Q+A: Idris Elba

Idris Elba has played some of the coolest characters in film and TV. From icy drug baron Stringer Bell in The Wire, to flawed maverick detective John Luther, by way of Nelson Mandela in 2013 biopic Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Elba really has got to play some cool cats in his time. But even with this roster of characters under his belt, in real life Idris gives any of them a run for their money in the kudos stakes.

Whether he’s taking time out from his acting schedule to DJ at festivals like Glastonbury, Creamfields and Snowbombing, heading to South Africa to record a companion album for the Mandela film with British and South African musicians, or giving Liam Gallagher a taste of his own medicine (he upset him by giving his hair a ruffle at an awards ceremony), whatever Elba’s up to, it’s usually got ‘cool as fuck’ written all over it. We caught up with him when he took some time out from filming Stephen King adaptation The Dark Tower in South Africa to find out about his plans to take a year out to concentrate solely on music, why he’s more than a celebrity DJ and who from the world of music he’d like to have a go at playing on screen.

You’ve been building a career as a DJ for the last few years. Do you get stressed about it or is it purely fun?

In America I’d just have fun. I’d walk into r’n’b clubs and play a set and just enjoy it. Then when I came back to London three or four years ago, I was doing a lot of celebrity DJ gigs as everyone was still buzzing off The Wire. I didn’t really enjoy it that much as it was a lot of people standing around watching me rather than enjoying the music. In the last few years, I’ve made a bit more of a career choice out of it and really focused in on where I want to be as a DJ. I play house, I play bass house and tech-house. I’ve become a bit more picky, but it hasn’t necessarily been easy. It was a couple of years before Pacha let me do a warm-up set, and I know DJs work their lifetime to get in Pacha.

When did you make the change?

One of the first more high-profile gigs I did was IMS a few years ago. Pete Tong and Hot Since 82 were on the bill. All of the industry were there watching, and I was sweating my bollocks off! I’ve always had good taste in music, but DJing for two hours in front of people who know what they’re talking about – that’s a different skill altogether. I definitely did get nervous then. I’m a lot more confident now in what I’m doing.

You’ve done some big festival gigs since then...

Yeah, I played Glastonbury last year. It was the first time I’d even been down to the festival. That was a massive transition point. At the start, I’d say it was eighty per cent people who had turned up out of curiosity, and twenty per cent who had heard me spin before. The tent holds about 2,500 people and at the start, there were about 4,500 there. By the end there were still 3000 there and we went at it! Winning people over’s half of the fun.

What records are smashing it for you at the minute?

I’m really liking Michael Wood’s ’Take My Love’. At the height of my set, I throw that in because it’s got an old sample in it that people love. And there’s a tune called ‘Ingwenyu’ I’m playing a lot. It starts off really easy and then drops into this anthemic marimba, xylophone lead.

You grew up in Hackney. What were your early clubbing experiences in London like?

I used to go to a lot of jungle raves like Jungle Fever and Roast. Jungle was my first real raving experience. I’d go to The Fridge sometimes to see Tim Westwood play, and then a little bit later, when I was about 17 or 18 and I’d started DJing, I’d got to more reggae and r’n’b clubs in Hackney like Shenola and Oasis.

What did you play back then?

I used to be in a soundsystem. I was the r’n’b and upfront guy in the soundsystem. I used to play r’n’b, swing, hip hop – a lot of American import stuff like Run DMC and KRS-One. Then when I was about 19 or 20 I started to play a bit more house and jungle.

What were your ‘rescue the dancefloor’ records back then?

‘Apparently Nothing’ by The Young Disciples, ‘So You Like’ by Samuel – I always used to play that. And anything by Biggie Smalls used to go off. Even really early Biggie went off. And ‘Cross The Track (We Better Go Back)’ by Maceo. There were one or two staples that you always knew would work.

You’ve started a project called Hiatus...

Yeah, very cleverly titled as you can see! I’ve done a couple of mixtapes and EPs before, I’ve done the Mandela album and the Luther album, but this is the first thing where I’m concentrating on house music. This is geared towards me as a DJ. The idea is I want to take a whole year out of acting and do a worldwide DJ tour and ‘Hiatus’ will be the record that supports that. The idea is to do an EP first and then the album will come out.

And you’re working with Pete Tong on this?

Yeah, Pete did a re-edit on a tune called ‘Spectacle’ that I’m going to drop very soon [on Mixmag’s Apple Music]. It’s a big tune, man! I just played it at Snowbombing and it went down really well.

Where did the idea of doing the Mandela and Luther albums come from?

I’m always trying to figure out ways I can express myself musically. When I’m acting, I really step into the character and if I can add a musical edge to that, I think it deepens the experience. For the audience, I think it deepens things if they can watch the film and then listen to ‘Mi Mandela’ too, then watch the documentary of me making the album.

You’ve played real-life figures like Nelson Mandela before, but is there anyone from the world of music you’d like to play?

Thelonious Monk. He was a legendary jazz musician. When jazz was popular in the early 50s, Monk came along and just did something weird with it and everyone was like, ‘he’s a bit odd’. He had mental health issues he didn’t realise he had for a long time, but he was an absolute genius because he just came in and broke all the rules. He was kind of like the Skrillex of his day. You know when Sonny came out and just DJ’d a different way to everyone else? When he’s nutting it out playing a bit of d’n’b, a bit of dubstep and everyone’s going ‘what the front door?’ Monk was a bit like that. I’m interested in the idea of someone battling mental health but being able to express himself with music. You know, the last ten years of his life, he never touched a piano again.

Idris Elba plays Eastern Electrics on August 6

Sean Griffiths is Mixmag's News Editor, follow him on Twitter