#357. Arrested 60 Times, Heroin & Prison: The Techno Producer Who Survived It All - Ibi Alfa Jnr

A candid conversation reveals the tumultuous life of Ibby Alpha, a musician and former rave scene figure, who reflects on his journey from the underground music scene to facing life-threatening health crises. Alpha recounts his early days in the rave culture, where he became involved in various illegal activities, including drug dealing and theft, as a means of survival. He describes his experiences with the criminal justice system, having been incarcerated multiple times, and the impact this had on his life and relationships, particularly with his daughter.

Alpha shares the harrowing details of his health struggles, including a heart attack and pulmonary embolisms, which forced him to confront his mortality and reassess his life choices. He emphasizes the importance of music in his recovery and personal growth, stating that it provided him with a sense of purpose during his darkest times. His recent album, "Infinite Black Inside," reflects this journey and has garnered attention, even landing him on the front page of The Guardian.

As he reconnects with old friends and navigates the music industry, Alpha expresses gratitude for his survival and the opportunity to share his story. He highlights the significance of authenticity in his music and the connections he has made across the globe, emphasizing that despite his past, he is focused on creating meaningful art and fostering relationships within the music community.

Ibi Alfa Jnr opens up about a life that took him from boarding school at six years old to the front line of the techno scene, through years of crime, addiction and repeated spells in prison, and to a brush with death that led to the most honest record of his career.

Born in England to Nigerian parents and raised by foster parents in Chichester, Ibrahim was sent to boarding school at just six, with his mum paying for his care and his schooling. He was eventually asked to leave, and after losing contact with his mother for around 25 years, the foster parents who raised him both passed away when he was in his early 20s, leaving him very much on his own. He became a dad at 18, and soon after, with a tape of one track and a few pounds to his name, he walked into a Brighton record shop. That led to his first record being released, and the start of a career that has taken him to around 30 countries. But when the label side of the business collapsed and his family life fell apart, he moved to London and turned to commercial theft, shoplifting and drug dealing to survive. Heroin became his drug of choice. By his own count he was arrested around 60 times, spent time in Pentonville, Wormwood Scrubs and a Polish jail, and describes an entire decade of his life, roughly 30 to 40, as being completely in the grip of the criminal justice system. He also talks about the six weeks he spent locked in a cell for 23 hours a day with a volatile cellmate, and the day he was arrested at a Jobcentre appointment.

Now in his late 40s, Ibrahim has been out of prison for almost ten years and is, in his own words, pretty much teetotal. A few years ago, he suffered a pulmonary embolism followed by a heart attack, and was told to prepare for the worst. He made his latest album, Infinite Black Inside, believing he would never hear it released. Instead, it gathered attention across the world, and he’s now booked for Primavera Sound, launching his own label and putting together an art exhibition in Frankfurt to mark 30 years of making records. He reunites with Dodge after 34 years apart, reflects on the regrets and the lessons, and shares the story of a daughter who wrote to him every week while he was inside.

This is the eventful life of Ibi Alfa Jnr.

If you're a Founder and would like to come on the podcast, then you can apply on the link here 👉 https://dodgewoodall.com/guest

All Enquiries - [email protected] Website: DodgeWoodall.com

YouTube: Dodge Woodall Facebook: Dodge Woodall Instagram: @Dodge.Woodall TikTok: @DodgeWoodall LinkedIn: Dodge Woodall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.