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̸BIOGRAPHY
Elninodiablo's sound is conceptual and experimental - fusing organic sounds, field recordings, live instrumentation with synths and drum machines. Converging his club and DJing background with music production techniques
Born on the beautiful but restless island of Cyprus, an environmentally idyllic place scarred by years of war, Stephanos Pantelas alias Elninodiablo began his journey in music collecting vinyl he would play on the airwaves of pirate radio stations. Though an inspirational crossroads of culture, Cyprus also proved to be rather unwelcoming towards LGBTQIA individuals, which soon prompted Stephanos to make the move to the ever effervescing city of London, whose electronic scene was booming in the mid-90s.
From small bills to top-of-the-range discos, his DJing skills soon earnt him a resident position in the booth of some of the hottest gay clubs of the time, including Turnmills, Fabric and Heaven. Joining forces with Alan X, El Nino Diablo soon tried his hand at the art of remixing with outstanding contributions for Grammy-nominated Mexican band Kinky and British soul singer Mica Paris. This knowledge in production and jockeying, Stephanos would soon put it to broader use through his own eponymous PR platform; representing the likes of Horse Meat Disco, Salsoul Records, Jocelyn Brown, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Mulatu Astatke, Tegan & Sara, !K7, Strut Records and many more over the years.
After eighteen years of grind in the English capital, time had come for Elninodiablo to explore new horizons. Packing his bags, Stephanos began the writing of a new chapter in his life. His sense-awakening voyage across the world took him to destinations as diverse as India, Nepal, Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, the US, Australia, New Zealand - where he got to live amongst intentional communities, looking to expand his vision and get more in-tune with nature. With the help of meditation, yoga and the therapeutic movement (5Rhythms, Movement Medicine) he found the second breath he desperately needed, triggering off a real creative rebirth as a result.
“When it comes to sound, I’m inspired by my natural surroundings and life experiences. I’m fascinated with how sound can be a lived-in encounter having transformative qualities for both the artist and the audience. I envision to create mini-worlds with each piece of music, transporting the listener into a journey that bridges the gap between the conscious and the unconscious.”
Settled-down in Berlin since 2016, Elninodiablo is further developing his music production skills at Catalyst Music, the creative arts & technology institute sheltered at the legendary Funkhaus studios. Taking cues from his traveling experiences, his sound has bloomed into an essentially versatile mosaic of sounds - deftly moving the cursor from hypnagogic dubs to hard-hitting club material, via downtempo electronica, easternmost-infused harmonics and weightlessly soulful hybrids spanning much more than traditional genres could encapsulate; evocative of broad visual expanses, from the vastness of desert scapes to the lush greenery of tropical jungles, and other dreamy interstates.
In addition to his solo musical projects, Elninodiablo is also part of 3-piece improvisation collective TMDG (The Most Dangerous Gay), which quite finely sums up his approach to sound and its aura: “With TMDG it’s like standing on the edge of a cliff - I love the thrill of free improvisation, feeding off my bandmates and the crowd’s energy to create something new and unexpected. I take these experiences in the studio with me and aim at creating from a point of not knowing. That’s where the magic happens.”
www.elninodiablo.com
https://soundcloud.com/elninodiablo
̸SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
ShadowPlay EP
Shadow Dancer (Remixes) - Perel, Queen Sudhara
Dreamweaving EP
Dorothea's Rainbow (Remixes) - Prins Thomas, Ray Mang, Perel, Elninodiablo
Into The Great Unknown EP
Lunchbox Candy / Let's Get Sleazy (Remixes) - The Emperor Machine, Each Other, Crate Classics, True Romantic, Elninodiablo
https://elninodiablo.bandcamp.com
Elninodiablo's sound is conceptual and experimental - fusing organic sounds, field recordings, live instrumentation with synths and drum machines. Converging his club and DJing background with music production techniques
Born on the beautiful but restless island of Cyprus, an environmentally idyllic place scarred by years of war, Stephanos Pantelas alias Elninodiablo began his journey in music collecting vinyl he would play on the airwaves of pirate radio stations. Though an inspirational crossroads of culture, Cyprus also proved to be rather unwelcoming towards LGBTQIA individuals, which soon prompted Stephanos to make the move to the ever effervescing city of London, whose electronic scene was booming in the mid-90s.
From small bills to top-of-the-range discos, his DJing skills soon earnt him a resident position in the booth of some of the hottest gay clubs of the time, including Turnmills, Fabric and Heaven. Joining forces with Alan X, El Nino Diablo soon tried his hand at the art of remixing with outstanding contributions for Grammy-nominated Mexican band Kinky and British soul singer Mica Paris. This knowledge in production and jockeying, Stephanos would soon put it to broader use through his own eponymous PR platform; representing the likes of Horse Meat Disco, Salsoul Records, Jocelyn Brown, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Mulatu Astatke, Tegan & Sara, !K7, Strut Records and many more over the years.
After eighteen years of grind in the English capital, time had come for Elninodiablo to explore new horizons. Packing his bags, Stephanos began the writing of a new chapter in his life. His sense-awakening voyage across the world took him to destinations as diverse as India, Nepal, Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, the US, Australia, New Zealand - where he got to live amongst intentional communities, looking to expand his vision and get more in-tune with nature. With the help of meditation, yoga and the therapeutic movement (5Rhythms, Movement Medicine) he found the second breath he desperately needed, triggering off a real creative rebirth as a result.
“When it comes to sound, I’m inspired by my natural surroundings and life experiences. I’m fascinated with how sound can be a lived-in encounter having transformative qualities for both the artist and the audience. I envision to create mini-worlds with each piece of music, transporting the listener into a journey that bridges the gap between the conscious and the unconscious.”
Settled-down in Berlin since 2016, Elninodiablo is further developing his music production skills at Catalyst Music, the creative arts & technology institute sheltered at the legendary Funkhaus studios. Taking cues from his traveling experiences, his sound has bloomed into an essentially versatile mosaic of sounds - deftly moving the cursor from hypnagogic dubs to hard-hitting club material, via downtempo electronica, easternmost-infused harmonics and weightlessly soulful hybrids spanning much more than traditional genres could encapsulate; evocative of broad visual expanses, from the vastness of desert scapes to the lush greenery of tropical jungles, and other dreamy interstates.
In addition to his solo musical projects, Elninodiablo is also part of 3-piece improvisation collective TMDG (The Most Dangerous Gay), which quite finely sums up his approach to sound and its aura: “With TMDG it’s like standing on the edge of a cliff - I love the thrill of free improvisation, feeding off my bandmates and the crowd’s energy to create something new and unexpected. I take these experiences in the studio with me and aim at creating from a point of not knowing. That’s where the magic happens.”
www.elninodiablo.com
https://soundcloud.com/elninodiablo
̸SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
ShadowPlay EP
Shadow Dancer (Remixes) - Perel, Queen Sudhara
Dreamweaving EP
Dorothea's Rainbow (Remixes) - Prins Thomas, Ray Mang, Perel, Elninodiablo
Into The Great Unknown EP
Lunchbox Candy / Let's Get Sleazy (Remixes) - The Emperor Machine, Each Other, Crate Classics, True Romantic, Elninodiablo
https://elninodiablo.bandcamp.com
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