Alex Wellkers offers something daringly different to the Music world and with his latest full length release, Reach the Stars, the Swiss-German singer-songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist has crafted an expansive, emotionally charged 13-track album that earns ypur attention, holds it, and refuses to let go.
Released on August 22, 2025, through the offbeat yet art-forward indie label Sidemount Snorkel Team / Playtenfirm Records, the record had already begun to stir anticipation through pre-release airplay as early as August 8. Now that it’s fully out in the wild, it stands as one of the year’s most thoughtfully orchestrated and passionately delivered albums.
Reach The Stars was mixed by Stephan Steiner and mastered by Dan Suter, ensuring every layer—every pluck of harp, every swell of cello, every grain of vocal rasp is given room to resonate. The Album’s leading track “We Knew It All,” is an immediate emotional gut-punch. Opening with ethereal guitar textures and slow, enveloping string arrangements, the song creates a sense of weightless sorrow. The drums rumble like distant thunder, a brooding heartbeat that hints at grief not yet spoken.
As the song progresses, it becomes clear that the album is not just a collection of songs, it’s a cohesive musical narrative, where each track plays a distinct role in a larger emotional arc.
The second track in the album “Bring Me the Keys,”shifts into more kinetic territory.The violins cut through the percussion like a whip, lending the song a dramatic urgency that never loses sight of its melodic core.
Then there’s “Tu es ici,” arguably one of the album’s darkest and most arresting pieces. It opens with a mournful flute drifting through a haze of ambient stillness before being swallowed by a wall of grinding guitars and pounding drums.
One notable thing about this work is Wellkers ability to balance orchestral beauty with rock grit, and grandeur with vulnerability. See Me There is an example of this Juxtaposition. The arrangement is sweeping; layered strings, gently mournful saxophones, and delicate piano chords set a rich sonic backdrop. But against this beauty, Wellkers places his voice—coarse, unvarnished, and imperfect. He leans into the rawness, making the cracks in his delivery part of the emotional texture. Rather than detracting from the song, the vocal imperfections highlight the authenticity at the album’s core.
As the album winds down, it doesn’t lose its intensity—it just changes shape.
“Now the Page’s Been Turned – Acoustic” strips everything down to bare essentials: just Wellkers and his guitar. It’s intimate, aching, and direct. His voice is defiant yet vulnerable as he sings, “I will not bow down to you.” Just words, strings, and the kind of honesty that pierces through all the noise. It’s a moment of solitude that lingers like smoke after a fire.
The album closes with “Au Revoir” It feels like a curtain call, not just for the record, but for a chapter in Wellkers’ creative journey. The title says goodbye, but the music says, remember this.
Alex Wellkers has delivered an impeccable multi dimensional soniv universe. This is an album that revels in contrast: light and shadow, chaos and clarity, classical and rock. It’s deeply personal yet undeniably cinematic, immersive in scope yet grounded in very real, very human emotion.
With Reach the Stars, Alex Wellkers doesn’t just reach for something higher—he captures it, holds it up, and lets it burn. This album is an essential listen.
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