Elijah Simmons - The 'Wednesday Alternative' Ransom Note Mix

Music

Every now and then our path will be crossed out of nowhere by someone who has a genuine knack for putting together a selection of tracks who is keen for us to give it our seal of approval. We've been stamping our seal like made over this absolute blinder of a mix that's come in from Elijah Simmons. Along with a whole host of other sounds, the mix features your first chance to listen to his aural contribution "Sil" to the upcoming KX compilation from Kompakt, out on the 13th of November. Let this mix make your Wednesday better than ever and read on as we give Mr Simmons a good grilling;

Who are you, where are you and what are you?

Elijah Simmons, London, a DJ, producer & entrepreneur is what I introduce myself as, but really I am a genetically reengineered shapeshifting sabertooth from 3015, that got caught up in a timewarp and washed up in your present

Describe your sound without using the letter 'e'.

A drop of schad*nfr_ud_, a f#w dabs of psychd_lia, a pinch of p%rcussion, dr_amy atmosph*r_s, sinist@r highs and punchy lows, and drama; a lot of drama!

What one piece of software or hardware could you not make music without?

My brain it’s really what it boils down to when you’re building from the ground up on a relatively low budget. That and Ableton Live.

What was the first electronic record you ever heard? How did it make you feel?

The very first stuff I got my ears around was probably Vangelis’s Spiral and some Tangerine Dream stuff from my dad's collection although intrigued, I was too young to understand. I think it was a release of Bodzin & Romboy on Systematic (Phobos), that really got me going with electronic music. Mindblowing stuff. Really raw and emotional.

What’s the best piece of music you’ve ever heard?

Ennio Morricone - Cinema Paradiso.

What’s your favourite place on earth?

Ilha Grande, an island off the coast of Rio no roads, no 4G, crabs and monkeys walking around the village and no easy way out (of paradise).

If you had to send one record into space, to introduce extra terrestrials to human music, what record would you choose?

LA Woman - The Doors.

You can choose four members of a band to form a supergroup who would be in it and what instruments would they be on?

Antony Hegarty -Vocals

David Gilmour - Guitar & Keys

José Areas - Percussion & Drums

Nicolas Jaar - Bass & Production

Which figure from throughout history would you most like to meet and what would you ask them if you had only one question?

Nicola Tesla

“Like, on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you hate Thomas Edison?”

Which song do you wish you had written?

Shine On You Crazy Diamond - Pink Floyd.

What is your greatest regret?

Not being more actively involved with music from an earlier age

How do you relax?

I don’t. I will when I retire!

If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

Realistically I would be a management consultant or a corporate employee. I’m actually an Ivy League postgrad with degrees in economics and management. I am also a little crazy, so I’m going with the risky way. It’s more fun like that!

Onto the mix…

Where was the mix recorded?

Home studio.

What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?

Whilst in an intensely adventurous dream, free running in the hills of Rio, or mediating in a yurt somewhere in Mongolia.

What should we be wearing?

Closed back headphones. The rest is up to you,

What would be your dream setting to record a mix: Location/system/format?

The garden in Warung in Balneario Camboriu in the small hours, before the break of dawn. It’s raining.

Which track in the mix is your current favourite?

The Noze & Man Power combo right at the end. It just works.

What’s your favourite recorded mix of all time?

There’s a few, but one I go back to very often is the 2012 Mano le Tough one for RA.

What was your first DJ setup at home and what is it now?

A pair of used Technics 1210’s and a Behringer 2 channel mixer || now it’s a couple of CDJs and an A&H Xone 23.

What’s more important, the track you start on or the track you end on?

Both. One sets the tone, the other is an opportunity to make people really remember you in a positive way.

What were the first and last records you bought?

Honestly don’t remember the first!

Last: Eduardo de la Calle - Nanoscopic Scales.

If this mix was an edible thing, what would it taste like?

Truffle.

If it was an animal what would it be?

Panther.

One record in your collection that is impossible to mix into anything?

Go March Rise (Dreems Remix), not exactly impossible, but the tempo changes a few times.

Upcoming in the world of Elijah Simmons?

On the music end, my next big one is Sil coming out on the Kompakt Exklusiv (KX) compilation, then a remix and a couple of new tracks on Abstraxion’s Biologic until the end of the year, and the next big EP hopefully beginning of next year – keep an ear out.

On the gigs end now, I am very much looking forward to playing with Mano le Tough and The Drifter in Athens next week and of course to my baby HYDE in London on the 6th of November with Abstraxion and man of the moment Love Over Entropy.