ELIF: "I love giving life to other people’s music"

Born in Istanbul and now based in Barcelona, ELIF has turned her lifelong passion for music into a thriving international career. She started out managing indie-rock bands in Turkey before taking the leap into DJing and production, traveling the world, honing her sound, and performing at over 100 shows—including the iconic Burning Man. As the founder of the label Marginalia, she also dedicates herself to supporting emerging talent, giving a platform to artists with big ideas but limited opportunities. With millions of streams and support from BBC Radio 1, KISS FM, and MixMag Asia, her tracks like "Bamboo Forest", "Release The Beast" – ELIF Remix, "Let Go", and "Moonspell" showcase her creativity, curiosity, and love for experimenting with new sounds. ELIF doesn’t just play music—she creates experiences, connects people, and continues to push herself and the electronic music scene to new horizons.

Your remix of "Nightfalls" for Dave Seaman feels like an exciting new step in your artistic journey. What draws you to reinterpreting other artists’ work, and how do you balance keeping its original essence while making it your own?

I am on the road a lot and remixes while they already have the musical idea so much faster and easier for me to start and finish and I love reinterpreting other people’s work! I also do enjoy remixes from other artists. I think it’s one of the best things about electronic music! 

It’s very difficult for me when I try to remix a track that I already listened to or played a lot. For new tracks that I only hear once before remixing what I do is I don’t listen to them again, and then after a while I drag all the stems into a new project and decide which stems i want to use and eliminate the sounds I don’t like and then I find parts that I want to work on from each channel, I make a loop and start from there.

If there are vocals and evolving synths sometimes I bring them into the arrangement as they are and keep changing from there. 

You were born and raised in Istanbul but are now based in Barcelona. How do these two vibrant cities, with such different cultural and musical influences, shape your sound and creativity?

I’m not sure if the city I live in shapes my sound anymore as I can’t really go out a lot to listen to music where I live I’m away 90% of the weekends. There are more collaborators here in Barcelona and I can do studio sessions sometimes with the friends visiting or artists residing here but these artists are usually the ones that share a certain gusto with me.

With your label Marginalia, you’ve built a home for fresh voices in electronic music. What is your vision for the label, and what kind of stories do you hope to tell through the artists you support?

The main goal of the label is support and give a home to artists who find it difficult to release on big labels because their projects are relatively small. I try to spotlight these artists and their creativity. I think we built a nice community where artists also get to discover each other and start collaborations and feel like a family.

From intimate club settings to global stages like Tomorrowland, Burning Man, and Coachella, you’ve performed in front of very different crowds. How do you adapt your approach to each context while still creating that deep connection with the audience?

I find it very important to adapt the sound to the setting you are in. The crowd, the time of the day, and the size of the venue are very important inputs for me when I craft a set. I can have darker sets in clubs and play happier music at an afternoon outdoor party but in each set there’s an ELIF element :) 

Your career seems to be in constant evolution. Is there a particular sound direction or upcoming project that feels especially close to your heart right now?

Not really. I can’t say I have a certain direction. I do what I like at that moment. I like many different things so I have very different tracks. I keep learning and finding it progressively easier to create the sounds I want to play.

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