new album
Paradise Lost
We live in an amazing world: The wonderful variety of plants, animals, and people is truly inspirational. That’s what gives Chris Meyer of Alias Zone hope, despite the efforts of some to cover swaths of our planet with concrete and asphalt, or to segregate people by their race, beliefs, or who they love. Paradise Lost comments on these topics, from the pleas of Buddhists in Tibet to the hopefulness of Native Americans making their pilgrimage on The Barefoot Trail to Zuni Heaven.
Chris combines both real and virtual electronic music synthesizers with both acoustic and electronic percussion instruments plus field recordings of nature to create his uniquely sweeping, impressionistic soundscapes. Each song takes you on a richly layered journey, propelled by a strong undercurrent of beguiling percussion.
Previews from the new album:
The Gathering Storm
Compassion
Paradise Lost
The Barefoot TraIl
The reaction from fellow electronic musicians has been glowing:
“With Paradise Lost, Chris Meyer’s Alias Zone contributes an important evolution to the language of cinematic, emotional, organic electronic music. Sweeping melodic and rhythmic arcs, dynamic surprises and orchestral motility combine to reward active listening, while painting an earthbound landscape of broad-brush vistas and wide open skies.” – Robert Rich
“Rife with organic textures and earthy elements, the album is interwoven with asymmetric, organic percussion, offset brilliantly against emotional chord progressions of Meyer’s intriguing synth lines, which evoke mystery, as well as intense, focused energy. This one is not to be missed.” – Hollan Holmes
“Cinematic and extra-worldly, each track inspires the listener to close their eyes. To think. To feel. To travel through the mind to a place where compassion is the lead instrument.” – Cynthia Malaran (aka DJ CherishTheLuv)
“Paradise Lost takes listeners on a powerful journey, blending intricate soundscapes, beautiful rhythmic timbres and emotive melodies. An album not to be missed.” – Bart Hawkins
“This is my fave work of yours! Great, amazing, and personal music. Excellent production as well. A brilliant listen.” – Jeff Rona
Chris Meyer of Alias Zone
Alias Zone is the “zen master alter ego” of Chris Meyer of LearningModular.com. Each composition starts with a sound that catches Chris’ ear: an experiment on his modular synthesizers, a particular rhythmic pattern, a field recording, or even something as simple as a Tibetan bowl being struck. From this core, he builds stories and entire worlds by researching and retelling the stories behind those sounds, weaving in layers of complimentary textures as he conjures his own narrative to this “alias” or alternate reality.
Musically, modular synthesis is at the core of each new Alias Zone composition. However, Chris is unafraid to blend in struck & plucked arpeggios, ambient soundscapes, ethnic rhythms & percussion, and “found” spoken word in different languages as part of his journey creating this uniquely emotional, impressionistic electronic music.
Upcoming Events
Alias Zone performances have been described as “amazing,” “nuanced,” “transcendent,” as being in “a whole other class,” and simply “one of the finest live electronic sets I have ever witnessed.” Make sure you catch Chris Meyer perform when he appears near you:
September 6, 2025
Knobcon Chill Out Room – Schaumberg, Illinois
This I am both playing the Saturday evening session, and curated the performers for Saturday’s Afternoon Abstract.
September 13, 2025 – 8 PM start
The Gatherings – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
I am very proud to be part of The Gatherings concert series this fall at St Mary’s Hamilton Village, 3816 Locust Walk, Philadelphia. Orbital Decay will the opening act, and then I will play an extended set. Tickets are free (with donation requested); click the button to lock in your seat. Or, you can watch the live stream by clicking this link.
When done, I pack up and move to WXPN radio and play a live set on Chuck Van Zyl’s famous Star’s End radio program, starting at 2 AM (Eastern). Click here for the YouTube live stream of this performance.
September 21, 2025 – 3-4:30 PM
Sigal Music Museum – Greenville, South Carolina
I will be giving a talk about the evolution of electronic music instruments – particularly in the context of acoustic instruments, which have been around for much longer – followed by a performance at the amazing Signal Music Museum. Click the button to RSVP and lock in your seat; the event is free for those who pay normal museum admission.
October 10-11, 2025
Wavetrails Festival – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Last year, I had the honor of headlining the opening night of the inaugural Wavetrails Festival (part of the larger Rising High Arts Fest) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Wavetrails had standing room only both nights, so we’re being upgraded to a larger room, and will be staging more events. And I will be the headliner on the opening night again! The link below goes to last year’s Wavetrails web site for now; I’ll update this page once I have more details – including buying tickets (I had fans turned away at the door last year!)
October 29 – 7:30 PM
UCCS Ent Center for the Arts – Colorado Springs, Colorado
I will be performing an extended solo concert in the lovely Chapman Foundations Recital Hall on the University of Colorado Colorado Springs campus. Before I start, there will be a Q&A with Dr. Jon Forshee of the UCCS music department. The link currently takes you to their generic ticketing site; I will add a more direct link once available.
December 6, 2025 – 7:30 PM
Fusion | 708 – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Trey Gunn (King Crimson, Tu-Ner, etc.) has a new duo featuring David Forlano (Sandboxmusicorg etc.). They are having an album release party & concert – and I will be opening for them! The event will be “in the round” featuring quadraphonic sound, plus video projections by John-Mark Collins of Wonder and Light.
live performance
Chris Meyer’s Alias Zone: The Gathering Storm
Live at Wavetrails 2024
This is the ending section of my live performance inside a “holographic video cube” on the opening night of the inaugural Wavetrails Festival at Fusion in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
lead visual artist: John-Mark Collins
cameras: Chris Meyer, Trish Meyer
The Previous Album
Finite Space
The “space race” promised us the infinite possibilities of the planets, stars, and galaxies of outer space. However, much of our use of that space has turned inward: from terrestrial communications satellites. to both cold and hot wars contesting the finite space of our own planet.
Finite Space takes the well-known electronic genres of Space Music and Berlin School as its jumping-off point, and extends them with touches of jazz, classical, and world musics, each serving Chris’ melodic, atmospheric, cinematic approach to aural storytelling.
Previews from Finite Space:
Premonition
Ash Tree Window
Sputnik's Ghosts
Nightfall: Kyiv
Journeys Told Through Sound
Water Stories
Bodies of water – and the mysteries that lie beneath their surface – is the thread that runs throughout this deeply-layered audio travelogue. Inside these three extended tracks,
Chris takes you searching for sea monsters in Iceland, waking the souls stranded underwater in a shipwreck off the coast of Cyprus, and exploring a series of majestic underground caverns by canoe in Thailand. His goal is to create a uniquely emotional experience. Ellison Wolf of Waveform Magazine described Water Stories as “a relaxing, positive-vibed, soothing listen.” It has also been featured on numerous playlists, and was named one of the best Ambient/Space Music releases of 2022 by Lloyd Barde.