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 concept which is arguably Malta’s single biggest electronic music event.
Hey, thanks for chatting with us today! How has the year been for you so far?
It has been a great start and a lot of travelling. The latest project I was part of has been announced. Me and some of the talented Artists have worked on a V/A project for Zamna Records, “Sound of Jungle”, which I am very happy about. If this year will continue this way, then I have a very good feeling about it.
Tell us about your journey into electronic music, when did you first fall in love with it?
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 vinyls 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..
Growing up in Malta which doesn’t have so much of an established scene, how did you find other like minded music fans and artists to connect with?
It’s not hard to find likeminded people is such a small country! Everything started with organizing our events in Malta – Cosa Nostra, A lot of great artists travelled to play at the events such as: Tale of Us, Mind Against, Richie Hawtin, John Digweed, Dixon. Malta is my home and I wanted to make sure that everyone who comes, feels the same way.
What were some of the experiences that you think really shaped your love for music, and later your approach to music-making?
As I said, organizing my own events and being surrounded by a particular sound in a way shaped my love for music. Life and Death Record and similar labels were a big influence and it got me inspired to do what I am doing today. I wanted to travel more and leave Malta and couple years ago I signed with the Bullitt Agency, which allowed me to focus on my career. If I had to tell you about the 30+ years of background I have had, it would be one good book.
You have a new track coming up, Upon Us – was there any specific inspiration behind this one?
The track “Upon Us” has already been released. The inspiration came from It was inspired by 1994 So Get Up.
How do you work in the studio, do you have an idea in your head you work towards or do you just experiment and jam and see what happens?
I guess it would be a bit of everything. But I have discovered my sound a long time ago, now I experiment and find ways how to advance it with how the sound is evolving.
What are some of the key bits of music-making gear in your current setup?
Nowadays I have been experimenting a lot with wave table digital synths, like Ana2. I blend it and make layers with the Arturia minibrute Analog synth and to excite some more, the frequencies of the leads, I am trying Slates Digital MOTT. These three layers are good for the leads and of course, creating the kick from scratch makes a better sound design and the signature of the Element.
What else should we be looking out for from you for the rest of 2023?
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.
Finally, what is the best record you’ve heard in the last few months we might not know about?
Would love to answer this questions but all of these tracks are unreleased and people will never send their new music again!