Aleksandar Nikolov (, born June 13, 1987), better known as Alek Sandar (), is a music producer, songwriter and recording artist. Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, Alek Sandar has been raised in Germany and moved to the United States in 2009.
Sandar is known for his singles "P.O.R.N." (featuring Amanda Lepore), "Creature In Me", "Say That You Love Me", "Peaceful Place" (with Andrea), "It Ain't Over" and "You and Me" featuring Bulgarian singer Dess, who is considered to be one of the greatest voices of contemporary Bulgarian music. In 2016, Sandar was one of the top celebrities in the 8th season of VIP Brother, the Bulgarian adaptation of the global reality TV show Big Brother.
Alek Sandar is co-founder of the German Berlin-based dance / pop music label Splendid Sounds Records and has further produced music for Universal Music Germany, Payner and more. In 2010 and 2011, Alek Sandar produced the album Beast for German recording artist Oscar Loya. Alek Sandar further produced remixes for UK based musician Frankmusik (2011), French artist Jérémy Amelin (2009), Australian singer Kimbra (2012) and Bulgarian singer Andrea (2010). In 2013–2016, Sandar charted big hits in Bulgaria as a songwriter, composing hits like "Samo za minuta" by Galin featuring Kamelia, "Nepovtorim" by Kamelia and "Parata ako hvana" by Galin. in 2016, "Parata ako hvana" won a Planeta TV Award for "Club Hit of the Year".
Early life
Alek Sandar was born in Sofia, Bulgaria on June 13, 1987. Sandar started playing the piano and singing in the Bulgarian National Group Radiodeca (Radiochildren) at the early age of 5 years. At the age of 8, Alek Sandar composed his first song, a ballad dedicated to his sister. In the same year, Alek Sandar had his first appearance in the prestigious TV show Kato Luvovete (Like The Lions) in front of a national audience. In the following years, Alek Sandar was the Bulgarian voice-over of "Roo" in Disney's Winnie-the-Pooh. In 1995, Sandar and his family moved to Oldenburg, Germany, where his father works as an opera singer until today. In Oldenburg, Alek Sandar took acting classes and played leading roles in productions of the German National Theater Oldenburgisches Staatstheater. While always excelling in school, Alek Sandar spun records as a DJ at school parties and smaller clubs in Northern Germany for several years and set up his first home studio at the age of 14. After graduating high school, Alek Sandar studied International Business Management at the Berlin School of Economics and Law, École supérieure du commerce extérieur Paris and Baruch College, New York City.
Career Beginnings (Splendid Sounds) At the age of 17, Alek Sandar composes two pop songs for the Serbian-Bulgarian Diva Reni. Encouraged by his first international success, Alek Sandar moves to Berlin where he meets Jonathan Wuermeling. They form the Electropop duo Splendid Sounds in 2008 and while performing in various nightclubs in Berlin, they release their album and remix EP Scream.
In 2009, the French record label X-Cite Records request Alek Sandar to create a Splendid Sounds club remix for French Star Academy celebrity Jérémy Amelin. In 2010, Alek Sandar produces another track for Balkan singer Reni and remixes the song Neblagodaren for Bulgarian singer Andrea.
At the same time, Alek Sandar collaborates closely with German singer Oscar Loya, who gained international popularity representing Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009. He produces 10 songs for Oscar's solo album Beast. Two years later, Learn Something New, one of these tracks, is released again along with a Remix bundle by the L.A.-based US music label Citrusonic Stereophonic in January 2013.
In 2011, Alek Sandar and Jonathan Wuermeling found the independent record label Splendid Sounds Records. In the same year, Sandar produces a Remix for Cherrytree-signed musician Frankmusik and Far East Movement, released by Universal Music Germany.
2012 – now (Alek Sandar) With the creation of Splendid Sounds Records, Alek Sandar begins a career as a solo singer under the name of Alek Sandar. For his debut single Creature In Me (2012), Alek Sandar delivers his debut as Creative Director in the official music video, including New York avantgarde performers, Cirque Du Soleil artists, high fashion designs by Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen. The video makes a big impact in his home country Bulgaria, where leading Bulgarian Newspaper 24 chasa writes that "Alek Sandar achieved a level no other Bulgarian has achieved yet".