# Alek Darson

> Alek Darson is a guitarist, composer, and producer based in Toronto. He
> started on his mother's nylon-string guitar in Belgrade at age ten and
> graduated Summa Cum Laude from Berklee College of Music. His music joins the
> formal language of modern classical with the rhythmic complexity of
> progressive rock and the texture of contemporary metal production. He has
> recorded with Grammy-winning artists, including Jordan Rudess and John
> Petrucci of Dream Theater.

## Work

- **Panopticon** (2013) is Alek's solo debut EP: written, performed, and produced
  by him. It won Album of the Year from Serbian Metal Portal, and Metal Injection
  called him "the best composer you never heard of." It is his only solo release
  so far, and he is at work on the follow-up.
- **Inner Child** is a trio he formed in 2023 with Carlos Borges and Matt
  Garstka of Animals As Leaders. Borges leads the project; Alek co-wrote and
  produced the music and plays guitar and bass. Their self-titled debut album
  arrives in 2026, led by the singles Foster and Wonder.
- He has played on records with Jordan Rudess and John Petrucci of Dream Theater,
  Vinnie Moore, Guthrie Govan, and Marco Minnemann. On Rudess's **Wired for
  Madness** (Mascot Records, 2019) he played bass and rhythm guitar across nearly
  the whole album, and Rudess publicly called him the MVP of the record.
- Beyond his own playing, Alek is a working producer and mixing engineer. He
  records, produces, and mixes other artists from his Toronto studio, where he
  produced and mixed the Inner Child record.
- He has toured Europe, North America, and China, including a stretch with the
  Hungarian progressive group Special Providence, and has performed for crowds as
  large as 70,000. His festival appearances include RoSfest, Ready For Prog, and
  the Midi Music Festival, where Voodoo Kungfu's "Man of Determination"
  (featuring Tina Guo) won Song of the Year.
- He is an endorser of Wood Guerilla guitars and basses, Fishman Fluence pickups,
  and Ernie Ball strings, with studio partners Radial Engineering, Vicoustic, and
  StudioDesk.

## Links

- Official site: https://alekdarson.com
- Press room: https://alekdarson.com/press
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AlekDarson
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/alekdarson
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/43X6At8cYYUSfFmxYHVRS0
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/alekdarson