1Xul is the latest name of my music identity. It's derived from the Mayan language, won xul (one-shool) meaning "bear" in one of the dialects. Before using my name, Alex Edward, I used to perform as Oszo, coming from oso (Spanish for bear), so it's a nod to my cultural heritage while giving me a veil of anonymity to work under, as I prefer to have my work out in the world more than my face.

This is a project with a new approach during a new phase of my life. Not just a new chapter, but a new book. The name change was one of the ways I marked this shift in both my existential and creative approach. My goal with 1Xul is to use all originally-produced samples in my work. Especially in dance music, you hear a lot of the same Splice samples floating in multiple tracks, and I'd like to avoid that as much as possible. This approach is helping develop my sonic signature.

With this project I'm going to be focusing more on building genuine connections to people that more actively support the music scene and the arts, and will be focusing on releasing my music on platforms that cater to this. I'm an advocate of platforms like Subvert and Bandcamp because they provide a more sustainable model for artists to keep pursuing their passions.

Because I'm soon leaving the US to be nomadic for a bit, I sold off most of my gear, but sampled a lot before that, and have kept a minimal kit that I can still use to shape my sound. What will also shape my sound moving forward is the influences I gather from my experience bouncing around this big, beautiful planet.