In utero, Alek was listening to the beginnings of rock and roll as her older four sisters listened to their radios. She has been involved with music all of her life in one way or another. Having always been an avid listener, she believes that past musical influences impart themselves into the current creations.
Takala states, “While I am composing, the music flows naturally from my fingers, it’s never been ‘work’. I tend to converse with myself a lot. This is also a form that my compositions take on. Phrases may begin as a question followed by an answer, or in other sections, it’s a statement followed by a reply.”
Alek began writing poetry and singing in school choir, and acting on stage. At age 12 her progressive Aunt Mabel took her to see the infamous rock-musical stage play “Hair”. “I absorbed all those nuances at a critical moment of musical styles and expression by bands like The Beatles, Moody Blues, Simon & Garfunkle, Jimi Hendrix, Yes, The Hollies, Elton John, Gentle Giant, Pink Floyd, and endless others that filled the radio waves in the days when FM Radio was a new thing.”
Aleksandra married a guitarist/composer when she was 21, and because of this influence she began to seriously study playing piano at age 25. All of this began because her Aunt Mable, (the same woman who took her to see “Hair”), gifted her with a piano. “I began lessons with a little old lady in Sierra Madre for $6.00 a week. She was a great teacher of classical music who focused on the feelings that the composers imparted. At the end of that first year with her, I composed my first song, “Masada”, which is now becoming a musical opera to be released as my 4th album.
From there Takala’s efforts went on to attaining a college degree in classical music theory, performance and composition. That was when computerized music was in its infancy in the form of synthesizers. There was no such thing as a touch sensitive piano and real sounds from a world of musical instruments of all kinds. Taking a different road of creativity, she became a Floral Designer for the next decade in her own business called Budding Artist, working on world famous projects like the Tournament of Roses and the Western States Photography Convention and Expo in Pasadena, California.
Following floral work, she returned to a completely new world of musical technology and needed to learn how to work on all of the computerized creations that were now available. As her work is richly flavored instrumental music, this new musical technology was perfect for her style. She began working with a private tutor, learning electronic keyboards, computer programs, and the current technological aspects of recording, including mixing, engineering, and mastering her own works.
Alek believes that the Co-Creations of music comes from her Soul, and reflect much more than a lifetime of experiences, but are a gift guided by the Universal Creator. “As long as the phrases and harmonies continue to issue from my fingertips, I will keep on composing the music. After that, who knows what genre of creations will come forth.”