My Life in Music… Freddy Alva

Video filmed and edited by Rayco

Freddy Alva is a New York-based author who considers himself lucky to have grown up during the early 1980s; a decade that spawned a multitude of subcultures that helped shape him as an artist. Graffiti art and hardcore music, in particular, left a lasting impression on him, and still inform his work to this day. Freddy was very active in the DIY culture of hardcore from the outset; he was a fixture at such venerated venues as CBGB during the heyday of their Sunday matinees. Along with friend and fellow NYHC stalwart Chaka Malik, Freddy covered the music scene through his fanzine New Breed and eventually released a well-known and highly revered compilation cassette that featured some of the most influential bands of the time, The New Breed Comp. A recent documentary sharing the same name has been released to critical acclaim. Freddy was instrumental in running Wardance Records, booking shows at Abc No Rio club, and being a part of the independent Reconstruction Records collective. The Queens native has been immersed in subculture for most of his life and has forged a niche by documenting as much of it as he can through independent outlets. His work in film, music, and outsider art is unending and his dedication to preserving the histories of the subcultures that raised him is what drives his creative force.

Freddy is currently a licensed acupuncturist as well as a freelance music writer. His articles have appeared in Noisey/Vice, No Echo, Cvlt Nation, In Effect, and various print publications. He is a lifelong borough of Queens loyalist, Tai Chi practitioner, a Speed Chess aficionado, and a veggie food lover. Urban Styles: Graffiti in New York Hardcore is his first book and it documents the collusion of two celebrated and uniquely New York subcultures: urban graffiti art and its fundamental influence on the New York hardcore music scene Urban Styles is a logical extension of Freddy’s quest to shine a spotlight on heretofore unknown and underappreciated aspects of social movement and youth culture. Urban Styles: Graffiti in New York Hardcore is published by DiWulf Publishing House.

Urban Styles will be published on the 31st of October and is available for pre-order here

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