Emilka - Fraîche Talent DJ FF#23
Emilka is a London based DJ, with a love for Cosmic Disco, Soulful House and Groovy Techno, She first started DJ-ing in 2009 in Thailand, before moving to Leeds where she played at venues and nights such as ‘Back To Basics’ ‘Flux’ and Distrikt bar. Then after moving down to London, quickly secured herself residencies at ‘Housewife’ ‘Pop On Over’ and ‘Disco Express’ as well as recently securing herself her SONILEX show on Soho Radio. We’re excited to have her come play as our Fraîche Talent DJ and had a quick chat with her before the event.
INTRODUCING EMILKA
Hey Emilka, thanks for having a little chat to us and for the spotify playlist (below!) So let's start at the humble beginning of your DJ life, how did you find yourself in Thailand and what made you take to the decks over there?
Hey! Well, one side of my family moved over, so I followed. Since then Thailand has become a very familiar territory for me, like another home. Taking on the decks was a natural thing to do for me as I loved music ( I made playlists for friends and listened to a lot of music in my teenage years) - my first pair of decks were the old skool Denon CDJS, DN-S3500 , which I damaged slightly (a much used flanger button came off) as I kept bringing them back and forth from Thailand in my suitcase. Love or obsession?!
I'll go with both! So tell us a bit about your time as a DJ in Leeds?
Oh, this is where I really honed the craft. I met some lifelong friends in Leeds and just got into the underground music scene over up naarth, which, as we know, is full of amazing club nights and parties - too many. I did also start up my own mini venture called Cafe Orange which was a mix of house and disco music - mainly balearic sounds. We played at venues such as the all mighty DISTRIKT BAR, which was a perfect fit for the chugging sounds of Cafe Orange.
There's Defo some great clubs up Naaath indeed, so when did you move down to London and what brought you this way?
I moved in January 2016, after a three month stint in Shanghai Djing at the Mandarin Oriental. I guess moving to London felt right, it was a natural thing to do after University in Leeds - London is home ground for me after all, it is where I was born. Nostalgia got the better of me.
Well London's a good place for DJ-ing for sure, and you’ve already made a decent mark and secured some pretty great sets, but what's been your highlight gig until now?
It had to be playing at the 02 academy (bar area) in Leeds with Carl Craig throwing shapes downstairs in the club. The whole party stayed upstairs to dance to our set ( b2b with Jasmin) - the basement club was left empty - sorry Carl :/
Haha poor Carl, that's a pretty great claim to fame though. Ok so tell us a little about your Sonilex show on Soho Radio?
I’ve always wanted to create a platform where I can just play the tunes that really resonate with me and can hopefully do with others too. Sonilex merged from Sonic Lexicon - I wanted to also make it a talking show (like Cris Coco’s Melodica) at first, but decided to go more of the music less chat avenue ( i h-a-t-e my voice). The time slot I currently have is 22:00- 23:00, so the music is more upbeat but still on the warm up side I guess. You can expect sounds that cover the cosmic disco, soulful house and groovy techno spectrum - imagine happy summers and cosy winters. Though I can also get into the darker sides of those genres, think Crazy P’s recent single from their new EP “Is this all it seems” - it all depends on mood and time.
We hear you’re also starting a new DJ alias called Blue Serena, tell us about that.
Blue Serena lets me explore softer, more ambient, slightly techno drenched, piano infused, euphoric, progressive sounds that I love listening to! It’s very chilled but I also plan to bring out some sets and productions that are slightly more upbeat, but still very atmospheric. Inspirations include Nils Frahm, Tosca, and Kaito.
And because it seems to have fingers in lots of musical pies, We also hear you also have your own female led DJ agency, tell us a little about this.
Yes, I run it alongside two female powerhouses , Klaudia Staniek and Catherine Hooper. We started it last year with the aim to bring out female talent across London at venues that are in the boutique to high-end markets. We predominantly work with hotels and bars, plus private functions. Our roster has Djs and amazing live musicians that play alongside each other.
That's pretty great and as you know, we're all about supporting Women here, so we salute that! Now back to your own Musical path, where would you like to see your DJ career take you?
I’d like to start focusing more on my production, I’m keen to nail the piano and start creating a pool of music I can call mine. I already have some but these are just touching the surface. I have remixed some amazing talents, artists such as Rookes and Ruth Royall, who I’m hoping to work with again very soon.
That sounds very exciting, we'll certainly keep a watchful eye on that! So finally, what musical treats can we expect from you on Sat 29th June at Fèmmme Fraîche?
Well, I’m in my favourite space (the bar) playing at a time slot most suited to my music, so it’s all going to be light groovy chugging sounds to pleasure your ears, with some classics thrown in for good measure ;)
Awesome, we're can't wait! So there you have it, get your sassy asses to the mothership Superstore on June 29th and come down early to catch Emilkas, Disco chuggers - listen below for a sample of her set and don't forget to support her by following her socials just below!
