Akira the Don

Akira the Don (real name Adam Narkiewicz) is a British musician, DJ, and producer.

Akira The Don
Akira in 2018
Background information
Birth nameAdam Narkiewicz
OriginUK
GenresMeaningwave, Lofi, EDM, hip hop, trap
Occupation(s)Musician, DJ, producer, Wavelord
Years active2004–present
LabelsLiving in the Future (2009–2016)
Something in Construction (2004–2009)
Interscope (2005–2006)
Websitewww.akirathedon.com

His music and production traverses the boundaries between pop, hip-hop, indie and dance. He lists influences including Ice Cube, Adam Ant, Morrissey, Big Bang, Leonard Cohen, David Bowie and the Wu-Tang Clan. His debut album When We Were Young was produced in collaboration with Danny Saber (U2, Black Grape), James Brown (Nine Inch Nails, Ash) and Emile (50 Cent). In 2017, Akira the Don released mixtapes in the form of a new genre he created, referred to as "Meaningwave"[1] – a fusion of wave music with meaningful lyrical content and lofi hip-hop.

Life and career

Born in West Bromwich and raised in North Wales, for most of his career he lived in London.[2] In 2014, he moved to Los Angeles. In 2020, he moved to Texas in order "to secure the future of Meaningwave, his son's childhood, and the very Don Dynasty itself." [3]

Rapper

In 2006, Akira rapped on Brave Captain's album Distractions.[4] He released is first album When We Were Young the same year. [5]

In May 2011, he released his second LP, The Life Equation. The album is co-produced with Stephen Hague and features collaborations with Gruff Rhys (of Super Furry Animals) and Envy.[6] Akira often produced his own videos.[7] In 2013, Akira performed at Grant Morrison's MorrisonCon.[8]

In March 2014, Akira released A.T.D.R.I.P.. He played his final gig in London on 19 May,.[9]

Producer

Akira has produced songs for a number of artists including two top forty hits for Lethal Bizzle[10] along with songs for Newham Generals' Footsie, Big Narstie, Envy, G-Mane, Littles, Marvin The Martian, Issue, and Time.

In 2011, Akira collaborated with Chilly Gonzales on mixtape.[10]

In 2015, Akira produced a cover of Adamski's "Killer" featuring Grant Morrison. [11]

Since 2017, Akira the Don has been integrating philosophically inspired lyrical content into his music. He created and developed the Meaningwave Universe which is aimed at inspiring people to find wholesomeness in their lives, and promotes the ideas of peak performance or flow consciousness.[12] He's sampled soundbites from Jordan Peterson, Alan Watts, Elon Musk, Fred Rogers,[13] Anthony Bourdain, and others.[14] In 2019, he released dozens of albums during a period of "hyper productivity" [15]

DJ

In October 2014 Akira relocated to Los Angeles, where he formed the party rap duo MIDNITEMEN with long time collaborator and nightclub organiser Wade Crescent, and began DJing every week in Hollywood nightspots like The Roosevelt Hotel, Blind Dragon, Hooray Henrys and Bootsy Bellows. The latter is co-owned by David Arquette, for whom Akira provided accent coaching for the actor's role in a stage production of Sherlock Holmes.[16]

As resident DJ at Blind Dragon, he DJed parties for the likes of The Weeknd, Nylon Magazine[17] and Harry Styles.[18] He DJed for Justin Bieber at Hooray Henrys following his VMA's performance.

