IN CONVERSATION WITH ELNINODIABLO
Interview by Samo Šajn
Elninodiablo is a Berlin based producer and DJ, creating warm, soulful electronic music that moves between dub, disco and psychedelia. After years of shaping dancefloors from Cyprus to London, he is now best known in Berlin as the force behind Lunchbox Candy. With his debut album The Downey Groove, he shares his most personal and expressive work to date.
The Downey Groove is your most personal release yet. What makes it different from your earlier music?
I allowed myself to be totally free throughout the creative process, free from expectations of delivering a specific sound or concept that would be marketable and digestible for the masses.
When I started recording, there was no intention other than being completely present and absorbed in the creative process. What surprises me is that I did not set out to record an actual album. I found myself in this beautifully wide open and curious state of experimentation and playfulness that ended up being a deeply transformative experience. Reverse engineering the final result revealed that there was indeed a process unravelling, but I could only understand that afterwards.
You wrote much of the album alone in the mountains of Cyprus. How did being in that environment shape the sound?
That is the ideal environment for me to be in creative mode, with no distractions and surrounded by nature. The softness and beauty of the environment became the energetic container I was held in, and it inspired me to approach the process as pure play time.
You have said your music starts in the body, not the mind. Can you describe a moment when that really guided a track?
Most of my music starts with an impulse in the body, a felt sense rather than a thought out narrative. When I follow that impulse, I am guided to create based on what resonates with how I am feeling, or sometimes it is guided by an aspirational state of being I would like to reach when I listen back to the music. You could say it is akin to energetic channelling that guides my choices and decision making when creating.
Lunchbox Candy has become one of Berlin’s most talked about queer parties. How does the energy of that night feed into your music?
My last EP, Infinitely Venus, and the remixes that followed were definitely inspired by Lunchbox Candy. The fearlessness, experimentation and dancefloor euphoria that come from the night create the perfect fertiliser and motivation for creative fuel.
How do you want people to feel on the dancefloor when they hear this album?
I hope people will slow down and find the time and space to give the album a close, proper listen with an open mind and open heart. It is an experience rather than something you just have playing in the background. It is impossible to know how the album will be received, but I hope it can ignite inspiration and take people on an inward journey.
Your sound blends dub, disco, psychedelia and more. How do you keep such different influences feeling connected?
I feel like all of these genres share a common principle: music for the body and senses, music that envelops you and takes you on a journey. There is a multitude of sounds, genres and artists that move and inspire me, and I could never narrow myself into one genre. I would say the connective tissue is the source and the filter of all the creative choices I make.
You have done pirate radio, DJ’d in London, worked in PR, and now you produce. How have those experiences shaped your approach to music today?
I have been exposed to such diverse experiences, musical eras and different scenes over the years. As a DJ and music enthusiast, I have collected and listened to countless hours of music. All of that has been accumulating and germinating in my subconscious, becoming a library of sounds I can draw from.
With The Downey Groove out in the world, what are you focusing on next?
There is a new EP called A Universe Inside which will follow straight after the album, probably in early 2026, and I have already recorded enough new material for my next album, which I hope will be out before the end of next year.
