Raised on a diet of MTV and grunge, Elshuffles was initially drawn to bands like Tool, Nirvana, Pearl Jam before moving on to Portishead and Everything But The Girl, which led into a long time where his influences were draw from what he was hearing and experiencing on the dancefloor at raves and clubs.
Following his 2021 debut album Disinformation Party, the London-based electronic artist is making a return with his second album who bang the noise. Elshuffles talks to SIXAM about his newest album, his take on production, and his musical influences.
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Hi elshuffles, Thanks for talking to SIX AM, how are you and howâs your year been so far?
Iâm good, so far it’s been a great year for me and those around me. I feel blessed these days.
You are releasing your second album, âWho Bang the Noiseâ. How does it differ from your debut album, Disinformation Party?
It feels more of a broader album, covering a few more areas but still staying within âelectronicâ. I’ve also used a few more different techniques such as field recording and sampling different things. Along with different playback methods.
What are some of the influences that can be heard on âWho Bang the Noiseâ?
I guess musically artists that spring to mind are Daniel Avery and then Burial. These two are really operating at the peak of their powers, I see them as pioneers. Away from music there are definitely other influences such as two authors Haruki Murakami and Ocean Vuong.
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How does âWho Bang the Noiseâ reflect the diversity of London?
Well being in London for the last 20 years I’ve been immersed in a diverse way of life. Living in east London I experience all sorts of different sights and sounds and these have their way onto the album. An example of this would be the field recordings i’ve made. Being a broader album I feel that it taps into the subcultures and social issues of our times.
How was the album produced? Any specific bits of techniques you could let us in on?
The computer was the centrepoint with instruments such as the op1 and the microgranny sampler along side. I also used a bunch of different plugins my go to one being iris 2 by izotope. There were lots of samples, mainly recorded on my phone when out around London. I also found some magic in recording to my 4 track tape recorder and then playing that back through guitar pedals such as the habit from chase bliss. Another really cool technique which I’ve used before but not on the album is using the random play feature on minidisc to play samples in a completely new way.
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What are some of the challenges and rewards of being an anonymous electronic artist?
That’s difficult for me to answer as all I’m really focussed on is making the music. I don’t see any challenges and the reward is intrinsic to the production.
Thanks again for talking to us, is there anything else youâd like to share?
Yeah, thanks for getting in contact, whilst the album is coming soon and be good to get it out, but as I’ve touched on the main thing for me is staying creative; whether that be music, words or art – so I’ll share that in whatever format.
