Mar 13, 2024
Elekfantz Delivers A Breathtaking Live Set From Ilha do Campeche, Brazil
Join us in celebrating Elekfantz's live set, recently captured amidst the breathtaking shores of Ilha do Campeche in Florianópolis, Brazil. Dive deeper into the journey of his latest release, "Wonderful World," while exploring the rich history and creative process behind Elekfantz's two acclaimed albums and stories of remixes from renowned artists such as Vintage Culture, Solomun, and Gui Boratto. Get ready for an unforgettable mix brimming with surprises and original productions from Elekfantz himself!
Hey Elekfantz, thanks so much for being with us today to celebrate your live mix. To kick things off, we want to get to know you more. You started the Elekfantz project as a duo. Can you tell us more about the start of Elekfantz?
Hi everyone, it’s a great pleasure to talk about Elekfantz with 1001Tracklists!
I’ve been working in the music industry for the past 28 years, and I started Elekfantz in 2011 after working as a session drummer with lots of great Brazilian musicians. In the beginning of Elekfantz, I started working with my old friend and super DJ Daniel Kuhnen to create the live act, having one more head and two more hands helping on the performance. At this time, I also wanted to start releasing my own music, so we found the perfect spot in the electronic music scene - Gui Boratto’s own imprint D.O.C. Records, distributed by the legendary German label Kompakt. Therefore, I sent some of our material to Boratto, and since then, we became great friends and music partners, producing and composing two full albums together.
I can definitely say that Dani and I were a duo with an amazing symbiosis, as we played live together for almost 10 years. It has been a hell of a journey!
You've recently gone solo with the project both as a live act and in the studio. How have things been going?
In the midst of the pandemic season, Daniel asked me if he could leave the project as he got married and was tired of traveling around. Touring was a big deal for me, so we decided to split earlier in 2022 after finishing the gigs already booked.
It has been a fresh beginning for me, running solo as Elekfantz. I can tell you it's so nice to be performing alone these days because now I have the independence to choose my sets, live sets, and, more importantly, the paths I want to take as a composer and songwriter. Elekfantz live performances have undergone some upgrades. For example, I started mixing the live sets by myself, which has greatly affected the way I connect with the dance floor, my ability to perform playing synths, drums, and singing while mixing the whole set live.
In the studio, I'm still working on some songs together with Gui Boratto, but most of the tracks I've been creating and producing myself. It's a great reset in my studio career. I can't wait to release the B-sides of Elekfantz, where I delve more into the underground.
You already released two albums, 'Dark Tales & Love Songs' and 'ELEMENTS.' Can you tell us more about these two albums?
Our first album, 'Dark Tales And Love Songs,' was released in 2014 and helped us spread our songs all over the world. It was a double vinyl album with two distinctive sides: one more 'indie dance' song oriented, and the other more instrumental underground kind of stuff.
We had two relevant songs on this album: 'Diggin’ On You,' which was remixed by Solomun, and 'She Knows,' which became a Brazilian anthem and is still our biggest hit. After touring around the world promoting 'Dark Tales…' and playing in festivals like Tomorrowland Brasil, Lollapalooza, and DGTL Amsterdam, we decided to return to the studio, and our second album, 'ELEMENTS,' was born in 2018.
For this second album, we struck a deal with Universal Music Group, allowing us to promote the album by releasing five official music videos on YouTube. For example, the song 'Work It Out' was filmed in Barcelona during a short break on our first Asian tour.
'ELEMENTS' is more oriented towards a vocal album, containing real songs, lyrics, and catchy melodies. At this time, we wanted to release what the fans were asking for: good songs with our imprint and signature, keeping it original, mixing pop and indie dance styles.
We mixed this entire album in a huge studio in Brazil - Midas Music, working together with my friend Giu Daga (3-time Latin Grammy Winner), which helped us improve the sound quality of the album.
Your tracks have been remixed by artists such as Solomun, Vintage Culture and Gui Boratto. What does it mean to have such acclaimed artists remixing your tracks?
