Contributing Writer
The Element is a household name when it comes melodic house and techno music. Although he originally comes from the small island of Malta, he is well known in all four corners of the world thanks to a career that started in the early nineties and continues apace right up to the present day.
His profile has a huge boost internationally after his track Judgment Day was played in almost every Tale Of Us gig around the globe in 2019, while live he has performed alongside some of the biggest names in electronic music including Tale of Us, Mind Against, Matthew Johnson, Richie Hawtin, John Digweed, Green Velvet, Sasha, Dixon, DJ Tennis, Art Department to name a few.
He is also well known for his huge Cosa Nostra events in Malta: a Sunday night conceptwhich is arguably Malta’s single biggest electronic music event
How did you first get into dance music, and where and when?
The journey started a long time ago. It all started as a kid, think I was about 12 years old. I was visiting a far uncle of mine who was collecting some vinyl at the time and was playing as a resident in a couple of local clubs in Malta. I had seen my uncle play a couple of times and remembered how to turn the equipment on. Some hours later my mother caught me downstairs listening to 90s techno and that’s how everything began…
How much impact does the Maltese scene, landscape and musical history have on your sound?
It had a greater impact on me as a person and less on my sound. My sound has developed into what it is now because of the evolving sound and the inspiration that came from the Artists of the current time.
Do you find yourself especially drawn to music from specific countries or cities?
I am not drawn from specific country or city but a lot of good music comes from South America these days. And what has to do with gigs, what comes to my mind is playing at Warung… it’s something I will never forget.
Tell us about the new single you have done for ZAMNA – what inspired it?
I am very happy with Upon Us and it was inspired by 1994’s So Get Up.
How important is it to evolve with each new tune or do you like to try and nail a signature sound?
I think it’s important to find your sound and be consistent in that way. But of course it took some time to reach this point. At first, I started playing more progressive techno, which then turned into techno sets and now I play melodic techno sets. I went from playing 140 bpm to now 123 bpm… personally for me it’s easier to connect to the crowd this way. Every show I do, I am ready for the crowd to tell me what they want. I pay attention to the people standing in front of me and their response sets the direction for all my sets.
Do you ever get writer’s block? And if so how do you push past it?
I never experienced “writer’s block” and let’s hope I never will!
What’s next for you? What else are you working on?
This year my plan is to work on a lot of music, tour… maybe an album. There are a lot of ideas and projects yet to be announced.