Elle Jae’s sound has defied all the rules with its organic assembly of haunting piano pieces combined with ambient elements, brassy features and moody basslines that take you on a melodic journey from start to finish. Each track has an origin of importance … a story to tell.
Elle Jae is delighted to be joining the Krafted, Freegrant Music, Enormous Tunes, Chrom Recordings & Polyptych label families. Soon she will take part in our Parallels release. She will collaborate on Davidee & Shemsu’s masterfully crafted track.
This Various Artists compilation is our collaboration with EMA (electronic Music Anthem) on which we have plenty of great talents for you to discover. Stay tuned, the release is foreseen for April 14.
Connect with Elle Jae on Soundcloud | Spotify | Instagram | Facebook
For our readers who don’t know much about you, could you tell us a bit about your music background?
My appreciation & love for music comes from my dad who introduced me to music of all genres. I started playing the piano at the age of 9 and studied music throughout high school. One of the things I liked was to spend hours and hours listening to my dad’s records. It made me always dream of making music and having my own band.
So, I pursued this dream when I started writing music in 2020 & joined forces with the super-talented Alfie Bamford to bring these melodies to life. We have since made 23 tracks together & there are many more in the pipeline.
When working on new music is the dance floor always something you keep in mind? Or does a certain vibe or flow sometimes transcend that?
When I first started out my music I wasn’t planning on ever releasing it so my earlier work is quite different to what it is now and over time our sound evolved. We found our groove which is definitely more dance floor orientated but we still tend to do whatever feels right and suits the melody and if it works on the dancefloor, it certainly is a bonus!
Later this year you will have a track on our Various Artist compilation. Tell us all about that work. How did this one come together? From idea to creative process to final result.
I was invited to do vocals for a new track by Shemsu & Davidee which also features mesmerizing vocals by Délia. They were aware of my mom’s recent battle with stage 4 cancer so they kindly said that this track will be in support of her and her journey so the brief was to create a message of hope.
As you can imagine this was extremely touching and made the collab even more special. I was very excited to work with this talented trio & was even more blown away when I was told I could name the track. “Don’t Give Up” was created with love & meaning – hope that shines through to anyone listening to it.
“Don’t Give Up” was created with love & meaning – hope that shines through to anyone listening to it.
What do you find most challenging about the music business?
The music scene is overwhelmed with constant releases and so much choice, so it’s very hard to get noticed or stand out from the rest, but with amazing support from DJs, my peers, my labels & friends my music is making it out into the world in its own time.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt along the way?
“Do you”. The best advice I was given very early on is to just follow my own sound, my own journey and make music that makes me ‘tick’ and that’s what I’ve been doing and it’s been so rewarding to be authentically creative. My music doesn’t always fit a certain genre/box but it’s mine and a little slice of my soul I can leave behind one day.
Just follow my own sound, my own journey and make music that makes me ‘tick’.
What have you got planned for the rest of the year? Any new music or collaborations we should know about?
This year is full of exciting projects. Starting in April, I’ve got a string of releases coming out with multiple labels. I’ve also had the pleasure of branching out and working on collaborations with various artists from around the world. Some will be released this year and others are still a work in progress.
I also have a few new track ideas I’ve been working on. Looking forward to getting back in the Studio with Alfie Bamford and creating more melodic goodness together!
If you could have produced any record in the world, which one would it be?
This is a really tough question because my list of ‘favourite tracks’ is ridiculously long & very varied. But I could say that Odesza’s stunning creation, “The Last Goodbye” is definitely up there. It ticks so many boxes!
I’ve also been enjoying the recent productions by Meduza, Anyma, Stephen Jolk, Artbat, Camelphat, Nora En Pure, to name but a few.
What are your fondest musical memories? In your house? In your neighbourhood or town?
Oh, there are so many but here are a few to mention.
Thanks to my friend, Malik from Gold Credentials, my first ever track (Serengeti – Polyptych) was showcased in a global NFT fundraiser for charity, Beneath The Waves which raised over USD50k for ocean conservation and appeared in Time Square. As the Caribbean is nicknamed the “Serengeti of the Ocean”, the collab seems like a match made in heaven.
We were at a gig in Auckland last year and the legend, Darude unexpectedly dropped one of my unreleased tracks (Oblivion – Krafted) in the middle of his set and gave me a little shout-out. A moment I won’t soon forget!
I wrote lyrics to a track that I was working on and used to sing it to my son at bedtime every night. So, over time it became ‘our song’. Sometimes he would stop me and say “Mom, I sing it by myself” and proceed to belt it out. About 18 months later Alfie and I used my vocals to turn it into a track (Oracle – Chrom Recordings). I excitedly played it to him after our studio session to see if he would recognise it. Once the chorus hit, the penny dropped and his reaction was unforgettable. So glad we recorded it!
Thank you.