This was really important for us in the beginning, as our original songs were good, but they didn’t have a dance floor feeling. So, once we got a few of our songs remixed by well-established artists like Solomun and Vintage Culture, DJs worldwide started to play these super bombs, and we began hitting the dance floors around the globe.
Solomun helped us a lot by supporting his remix of “Diggin’ On You,” playing it almost every night in Ibiza, and also releasing it on one of his albums on Diynamic. Suddenly, we became popular in Europe and started touring extensively around this continent.
Lukas, aka Vintage Culture, always liked our songs since the early days when we first released “Wish.” He has already done six remixes for our songs, some of which are still unofficial or unreleased, and two songs have been released officially: “Blush” and “Work it Out.” Both remixes created a big buzz among the Brazilian crowd and were featured on many radio shows all over the country.
You just released your new track "Wonderful World." Can you take us through the production process? What was the initial inspiration and how did you progress from there to the final version that we hear today?
“Wonderful World” was supposed to be included in our second album, “ELEMENTS.” After a few different versions, I found myself stuck with the chorus and decided to take a break from it. During the COVID season, we couldn’t tour for over a year, so I started to go through all my studio materials. Suddenly, I rediscovered “Wonderful World.” After finding a new chorus idea for it, I was so happy with the result that I finally wanted to release it.
“Wonderful World” features nostalgic 80s lyrics and synth vibes, with a catchy chorus, maintaining the authenticity and feeling of some of my oldest songs such as “Blush.”
It has now become one of my favorite songs ever, and I'm really happy that it will be released after 6 long years. I’ve been playing it at every single set and feeling amazed by the feedback from my fans and friends. To me, this is the magic that happens when your fans understand and enjoy your music the same way you do. It’s priceless!
Looking closer at your Spotlight Mix, how did you approach this set? How does your track selection in this Spotlight Mix compare to a set that we would hear from you in a club?
This set represents the entire musical range and variations I like to explore, including unreleased underground instrumental tracks, commercial summer songs, remixes, and future singles I want to release. I tried to compile all the songs that I thought would fit the vibe of Campeche Island, a private desert island and national reserve near my hometown, accessible by a 35-minute boat ride. I believe I was able to align my live set with the island's mood while showcasing the versatile side of Elekfantz.
The instrumental sections within it are perfect for shaping or changing the direction of the set, allowing me to perform the live act and play instruments as part of the experience. Similarly, I had to consider both types of songs: those where I could play drums, synths, and sing, and those where I simply had to mix without any instrumental intervention.
I can confidently say that the mix of this set strikes a great balance, which will be enjoyable for the audience to watch and listen to.
What was the experience like recording this set on such a special Brazilian private island? Were there any challenges that you needed to navigate?
This live performance was certainly the most pleasurable and challenging one I’ve had in my career. A few years ago, we were invited to record a live show for Cercle in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but it ended up not happening, and this idea got stuck in my mind. After a long time, I had the chance to visit this beautiful island with a couple of friends and decided to film a live act there. Not only is it a paradisiacal place to be, but also because the 'Ilha do Campeche' belongs to another larger island where I was raised, the island of Florianopolis, the capital of Santa Catarina state.
The truth is... it was somehow impossible to obtain all the licenses needed to have all the staff we needed to record this live mix. The island is a national reserve curated and protected by the government with many laws, but we managed to obtain all the necessary licenses, and everything went smoothly. I am more than happy to be the first artist ever to accomplish this.
Ilha do Campeche and Florianopolis are both incredibly special places, and I definitely recommend every tourist to visit them while in Brazil.
What can we expect from Elekfantz in 2024?
It’s going to be an amazing year, full of new releases and big events.
My plans for the first semester of 2024 involve releasing this nostalgic-pop-indie-dance original song called 'Wonderful World,' followed by a few dance floor remixes as singles. Additionally, I have a full 'ELEMENTS (Remixed)' album set to be released under Universal Music Group.
For the second semester, I encourage you all to follow my social media channels to stay updated on the latest news! Some exciting international collaborations are currently in progress in the studio... hehe
You can stream or download Elekfantz - "Wonderful World" on your platform of choice today! https://reven.fanlink.tv/
short link 1001.tl/kpbmgl
