Boys Noize on Nine Inch Nails Collaboration, TRON, and His New Label, OAZ

Alex Ridha, the Berlin-based producer who performs as Boys Noize, has had an unusually varied year. He’s been opening for Nine Inch Nails on the Peel It Back tour (hailed as one of the best live shows of 2025), co-produced the Grammy-winning TRON: Ares soundtrack alongside Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and still manages to find time for the underground techno shows that built his reputation in the first place.

The chemistry with Nine Inch Nails is undeniable. Ridha opens each night with an industrial techno set and later joins the band onstage. This spring, that partnership will evolve into “Nine Inch Noize,” a unique collaborative project that will debut at Coachella in April 2026.

In a rare long-form sit down conversation recorded at Austin’s iconic Waterloo Records for the new All Access with Clarissa Cardenas podcast (presented by SPIN Magazine), Ridha opens up about how the Nine Inch Nails collaboration evolved, why he refuses to compromise his artistic vision for exposure, and the hidden Easter eggs woven into the tour that most fans may overlook.

It’s a full-circle moment for an artist whose journey began behind the counter of a Hamburg record store at age 15.

From Clubs to Arenas

Ridha’s relationship with Reznor began quietly years ago, but was rekindled in 2024 when Reznor asked him to remix the Challengers score into a continuous DJ set. That collaboration led to the gig co-producing the TRON: Ares soundtrack and the invitation to open the Peel It Back tour.

Rather than serving as a conventional opening act, Ridha uses his 90-minute set to shape the room’s energy, dropping rare tracks and deep cuts that introduce arena audiences to novel sounds. 

Tracks originally pressed for Berlin basement clubs now reverberate through massive venues built for tens of thousands, resulting in an unusual collision of worlds.

Ones and Zeros

In February 2025, Ridha launched his label, Ones and Zeros (OAZ), which is a hybrid model that functions as much like a scene as it does a business. He argues that while technological advancements now allow artists to release music independently, what’s often missing isn’t distribution know-how, but real community and meticulous discernment.

The initial rollout was intentionally cryptic, and poked fun at the overly serious tone of traditional marketing around music releases and ad campaigns. The label posted Instagram videos with an outlandish claim that “snakes aren’t real,” and circulated tongue in cheek disinformation, like “Brazilian sound systems are being used as sonic weapons to crash drones.” Simultaneously blurring absurdity, mythology, and unconventional marketing, the stunt worked. For no logical reason, it went viral. Pure chaos trolling the matrix, which responded in algorithmic praise.

An Intentional Approach to Collaboration

Throughout his career, Ridha has carried the same meticulousness, and outside of the box thinking, that he imbues into his label, and has been very selective about his collaborations. He states that he prefers artistic alignment and integrity over exposure and influence. 

This approach has meant passing on high-profile opportunities in the past, even when they might have been commercially advantageous.

He’s also candid about the conditions that made that independence possible. Berlin’s relatively affordable cost of living and dense creative infrastructure, he argues, give artists more room to experiment than cities where even base-line survival requires a constant hustle.

His guiding principle has remained the same through it all: make music you actually want to hear.

What’s Next

The Peel It Back tour kicked off its North American leg with 22 dates beginning in February and will conclude mid-March. 

And, as for what Nine Inch Noize will look like at Coachella? Ridha is keeping the details deliberately close to his chest, but we can’t wait to see how this epic collaboration coalesces at one of the world’s largest festival scenes.

The full conversation is available now on “All Access with Clarissa Cardenas,” and concludes with a record digging session that uncovers Ridha’s first-ever vinyl purchase when he was 6 years old, and rare crate discoveries that shaped the artist he is today.

Upcoming Peel It Back tour dates:

18. Feb 2026NIN @ HAMILTON, ON, TD COLISEUM 

20. Feb 2026NIN @ COLUMBUS, OH, SCHOTTENSTEIN CENTER

22. Feb 2026 NIN @ GRAND RAPIDS, MI, VAN ANDEL ARENA

23. Feb 2026 NIN @ MILWAUKEE, WI, FRISERV FORUM

25. Feb 2026 NIN @ ST. LOUIS, MO, ENTERPRISE CENTER

27. Feb 2026 NIN @ TULSA, OK, BOK CENTER

1. Mar 2026 NIN @ AUSTIN, TX, MOODY CENTER

3. Mar 2026 NIN @– DALLAS, TX, AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER

6. Mar 2026 NIN @ GLENDALE, AZ, DESERT DIAMOND ARENA

7. Mar 2026 NIN @ LAS VEGAS, NV, MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA

9. Mar 2026 NIN @ SAN DIEGO, CA, PECHANGA ARENA

10. Mar 2026 NIN @ ANAHEIM, CA, HONDA CENTER

13. Mar 2026 NIN @ SALT LAKE CITY, UT, DELTA CENTER

15. Mar 2026 NIN @ SAN FRANCISCO, CA, CHASE CENTER

16. Mar 2026 NIN @ SACRAMENTO, CA, GOLDEN 1 CENTER

28. Mar 2026 ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL, MIAMI. FL

10. & 11. Apr 2026 COACHELLA, CA (NINE INCH NOIZE)

17. & 18. Apr 2026 COACHELLA, CA (NINE INCH NOIZE)