DJ Q&A: Eli Brown
Ahead of his Halcyon and SF debut, Eli Brown took some time with us to discuss his upcoming release, his inspiration behind his “Wait No More” EP, what we can expect from him, as well as some cool things he’d like to check out for his first time in the US! We absolutely LOVE Steve Lawler. He recently stopped by Halcyon to lay down a killer set. You have an upcoming release on his label VIVa MUSiC called “Future”. How did you two get connected? Track –
When I first started making music Steve Lawler was always someone who inspired me and someone who I really wanted playing my music so from very early on I was sending him demos. After about 6 month he got in contact as he was playing my releases that had come out on Skream’s Of Unsound Mind label and we discussed doing a EP and thats how the 3am EP came about which was released mid way through 2017. Since then I always send him my newest tracks so its great to be back on the label with the new track ‘Future’.
What’s the story behind your latest EP “Wait No More”?
Lee (Foss) and I had been chatting about doing another EP following the success of my previous stuff on Repopulate Mars and Wait no more seemed a good fit, its a track Lee has been featured heavily in all of his sets over the past six months so its great to get that one out. The other track on the EP, Misbehave was kind of a curve ball as its not my typical sound. I wanted to try something slightly different, something that kind of reminded me a bit of the old Hot Natured stuff but I wasn’t totally sure about it to be honest, Lee loved it however and convinced me to put it out and I’m really pleased he did as the reception has been great.
That’s awesome! Not only did Lee Foss drop your latest release in Brazil, but also the man, himself, Carl Cox dropped one of your releases titled “Jungle Cry” in Barcelona! What does it feel like to have both of these world-class acts play your music?
Yeah it’s great, when you start out as a producer thats what you aspire to, seeing your heroes play your tracks. I still get goosebumps everytime I see someone play one of my records, and when its legends like Lee and Carl its a great feeling!
We’re no strangers to flying across the world for some crazy parties, but as an artist how do you manage to find the time to recover between all these shows?
Its definitely the hardest part of being a dj, that constant travelling and the balance between touring and making music but its definitely something you get used to. I love what I do so no matter how stressful, tiring it can be im grateful for this opportunity and wouldn’t change it for the world!
If you could hop into a time machine and go to any era of music, what it would be and why?
I’d have to say probably 1992, its the era that really turned me on to electronic music, I was too young to really get in to it but older siblings would pass us the odd cassette and that’s what really got me and my friends hooked on dance music, before that we were all listening to gun’s n roses and nirvana. I’d love to go back simply to go to some of those raves too, they looked insane!
Since you’re from Bristol, UK, what’s the most notable difference you’ve noticed travellng around to all these different destinations in terms of the music scene?
I think broadly most places I go to play the vibe isn’t to dissimilar to that of Bristol, I mean Bristol has an awesome music scene and people go pretty hard, but what I find interesting is the slight cultural differences and approaches to partying. I played Ecuador recently which was great and I got the chance to play for 5 hours, which is something I never get the chance to do generally, the later it got the more the party was going off and I think we ended up finishing up about 10am which is kind of unheard of in the UK.
San Francisco being such an incredible diverse and lively city is quite the destination hotspot. Is there anything specific you’d like to do while visiting for your very first time here in SF!?
To be honest I don’t know a great deal about San Francisco so if any one wants to give me the tour please give me a shout as everyone tells me its a great city!
We can’t wait to give you a proper SF experience! We have a reputation for going quite late at Halcyon though so not sure how many tourist sites you’ll be seeing the morning after! We truly are all about the vibe. With such an intimate setting, you can really feel the energy from everyone inside the room. What can we expect from you when you take over the decks at our humble abode on August 10?
All I hear is nothing but great things about Halcyon so I’m super excited to be playing. In terms of what you can expect when I play, I guess a lot of high energy house and techno, plenty of brand new material from myself and one hell of a party!
That sounds like our type of night! We can’t wait to have you take the helm this weekend!
