Alejandra Cárdenas

Alejandra Cárdenas (also known as Ale Hop) is a Peruvian-born artist and researcher based in Berlin. Her multidisciplinary work spans live performances, record releases, sound, text and video artworks, academic research on sound and technology, and original compositions for film and dance. Her live performances merge the physicality of sound with raw emotional states. She builds layers of sound by maneuvering an intricate repertoire of electric guitar techniques to create music of deep intensity. She began her career in Lima’s experimental and underground scene in the 2000s and launched her solo project in 2012 following a debut solo performance at Boiler Room in New York. Since relocating to Berlin in 2015, Cárdenas has continued to evolve her solo work while touring internationally. She released her acclaimed album “The Life of Insects” in 2020 and, in recent years, has initiated various collaborative practices and albums, such as “Agua Dulce” (2023) with percussionist Laura Robles, which explores radical reinterpretations of Afro-Peruvian rhythms; “Mapambazuko” (2025) with Titi Bakorta, which delves into Congolese music; and “Near and Remote Activation Practices” with Tatiana Heuman, which draws inspiration from South American organology and storytelling. Cárdenas is also a guest professor and a PhD candidate at Berlin University of Arts, and runs the editorial platform Contingent Sounds, which facilitates critical discourses and artistic research on listening.