability and defiance. There’s a rawness in his delivery that makes the grand production feel human, grounding the soaring strings and crashing guitars in something real.
The album flows beautifully as a complete work, with each track feeding into the next as though part of a single unfolding journey. Even with obvious singles that could stand proudly on their own, Wellkers resists the temptation to make this a scattershot collection. Instead, Reach the Stars works like a cinematic concept album that delivers the more and more you listen.
For us though, we feel the guitar work deserves special praise. Whether in tight, melodic riffs or expansive solos peppered in, the instrument feels like an equal voice to Wellkers’ own. Paired with the orchestral instrumentation, the guitars help define the album’s unique character.
Production-wise, the record is immaculate. It’s a full-bodied sound that fills the speakers without ever collapsing under its own weight. For an album this sonically ambitious, that balance is essential, and Wellkers nailed it!
Considering he has written, composed, and delivered a record that lives up to its name, the word impressive immediately comes to mind. But, to really make something like this, you have to have the vision, which has so clearly come to life. We overwhelmingly urge everyone out there to give this one a spin in full. Go ahead and click those links below to listen in, follow along, and to stay tuned for more.
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