Georgia producer Irakli makes experimental electronic dance music combining elements of ambient, techno, and IDM, inspired by science fiction and artificial intelligence. Born Irakli Kiziria, he grew up during the fall of Communism. Interested in music early on, he started piano lessons at the age of six, but never planned on a career as a musician, becoming a DJ almost by accident after playing at parties. After a few frustrating attempts at electronic music production in his teens, he decided to focus on his studies, training as an architect and designer. He moved to Köln and later to Berlin, where he started the studio Design Provocation, creating controversial conceptual art pieces like bejeweled handguns, holster-shaped handbags, and, perhaps most famously, fake Louis Vuitton condoms, allegedly retailing at $68 each, for World AIDS Day 2017. While living in Germany, he rekindled his interest in music. Once more taking up DJ'ing, he started the club Raum in 2012, then the I/Y label, and from there the club night Staub, which became one of the most popular venues on the Berlin scene. Never wanting to take the joy and spontaneity out of music by making it his "job", he continued to consider it a hobby, recording sporadically when the inspiration struck him. A series of low-key, mostly collaborative singles on minor labels like Inkblots, Ovunque, and Connwax -- beginning with 2017's "Lockheed" -- culminated in his 2021 debut album Major Signals. Featuring material recorded over a period of years and painstakingly collated, it was released on Dial, one of Irakli's favorite labels. ~ John D. Buchanan, Rovi