The Element is a household name when it comes melodic house and techno music. Although he originally comes from the small island of Malta, he is well known in all four corners of the world thanks to a career that started in the early nineties and continues apace right up to the present day.
His profile has a huge boost internationally after his track Judgment Day was played in almost every Tale Of Us gig around the globe in 2019, while live he has performed alongside some of the biggest names in electronic music including Tale of Us, Mind Against, Matthew Johnson, Richie Hawtin, John Digweed, Green Velvet, Sasha, Dixon, DJ Tennis, Art Department to name a few.
He is also well known for his huge Cosa Nostra events in Malta: a Sunday night concept which is arguably Malta’s single biggest electronic music event.
Hi Sean, thank you for taking the time to chat with us today! How has the year been treating you so far?
It has been a great start and a lot of travelling. The latest project I was part of has been announced. Me and some of the talented Artists have worked on a V/A project for Zamna Records, “Sound of Jungle”, which I am very happy about. If this year will continue this way, then I have a very good feeling about it.
Where do you think the impulse to create music comes from for you?
Since I was young, music has always been part of my daily life. One way or another I knew I will do something related to it. First step was to have my own events ion Malta, however I always knew that I wanted to work on my own music and give a different kind of experience to people.
You hail from Malta, what was the local scene like there when you were coming up?
Everything started with the days of having our events in Malta – Cosa Nostra was a place to call home for many Artists: Tale of Us, Mind Against, Richie Hawtin, John Digweed, Dixon… which started more than 10 years ago. The local scene had a lot to offer to people and it inspired me to move towards my own career of music making.
Is emotion an important part of your music-making process? Or are you more driven by function in the studio?
Everything starts with the function and ends up being driven by emotion. I believe it’s a combination of both…
Tell us about your current studio set up – any particular bits of go-to kit you find yourself returning to?
Nowadays I have been experimenting a lot with wave table digital synths, like Ana2. I blend it and make layers with the Arturia minibrute Analog synth and to excite some more, the frequencies of the leads, I am trying Slates Digital MOTT. These three layers are good for the leads and of course, creating the kick from scratch makes a better sound design and the signature of the Element.
Your latest single Upon Us – talk us through the process with this one…
Me and Amedeo were in the studio trying different things and making loops and at some point, I realized that we did something special. So, I searched for the perfect vocals and that’s how Upon Us came to life.
What are some of the things you learned from working with other artists throughout your career?
Everything I know, I thought myself. I think that’s what helped me discover my own sound. I get inspired by other Artists. To be more precise, I did follow Sasha and John Digweed mixing techniques. I also got a lot of inspiration from Life and Death and Afterlife.
Which artists are currently exciting you?
There are a lot of talented artists that I am interested but it constantly changes. It depends on the releases, the development of their sound etc. Examples like Tale of Us, DJ Tennis.. these artists will always be interesting.
What should we expect from you for the rest of 2023?
This year my plan is to work on a lot of music, tour… maybe an album. There are a lot of ideas and projects yet to be announced.