Ehua Mixx
London based Italian-Ivorian Producer and DJ Ehua has been taking the UK music scene by storm for a number of years. Following her debut on London based label Femme Culture ‘Diplozoon’, Ehua continued their strong string of releases from Nervous Horizon to Orphan Records: a string of releases which, over the years, has accompanied playing at some of the biggest UK clubs and festivals.
In 2019 Ehua soundtracked 'M I R R O R S', a live audio/visual dance performance that toured across Africa in association with ‘GRIOT’ the online magazine that Ehua co-runs with Johanne Affricot and Eric Otieno. GRIOT’s main focus is to amplify contemporary culture, arts, music and style from Africa and the African diaspora.
Ehua’s connection to the music is clear to see and it runs heavily through everything that they are involved in. Their own sonics are a hybrid of beautiful African percussion and rhythms fused with hypnotic minimal techno, and the driving movement in the music means that throughout Ehua’s sets and productions it is almost impossible to dance.
We are honoured to welcome Ehua to Origins Tapes and talk to them about their music.
Tracklist
Bjork - My Spine (Evelyn Glennie remix)
Matthew Herbert - It's Only (DJ Koze Remix)
Madga - Staring Contest
Dubfire - Rib
Tania Vulcano & Tatto - Wayna
Kode9 Vs. LD - 2 bad
Objekt - Unglued
Hellen Allien - Bim
Loco DIce - Orchidee
Corona - Get Up and Boogie
Pinch - Search Party
Joy Orbison - So Derobe
Untold - Purify
Blawan - Iddy
Icicle - Galacticstep
Martyn - Vancouver
Instra:mental - No Future
Skeptical & dBridge - Poor & Poverty
Om Unit + Sam Binga - Electric Riddim
Dub Phizix Ft. Fox - Never Been
Fracture & Neptune - Clissold
Portico Quartet - Trace
The Cut Deepens feat. Foreign Beggars
Paradox - Ghost Notes
Little Dragon - Feather
Hey Ehua, thanks so much for being a part of Origins Tapes!
Thank you! :)
You are a great DJ and producer with a very distinctive blend of influences in your music. Can you tell us a bit about the origins of your sound?
The origins of my sound lie in a very eclectic array of genres and sounds from dance music, to jazz and pop, soul, RnB, hip hop etc. I grew up listening to my dad jamming and improvising over reggae tunes in the house - he still does that! I would be singing and dancing to his vinyl collection, which included such a broad range of artists and genres from Miriam Makeba, to Roy Parker Jr., Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, lots of rhythm blues and gospel. In general, if I was not at school or at a friend’s house, I would be glued to MTV.
However, dance and electronic music have always been there too, even before I started clubbing. Fun fact: the first tape cassette I received as a present at the age of five or six was Corona’s “The Rhythm of The Night” - I’ve included a song from that record in the mix too. I’ve always loved dancing, even though I didn’t do much dance training, it is a second language to me, one of the things that I find more natural. That got me into exploring a lot of electronic but also experimental sounds, from Polar Bear to Aphex Twin, Bjork, Thom Yorke, Portishead, Lamb, and ultimately opened so many new sonic dimensions for me during my teenage years.
You moved to London in 2009 from your original home of Italy, growing up going to nights and raves in Italy what influence did this have on you as an artist today?
My love for the club was born when I was a teenager. The friends I used to hang out with at the time were slightly older than me and they were obsessed with techno and minimal techno. The techno scene was thriving at the time and the lineups were insane. I used to work as a dance instructor back then, and every week I’d spent all my money to get tickets to see Ricardo Villalobos, Madga, Tania Vulcano, Richie Hawtin, Dubfire and many more gigs in Tuscany and sometimes other regions too. I had no clue at the time I was going to become a DJ and a producer myself, but in retrospect, it definitely had a huge influence.
How did the move to London further influence your sound?
I had already been a huge fan of the UK sound for some time, but when I finally moved here I completely fell in love with broken beats and the stomach twisting bass. At the time, I was only making beats on this BeatMaker app I had on my iPod, but I do feel all of these influences act like reminisces that make their way into my tracks and compositions all the time.
How would you describe your sound as an artist?
Groovy, dark, essential, sometimes minimalistic; a blend of very material and ethereal sonic elements, where space and silence are as impactful as sound itself.
Before lockdown you composed the soundtrack for a multidisciplinary performance that you toured with across Senegal, Ethiopia and SA, how was this experience for you and do you have plans to compose more in the future?
Yes, I’d absolutely love to do it again. It was an amazing experience, both on an artistic and personal level. I composed the soundtrack layering improv sessions I recorded during the dancers’ rehearsals, it was a beautiful creative process and we had dancers from local dance companies taking part in our show, which ended up creating a unique performance in each place we toured. Also, it was my first time visiting sub-Saharan Africa and it was just mind blowing, and it was amazing to do it with my GRIOT family.
Other than DJing and production, you are partner of the GRIOT collective and editor-at-large at GRIOTmag, which is a creative and cultural platform focusing on the arts, music and humanities from the African diaspora. What drove you to start it and how important is it for you to connect and celebrate the arts?
Art and music have always been my reference point, my safe space, my compass to navigate and understand the world outside of the small provincial town I grew up in. They played a huge role for me as I was growing up because they gave me alternative narratives, role models and ideas that I could not see or find around me - cause there was nobody like me at school, in the street, on TV (at least not in Italy).
Things are changing, but representation is key, and unfortunately in Italy, the debate around this crucial topic is still far behind compared to other places. That’s also how my journey at GRIOT started. Writing has always been another passion of mine, so when Johanne Affricot, the founder and creative director of GRIOT, reached out to me and shared her vision, I knew I had to get on board. I knew this was the way to challenge the obsolete mainstream narratives which shape social dynamics in Italy and to give a platform to all those artists, to all those role models I wanted to see as I was growing up.
What are you most excited to do post-lockdown?
I can’t wait to be able to travel again and see my friends and family abroad, to tour again, do residencies, and of course, I can’t wait to see our scene, all the artists that have very often been “left alone” during these hard times, thrive again.
Can you describe your ideal club night?
The one where I can just dance all night. No distractions.
What is next for Ehua?
I have three upcoming releases, including my next EP on Nervous Horizon, which I am very excited about. I’m also working on a very special project at the moment which I’ll reveal more details about very soon. Then hopefully, more music for films and artistic projects, we’ll see what life brings!
Follow Ehua —
Interview by @lcy__________