Elkka announces DJ-Kicks mix, shares new single 'Hands'

Elkka has announced her forthcoming DJ-Kicks series, set for release on April 26, and is celebrating the occasion by heading on a run of shows after the drop.

Accompanying the news lands one of two new originals from the artist on the record, 'Hands', which is available to listen to now. It employs rolling hi-hats and is more uplifting than sister track 'Body', which will be shared upon the full DJ-Kicks release.

“You need both sides to everything," Elkka notes. "I wanted to write music that moves you and instantly evokes feeling. I’ve never connected with music that feels sonically ‘cold’ to me. That's not to say that warmth is always joyful, either – warmth can be anything that pulls you in, making you feel a connection.”

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The full record is set to journey through Chicago house, disco, leftfield techno and UK bass plus helpings of electro-punk. It's a club-ready record from the outset and throughout, with Elkka's thought so detailed on the mix that even the track's titles contribute meaning to the release.

“I use track titles to communicate feelings," she explains on the decision to include Shake's 1978 'Music Is The Only Way (I Can Communicate)' in the mix. "Often, I can’t verbally express how I feel, but through music, I can."

Elkka has also commissioned originals from artists she admires to add euphoric rave energy into the mix: Breaka contributes a cut which deploys drum 'n' bass breaks over syncopated synths and Villager draws in 303 sounds swirling around a four-to-the-floor beat. Also of note is experimental producer Herbert's contribution, which adds a nostalgic element for both Elkka and undoubtedly the mix's listeners:

“The vocals in it sound like Britney or Timbaland, who I obsessed over growing up," she says on the percussive track which is overlayed by a pitch-altered pop vocal. "To have Herbert involved is like all my worlds in the naughties colliding at once.

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“This is a really special moment for me because DJ-Kicks has been a formative part of my musical education,” she adds on being asked to contribute to the series. It meanders around trusting your own feelings and working intuitively, also embodying a message of self-acceptance and community building for the LGBTQ+ community and women. Both Carli and Surusinghe feature on the record: “Women’s voices and queer voices are very important to me. They always find their way into everything I do really naturally."

You can pre-order Elkka's DJ-Kicks series and purchase tickets to her forthcoming headline shows here.

Niamh Ingram is Mixmag's Weekend Editor, follow her on Twitter