Famously, the 2020s have emerged as nightlife’s ‘harder, better, faster, stronger’ era. Whether it’s the influence of TikTok, G, or our dwindling attention spans, BPMs are cranking up as dancers become more frenzied, seeking new horizons of escapism – and nowhere is this more present than in queer nightlife, where genres like donk and hard trance dominate.
It’s interesting, then, that the past few years would also see the ascent of London-based DJ and producer Elkka. A name frequently featured in major lineups across the UK, EU and US – with plenty of far-flung dates to boot – the artist embodies, well… more of an embodied approach to club music. Behind the decks, she favours beats that come complete with a sway of the hips and simmering percussion. As a producer, her tracks are sinewy and tactile, firmly rooted in the experience of being a living, breathing human.
An advocate for partying as praxis, she also runs Prism of Pleasure: a curated club night which centres FLINTA acts and audiences, and takes its name from her ecstatic debut album. Fittingly, her latest project, the EP Xpression, is a culmination of her years-long appreciation for the energising role of clubbing in the queer and dyke communities. Landing on 20 June, the four-tracker is low-slung, hazy and destined to be the soundtrack to sweltering bank holidays and sweaty dancefloor hookups.
Inspired by moments of liberation in the club, the EP overflows with hedonism, desire and – a recurring theme for Elkka – pleasure. In case you need any further convincing, the cover art for its double single, ‘Automatic/ Gentle Gaze’, looks like a still from an 80s music video: a coupe glass capturing a trail of champagne, suspended strategically in front of a pair of bikini bottom-clad thighs. Consider us enticed.
In order to share more, the artist sat down with Gay Times in East London’s La Camionera over a glass – or two, or three… – of white wine. (A couple of days later, Elkka posed for exclusive images shot by the photographer Alex Lambert, her creative collaborator and wife.)
Hey diva! Wait… how old are you? Your skin is so radiant.
I am 36… she’s old!
Not old at all.
Do you know, my age used to be something I was really self-conscious about? I’m not anymore. I did a headline show a couple of years ago, and it was on my birthday. I was like, ‘Do I say it’s my birthday? Do I say how old I am?’ I then kind of ended up talking about it really openly with, like, 700 people. When I was younger, I thought I would ‘make it’ at 22. But, oh god, I was so straight at 22! I was a lost soul at that age and I was figuring out my music and my sexuality at the same time.
Intriguing… so what has your journey been like from that lost 22-year-old to now?
I started out being a songwriter and singer, going down the pop route, but I knew that wasn’t going to serve me very well. I was doing well as a writer and featuring on people’s records… but I didn’t want to be the fucking feature artist. I wanted to be the artist. I wanted to have control of my own career, not have my songs on some boy’s laptop.
So, I started producing for myself and I set up my record label Femme Culture. That was the turning point for me. I remember calling my mum and saying, ‘I’m going to stop doing these sessions now. I’m going to try and teach myself how to produce and DJ’. She was like, ‘Do you know how to do that?’ I was like, ‘No, but I’m going to figure it out.’
“When I was younger, I thought I would ‘make it’ at 22. But, oh God, I was so straight at 22!”
And you did figure it out!
I did! Since then, everything’s just kind of kept going forward, I feel really in control of what I’m making. But I still feel like I’m 22 and I still feel like I’m learning about myself as a musician and as a woman.
It’s been about a year since your first album, Prism of Pleasure, came out, and we still have it on repeat in the GT office… What was the process of making that project?
The album took a couple of years. There was a pause because I did a DJ–Kicks album in 2023, then I went back to the album. Then, sadly, my dad died and I had to make the decision whether to stop or finish – and I decided to finish the project. The last track on the album was written on the day of the funeral. It was important to me to keep going. He was so supportive of my career.
That sounds like such an important process of catharsis. How did you settle back into making music after you released the album back into the world? I know you have a new EP, Xpression, out at the end of the month…
As soon as you finish something, everyone’s asking, ‘What are you doing next?’ I needed to take a minute to live, to take time away from touring or writing, to just be. Otherwise, I can’t really write. What’s really been inspiring to me is partying.
Sorry, side bar: What’s been your favourite clubbing experience recently? And – as good as they are, I’ve been – you’re not allowed to mention your own Prism of Pleasure nights…
There’s a party called Club Are, which I’ve been to a couple of times as a punter and it’s one of the best clubbing experiences that I’ve had in a very, very long time. You can talk to people there, the music curation is exceptional and it’s just very open, warm and inviting. People are very free and expressive there, there’s no music snobbery. It just reminds me of how difficult it is to curate a good party, and how all the small details add up to the feeling of it. I just really had the best time. I felt liberated and it reminded me of what it’s like to be on the dancefloor again.
“Xpression is inspired by the dancefloors that I felt most free in”
Okay, back to the EP! What was the creative process like?
Well, after going to parties like that, I knew what I wanted to write – the music I made really poured out on me. I didn’t know what it was going to be, but I knew I wanted to make club music again. I know that ‘club music’ can mean a million different things, but I’m really happy with what I’ve made. Generally, I find it hard to make music that, discernibly, as a DJ, I would choose to play. There’s a block there. It’s the first time I’ve made this type of music, which is really exciting.
How would you describe the influences behind Xpression?
It’s inspired by the dancefloors that I felt most free in and the most inspired by.
You’ve recently moved to East London, right?
I did. I lived in South London for a long time, and I loved it there. But everything’s here for me. The lesbian bars are here: they’re popping up, left, right and centre. There’s a moment happening and I kind of get to be in it.
You must have spent a lot of time in East London before you moved here, though? Think of Dalston Superstore!
I think my second date with my wife Alex and my first ever DJ gig, was at Dalston Superstore. It was terrible. I blagged my way into getting booked and didn’t realise it was an R&B night, so I tried to put on house music. They took me off the decks after 20 minutes, and Alex watched the whole thing. But it ended well: Alex and I are now married, and I’m making my living from club music.
Leztopia x Prism of Pleasure will land in Corsica Studios on 6 June. Get tickets here.
Xpression is out on 20 June via Method 808. Check out the singles so far via the embed below.
