Mor Elian (Interview)

Today we’re listening to Mor Elian, an electronic musician based in Berlin. She grew up in Tel Aviv and then studied art in LA, where she got into music production.¹ She moved to Berlin in 2015, immersing herself in the club scene there, and began to produce techno. We’re playing her 2018 EP, Fairplex Drive, which favors a stripped-down, acid-inflected style of dance music. Her latest record, Solid Space, is her first LP and drops out the drums. It’s mostly ambient, though many subgenres make an appearance, and was composed over the course of her pregnancy. A conversation with Mor follows the streaming links.

Solid Space - Mor Elian (42m, vocal pulsations on tracks 4 and 8)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Bandcamp / Tidal

Fairplex Drive - Mor Elian (26m, no vocals)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Bandcamp / Tidal

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What’s your earliest memory of music?

One of my earliest memories of music is my mom driving me around, listening to the same cassette tapes on repeat in her car. I was always into how the music would stop when we parked and then continue from the exact same spot when we came back, like it had been waiting. That sense of continuity really stuck with me.

Another vivid memory is a cab ride with my sister on the way to a friend’s house. She insisted I wear a coat that looked good but felt completely uncomfortable. Very on brand for her lol. Kate Bush’s “Babushka” was playing, a song that was deeply loved in our household, and I still remember that moment clearly, with the car, the music, it’s embedded deep in my memory.

How did you start making music, and what were your first recordings like?

I started making music in college, taking a few classes, and honestly I was pretty bad at first. I didn’t really know what I was doing. Around that time, I did some recording vocals for friends in a very informal, amateur way, which quietly planted a seed. I was also part of an alternative choir in LA.

I only started taking music seriously over a decade ago. One of my first meaningful recordings was a tape jam with SFV Acid in Los Angeles, where he introduced me to some interesting gear. Those early recordings weren’t polished, they were more about experimentation and learning than finished results.

Who were the artists that originally inspired your sound, and how did you discover them?

A lot of my influence comes from nostalgia. I grew up surrounded by dance music through my older sisters, so when I started producing it felt very intuitive, like it was already in me. As I began djing more seriously, I got deep into Chicago house and Detroit techno, which really shaped how I think about structure and atmosphere. On top of that, ’90s Warp-era IDM had a big impact, especially artists who pushed electronic music into more abstract territory.

Many of your previous records are techno, while Solid Space has more ambient or drumless tracks. Tell us about that turn.

I’ve always listened to a lot of different music, but electronic music is what I naturally gravitate toward making. Taking drums out doesn’t feel like moving away from the genre, just away from the dancefloor. With Solid Space, the focus was on letting ideas come through freely, without worrying about club expectations or genre boundaries.

Tell us about your studio setup for Solid Space.

A lot of it was made with my Elektron Digitone and Elektron Model:Cycles, which I use heavily when sketching ideas. The rest was done in the box. I’ve developed my own methods for sequencing, manipulating, and reshaping sounds, and that workflow has become more important to me than any specific piece of gear.

How do you find new music these days?

Mostly through Bandcamp. It’s my happy place, where I can easily disappear into long rabbit holes, and Discogs same thing. I do try my best to go and support record stores too.

Name an underrated artist from the past 50 years.

Hmm, David Sylvian, especially his post-Japan work. I’m not sure he’s truly underrated, but that period definitely deserves more attention, some really forward thinking collabs he did.

What are you working on next?

I’m just making music and seeing what happens! :))

1. The Vinyl Factory