Discography
Release Date Title Release Type Additional Info
Sep 2004 Akira the Don's First EP EP
May 2005 AAA EP EP
Oct 2005 "Clones" (Featuring Bashy) Single (CD / 7") Samples Alice Cooper's "Clones"
Feb 2006 Five and a Half Songs About Love EP
Sep 2006 "Oh! (What a Glorious Thing)" / "Boom (Smash Stuff)" Double A-side single Featuring Why Lout?
Nov 2006 When We Were Young Album Debut LP
Dec 2006 All I Want for Christmas Is You (and World Peace) EP EP
Mar 2007 "Hypocrite" (Radio Edit) Single
Jun 2007 Stunners 130 Mixtape Featuring Wade Crescent
Feb 2008 Thieving Mixtape
May 2009 The Omega Sanction Mixtape Featuring Martin Carr
Oct 2009 I Am Not Dead (YEAH!) EP Featuring Gruff Rhys
Nov 2010 The Kidnapping of Akira the Don Album Featuring Joey2Tits
April 2011 Living in the Future[19] Compilation Album Tracks picked by fans.
16 May 2011 The Life Equation Album Co-produced and mixed by Stephen Hague.[6]
11 September 2011 "Babydoll" Single Featuring Chilly Gonzales on the Remix
19 December 2011 Saturnalia Superman: Akira the Don Salutes the Majesty of Christmas Album Revised edition released 17 December 2012
18 February 2013 "One More Pope to Go" Single
24 June 2013 "Games for the Thrones" Single Featuring Newham Generals' Footsie and Big Narstie
10 July 2013 "Ballistic" Single Featuring Darick Robertson on guitar. The official theme song for Darick Robertson and Adam Egypt Mortimer's comic Ballistic[20]
4 March 2014 "Rain in England" Single
11 March 2014 A.T.D.R.I.P. Album
9 September 2017 JBPWAVE 1 Mixtape Featuring Jordan Peterson
23 October 2017 JBPWAVE 2 Mixtape Featuring Jordan Peterson
25 October 2017 CLEAN UP YOUR ROOM 1 Mixtape Featuring Jordan Peterson
27 October 2017 CLEAN UP YOUR ROOM 2 Mixtape Featuring Jordan Peterson
28 November 2017 JBPWAVE 3 Mixtape Featuring Jordan Peterson
5 December 2017 CLEAN UP YOUR ROOM 3 Mixtape Featuring Jordan Peterson
10 December 2017 LOFI Christmas Mixtape
12 January 2018 LOFI 2018 Mixtape
30 January 2018 LOFI 2018 2 Mixtape
5 February 2018 12 Rules For Life: The Album (JPWAVE) Album Featuring Jordan Peterson
13 February 2018 TRUE LOFI ROMANCE Mixtape
16 February 2018 LUSH LOFI VIBES Vol. 1 Mixtape
23 February 2018 JBPWAVE: A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX Mixtape Featuring Jordan Peterson
3 March 2018 "Extreme Ownership" Single Featuring Jocko Willink
6 March 2018 Harrison Bergeron

( Ｍｅａｎｉｎｇｗａｖｅ ® )

Mixtape Featuring Harrison Bergeron
9 March 2018 JBP Wave 4 Mixtape Featuring Jordan Peterson
12 March 2018 Bukowski: BORN Single Featuring Charles Bukowski
15 March 2018 Clean Up Your Room 4 Mixtape Featuring Jocko Willink
16 March 2018 M O Z W A V E 🌹 Single Featuring Morrissey
19 March 2018 N E W　G O D S Single Featuring Jack Kirby
27 March 2018 L O F I　S P R I N G 春 🌱 Mixtape
31 March 2018 W A T T S W A V E ⚡🌊 Mixtape Featuring Alan Watts
4 April 2018 W A I T S W A V E Single Featuring Tom Waits
10 April 2018 H S T W A V E Single Featuring Hunter S. Thompson
13 April 2018 S T O P　T H I N K I N G

Chill LoFi mix to meditate to

 Mixtape
16 April 2018 JBP Wave 5 Mixtape Featuring Jordan Peterson
5 May 2018 N A V A L W A V E Single Featuring Naval Ravikant
7 May 2018 A Thousand Kisses Deep Single Featuring Leonard Cohen
10 May 2018 H A P P I N E S S 幸福 Mixtape
11 May 2018 Go! single Featuring Jocko Willink
15 May 2018 J B P W A V E 6

Confront the Dragon, Get the Gold

 Single Featuring Jordan Peterson
21 May 2018 Clean Up Your Room 6 Mixtape Featuring Jordan Peterson
23 April 2018 W A T T S W A V E III Mixtape Featuring Alan Watts
24 May 2018 S T O P T H I N K I N G III

Chill LoFi mix to meditate to

 Mixtape
30 May 2018 L O F I S U M M E R 🌞🌞🌞 Mixtape
1 June 2018 The Bare Necessities Single Featuring Bill Hicks and

