Furlax: the unusual path of a resourceful artist

Alexandre Achdjian, aka Furlax, took his first steps in Evry (91). His mother sent him to Johannesburg (South Africa) at the start of secondary school, following a few legal problems, where he discovered music thanks to his schoolmates. The punishment turned into a blessing. Influenced by American rappers, particularly Lil Wayne and Kanye West, he started rapping in French on his buddy Anaki’s beats. Unfortunately, Anaki left Johannesburg when they began high school. Thus, Furlax quickly had to improve his production skills and began his career as a producer, equipped only with wobbly headphones and a computer. 

He was spotted on Skyblog by a producer of Les Lascars (an iconic French cartoon), who offered him a role in the series. This adventure enabled him to invest in new equipment, a game-changer when you want to pursue a music career. Despite the fact that even with his old equipment he had already placed beats for Niska and Beeby (brother of rapper Luidji). 

Highlighted by Yaniss (Le Rap en Mieux) following the release of his album Ad Astra in June 2022, the rapper began to make a name for himself in the underground scene, despite a lukewarm promotion. The following year, he kept a low profile, appearing on only 2-3 featurings. It is truly with his album Nebula, released in 2023, that he was able to extend his influence and built a solid fanbase. Thanks to songs like Kitoko or Hustler’s Ambition (his favorite track), Furlax succeeded in drawing us into a soaring universe, through the imagery  of space and infinity. The artistic direction will be omnipresent in his next two projects, Etheria released in February 2024 and Astra Nova, released two weeks ago. 

Indeed, this September 5th, Furlax ventures into a new epic among the stars, heading for the “heavenly planet of the Nebula galaxy”. This 6th opus in its space saga is his second album of the year, proving that he is perfectly able to combine quantity and quality. Like his previous projects, Astra Nova’s atmospheric mood, coupled with its futuristic, airy sound, takes us on a new galactic voyage. 

To draw us into this world, the artist is inspired by his own diverse origins to create even more interesting sounds and songs. He is, as you know, French, but also Armenian, with Lebanese, Congolese and Cameroonian origins. A citizen of the world who uses it in his music, aiming to reach an international audience. He uses instruments such as the duduk, an Armenian flute, and the sitar, a stringed instrument particularly used in India. As he so aptly put it in an interview with Hytrape: “It’s through production that you can expand musically.” A clear success. On a basis of rap, jazz sounds and amapiano, Furlax continues to explore the jazz wave within his musical universe.