Aleks Syntek and The Falling Doves Start their EU Tour at the Cavern Club

A Mexican pop auteur and an international rock band bring two very different catalogues to a European run beginning in Liverpool.

On 15 October, Aleks Syntek and The Falling Doves will arrive at Liverpool’s Cavern Club by markedly different routes. Syntek brings more than three decades of Mexican pop, film music and electronic songwriting. The Falling Doves arrive from an independent rock background shaped by extensive touring, changing locations, and the demands of performing night after night. The room gives both stories a common address.

The Liverpool show opens a UK and European run connected to Total Syntek: 35 Anniversary. It is presented as a celebration of Syntek’s career, but the presence of The Falling Doves broadens the format beyond a solo perspective. Rather than following a conventional headliner-and-support format, the concerts bring together two established catalogues and two distinct relationships with British and American music.

The Falling Doves’ touring history

Their work has also connected them with established venues and musicians in independent rock. The Falling Doves have held sessions at Abbey Road with engineer Chris Bolster, opened for Cheap Trick in San Diego and performed with musicians from different generations of British and American rock. Zia McCabe of The Dandy Warhols joined them onstage in Manchester, while former Beatles drummer Pete Best has appeared with Christopher Leyva in a 91X session and accompanied the band in concert. Phil Solem of The Rembrandts also appeared as a guest on Doves of War.

These connections are useful context, but they are not the centre of the band’s appeal. The Falling Doves combine guitar-led arrangements, vocal harmonies and an emphasis on live performance. Their songs draw from the melodic directness of British rock and the theatrical streak of Los Angeles without settling comfortably into either place. On this tour, that physical approach provides a contrast to the precision and electronic architecture associated with Syntek’s writing.

Syntek’s 35-year catalogue

His music has frequently looked towards the synthesised pop and new wave of the Eighties, but the relationship has moved beyond reference. A 2008 version of Kylie Minogue’s ‘In My Arms’ featured Syntek, and subsequent projects connected him with Alan Parsons, Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins, Peter Byrne of Naked Eyes and Midge Ure, formerly of Ultravox. These were artists whose records once reached him from a distance. Over time, influence led to opportunities for collaboration and performance.

Syntek’s team has also discussed the possibility of developing a documentary and live album drawing on more than a decade of those meetings. The proposed project gathers songs and personal encounters involving musicians who shaped his early listening. A release date and complete credits have not yet been announced, so the project remains in development.

Two approaches to musical influence

The Falling Doves approach musical history from another direction. Where Syntek has gradually worked his way towards the artists who influenced him, Leyva and Harold have built a network through touring, shared stages and repeated returns to the road. One story begins with records travelling into Mexico. The other is built around a band travelling outwards. Their meeting at the Cavern Club places that contrast within a venue closely associated with rock history.

It also creates a contrast in the concerts themselves. Syntek’s best-known work relies on melodic control, polished electronics and emotional unease beneath an accessible surface. ‘Duele el Amor’ pairs themes of romantic difficulty with an upbeat arrangement, while ‘Sexo, Pudor y Lágrimas’ places desire and discomfort inside the same melodic frame. The Falling Doves bring a more guitar-driven approach informed by their experience as a touring act. Together, the two acts present contrasting styles within the same bill.

The European itinerary

The itinerary continues through Glasgow, Manchester, Dublin and London before moving into Germany and Spain. Barcelona’s concert, originally announced for Sala Apolo, has moved to Sala Bikini while retaining its 27 October date. Across those rooms, the scale is more intimate than the anniversary language might suggest, potentially giving audiences a closer view of both performances. The more stripped-back arrangements may make the relationship between the two catalogues more apparent.

Liverpool supplies the obvious historical image, but the tour also draws on the artists’ respective catalogues and touring histories. Syntek arrives with songs released across a career spanning more than three decades, while The Falling Doves bring a body of work shaped by extensive international touring. The Cavern Club show will bring those different musical backgrounds together at the opening of the European run.

Confirmed 2026 European dates

• 15 October: The Cavern Club, Liverpool
• 18 October: Ivory Blacks, Glasgow
• 19 October: Band on the Wall, Manchester
• 20 October: The Button Factory, Dublin
• 21 October: The Garage, London
• 22 October: eventhalle Westpark, Ingolstadt
• 23 October: Es Gremi, Mallorca
• 25 October: Copérnico, Madrid
• 27 October: Sala Bikini, Barcelona