IT IS SAID any kid with a laptop can produce electronic dance music.

How about, then, a Tullibody 80-year-old who reignited his passion for music in retirement and just dropped a 12-track trance album in what is generally considered a genre for the younger generations to party to?

Forget Calvin Harris and David Guetta, the Wee County now has its very own “electronic octogenarian”.

Alex Houston, a retired medical physicist who also boasts a PhD in astronomy, has released his first album, titled Aestas, under the pseudonym alehouse.

The album, which is out today (Friday), features a dozen tracks encompassing a range of genres, but essentially falls under the umbrella of electronic dance music, also known as EDM.

Alex, who originally hails from Glasgow and worked down south before moving to the Wee County some two decades ago, reignited his passion for music in retirement.

Using an electronic piano, computer and software known as a digital audio workstation (DAW), he produced the largely instrumental songs from start to finish with artwork created by talented photographer wife Roberta.

Alex’s interest in electronic music goes back some years, he used to DJ on the side back in the day, and is also a fan of the hits from throughout the decades.

More recently, he has become a fan of some of the biggest artists in the EDM scene, with the medical physicist turned music producer telling the Advertiser: “My wife and I were on a beach in Malta – this is how it started.

“There was a wee boat that came along with some young lads on it and they started playing this one track over and over again – it’s called Levels by Avicii.

“Some of the older people on the beach were getting bit annoyed with – I told my wife: ‘I actually like that’.

“So, I came home and looked up what it was, started to get into that, David Guetta and things like Swedish House Mafia that I never heard of, started playing them.

“I thought it’s the sort of thing I could do on the computer – I love creating the new sounds and arranging the drum patterns, so I just got into it.”

READ MORE: Kieran Fisher to work with Kyle Falconer in songwriting camp

Alex wanted to be a musician in his younger years and was learning the piano from the age of five, but with strong skills in science, his headmaster advised against it.

He took the advice, but in a sense, his science background brought him closer to music with Alex explaining that there is a link between astronomy, his work in medical physics which included image analysis and equalisation, also known as EQing, and music production.

“That’s what got me into it,” he continued.

“It’s not that far apart from analysing medical images so there is a strong connection – EQing and the sound spectrum, it’s not that far from what I was doing as a profession.”

Alex’s love for science and astronomy also comes through as he uplifts listeners with tracks such as To Andromeda and Beyond – an EDM finalist in the UK Songwriting Contest in 2020.

Not looking to go viral, Alex is simply sharing his work with others while hoping for a little bit of appreciation.

He has 100 CDs available which can be bought from Bandcamp or his website alehousemusic.com.

The tracks and a digital version of the album are also available for download or stream on most major platforms such as Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, YouTube and more – search for his artist name alehouse.

The 80-year-old also writes a monthly blog, The Electronic Octogenarian.