the lyrics by Terry Gilkyson
5 June 2018 J R E W A V E

I Don't Want to Hear That

 Single Featuring Joe Rogan
11 June 2018 Be Humble Single Featuring Anthony Bourdain
13 June 2018 N E I G H B O R W A V E Mixtape Featuring Mister Rogers
15 June 2018 Wholesome Vibes Mixtape Featuring N E I G H B O R W A V E Instrumentals
27 June 2018 "Good vs. Good" Single Featuring Scott Adams
2 July 2018 TIMEWAVE Mixtape Featuring Terrence McKenna
9 July 2018 GOLDTRON III Album
10 July 2018 "The Greatest Year" Single Featuring Gary Vaynerchuk
20 July 2018 "DUNEWAVE - Litany Against Fear" Single Featuring Comic Book Girl 19
23 July 2018 "DUNEWAVE - One Step Beyond Logic" Single Featuring Comic Book Girl 19
8 August 2018 "WATTSWAVE - Any Dream You Wanted" Single Featuring Alan Watts
10 August 2018 WATTSWAVE 4 - Dreams Mixtape Featuring Alan Watts
15 August 2018 WATTSWAVE 2 - How To Be A Better Person Mixtape Featuring Alan Watts; Re-released
24 August 2018 JBPWAVE: Genesis Album Featuring Jordan Peterson
5 September 2018 STOPTHINKING 4 - A Transcendent Vaportrap Mix Mixtape
6 September 2018 "JPBWAVE - Deadwood" Single Featuring Jordan Peterson
7 September 2018 "JREWAVE - Do Something!" Single Featuring Joe Rogan
14 September 2018 "ELONWAVE - Optimistic and Wrong" Single Featuring Elon Musk
21 September 2018 MUSKWAVE - A Space Odyssey Album Featuring Elon Musk
8 October 2018 "WATERWAVE - What The Hell Is Water" Single Featuring David Foster Wallace
26 October 2018 "Intellectual Dark Wave - Nemesis" Single Featuring Eric Weinstein
5 November 2018 GOLDTRON IV - An instrumental lofi hip hop vaportrap experience Album
23 November 2018 "The Immortal Stan Lee" Single Featuring Stan Lee
28 November 2018 LOFI - CHRISTMAS 2 ❄️❄️❄️ Mixtape Co-produced by Borrtex

Guest appearances
Year Title Artist(s) Album
2005 "All The Wrong Places" Mothboy The Fears
2006 "Jerusalem" Bravecaptain Distractions
"I Can See Cities" Mothboy Deviance
"Down" Mothboy, Jeres, The Son of King Rebel, & Soraya Mir
"Oh! (What A Glorious Thing)" My Super Ex-Girlfriend (Soundtrack)
"Oh! (What A Glorious Thing)" In The Hands of the Gods (Soundtrack)
2007 "Diamonds" Big Narstie Hey It's That Fat Guy!
"Still"
2010 "Great Britain (Akira the Don Vs Joey2Tits Remix)" Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip Great Britain / Sick Tonight EP[21]
"Johnny Nemo" Mothboy Bunny[22]
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References
  1. "The Rise of Meaningwave Music". Joseph Parrish. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  2. "Akira the Don". BBC Wales. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  3. "TEXODUS". Meaningwave. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  4. "Martin Carr - Ye Gods (And Little Fishes)". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  5. "Interview: Akira The Don". Oxford Student. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  6. "Akira the Don - The Life Equation review". The Quietus. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  7. "Watch Akira The Don's Halloween Ready Video For 'Spooky Scary Skeletons'". NME. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  8. "Akira The Don's Second Day At MorrisonCon". Bleeding Cool.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "New music: Akira the Don and Chilly Gonzales – Don't Need a Weatherman". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  11. "Grant Morrison Appears In Akira The Don's New Music Video For Killer". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  12. "Evolution Of The DJ: An Interview With Akira The Don". prosoundweb.com. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  13. "Akira the Don's Mr. Rogers-themed vaporwave mixtape is exactly what the world needs right now". CL Tampa. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  14. Byebstaff (9 December 2016). "The Top 10 Most Important Music Memes of 2016". Electronic Beats. Archived from the original on 1 April 2017. Both vaporwave and its offshoot hardvapor are genres as well as memes
  15. "Akira the Don: The DJ of the Intellectual Dark Web". High Existence. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  16. "David Arquette bringing a zany Sherlock Holmes to the stage". Toronto Sun.
  17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. "Harry Styles birthday party DJ politest millionaire ever". Sugarscape.com.
  19. "Living in the Future: Preorder Now!". Archived from the original on 27 March 2011.
  20. "The Quietus | News | DOWNLOAD: Akira The Don - Ballistic". The Quietus. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  21. "Web Hosting, Reseller Hosting & Domain Names from Heart Internet". Lesacvspip.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 August 2010.
  22. "Mothboy – Johnny Nemo | Akira the Don". Archived from the original on 14 January 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
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