Elif is the Very Bestiary

Elif is the Very Bestiary: Turkish born, Barcelona based Elif started DJing around 2016 when she learned how to use CDJs.

“Now as I answer this interview I went all the way back on my Soundcloud and my first mix is from 10 years ago,” she says. “It wasn’t a DJ mix or a genre that we can call electronic music but more like a mixtape of my favorite music. It’s not really DJing but it’s still selecting and mixing music. But if we need to go back, I come from a generation that used to record music on tapes from the radio and make ‘mixtapes’ to loved ones. I learned to use the decks in 2016 and in 2017 I decided I wanted to do this full time. In 2018 I started learning production and for me if I like something everything can be ‘serious’. From party girl to producer I remember skipping going to Tulum in 2019 and focusing on producing music that resulted in me releasing my first music ever. Then the pandemic happened and even the lockdowns couldn’t make me stop from playing music and I started doing live streams which at the end made it possible for me to tour a lot when the world opened up.”

When asked to describe her sound, Elif says that she’d prefer to play a DJ set.

“It’s really difficult to describe the sound and also it really depends on the setting,” she says. “But if I’m playing a club after-hours, my sound is usually dark and deep yet groovy. Sunrise, sunset, daytime or outdoor sets can be more fun compared to what I play in a club. The genres I release and buy are usually deep and melodic techno and house, indie dance and electronica and sometimes even afro house and more.”

Elif recently released the “Your Body” single from her own VA Compilation Bestiary Vol. 1. She plays Ride The Vibe at Six Flags Magic Mountain on March 16.

“I used to play Rollercoaster Tycoon a lot which was a game like Simcity but for a Six Flags Theme Park,” she sys. “In my first long stay in L.A. I went to Six Flags and I already knew all the rides and attractions from the game and I had the best time. Rasa is the fist crew to book me in L.A. and even tho I never played for them again until now we became really good friends and they supported me when I played in Coachella, Crssd, Burning Man, Miami and more. They always create unique experiences and concepts for their event and even tho music is the center they can sell out events even before announcing the DJ because they also have a very cool community who trusts them. So this combination of Six Flags and Rasa is just gonna be magical. The closest to this once I played inside an arcade for Blondish’s Abracadabra party in Miami. It was mind-blowing so I think a backdrop with rollercoasters is just a dream come true.”

The artist has mixed feelings about the state of electronic music today.

“For me nowadays it feels like it’s a bit too much about visuals and social media and less about music discovery,” she says. “I see more and more huge events with less and less real connection and a lot of phones. But I don’t wanna be an old grumpy person complaining about these things. I hope and think underground will survive.”

Looking ahead, Elif has plenty planned for 2024.

“This Six Flags show in L.A. is part of a big spring tour that starts at SXM Festival and goes to the US and Mexico and then back to the Middle East, some Asia Shows and then South America,” she says. “In summer I will still have a short visit to the US but I hope to be mostly around Europe.”

Elif is the Very Bestiary: Ride the Vibe takes place at Six Flags on March 16.

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