On Saturday, February 24th, 2024, I had the opportunity of interviewing Elephante when he made his stop here in downtown Toronto at the The Forbidden City for his Elephante North America Tour. With his love for music, Elephante followed his passion for music and pursued his career as a producer and artist, thus coming out with three albums and playing at many events such as Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC).
Elephante, also known as Tim Wu, is an American DJ, producer, and musician. He gained popularity with his remixes of popular songs and his original tracks in the electronic dance music (EDM) genre. Elephante's music is characterized by catchy melodies, energetic beats, and a blend of various electronic styles. He has released several successful singles and EPs, and his live performances are known for their high energy and crowd engagement. Overall, Elephante is recognized as a talented artist making waves in the EDM scene with his unique sound and captivating performances.
With a full moon in effect that night, we had support from Twlight, DeeCee and Zo for a bass heavy night at The Forbidden City. Right before Elephante went on, I had the opportunity of having a nice chat with Tim for an interview and boy did we have a lot to chat about. Haha. Here’s the interview and I hope y’all enjoy it!
THE INTERVIEW!
Can you tell us about yourself and where did you get the name Elephante?
E: I've been producing and DJing for over 10 years now and the name Elephante came from before I was making music full-time, I had a corporate job. I hated it and was making music on the side while leaving work early to do so. And so, the elephant in the room was that I wanted to quit my job and become an artist, so it was about quitting my job and embracing the elephant in the room and becoming the Elephante.
Are elephants your favorite animal?
E: They're actually not, it’s actually penguins. But I do like elephants.
For your latest song “Leave The Ground” with Amber Liu, how was that making the song with your friend?
E: It's amazing, Amber's a dear friend of mine, she's a homie. We met playing Valorant and we just started chatting and we're like hey, do you want to make some music together? I had this idea for a ballad that I wanted to do as a duet and she's amazing, so we got together in the studio and wrote out this song and it was really fun working with her. She's awesome and she's such a goofball. And yeah, I’m happy with how it turned out and I think it's one of the most like heart-wrenching songs that I've ever made.
Off the top of your head, what was your favourite memory of being a DJ or producer?
E: Man, there's been so many but probably my peak moment was playing mainstage EDC. That's one of those things where it's you're like oh shit, I actually made it. It’s great and the views crazy from up there and there’s people as far as you can see and it's very surreal, but it's like you know it's one of those experiences where like very few people get to do this so you just want to really soak it in. I blacked out the whole time I was I there. There was just so much adrenaline. I look back at photos and I'm like I did that? That's crazy!
For your set tonight, are we going to have some twinkle-twinkle little star dubstep?
E: That was kind of a meme that I was just messing around for fun, so probably no twinkle-twinkle dubstep tonight. But that was like a couple hour experiment in the studio just for fun and yeah, I like doing goofy shit like that from time to time.
Aside from DJing and music production, what do you like to do on your time off? I know that Valorant is one now.
E: My game of choice is actually Apex, but I like to play pickup basketball. I got a dog a couple years ago so I do a lot of hiking and walking, he’s a husky mix. I just picked up carpentry so I'm starting to build a studio in my garage while learning how to cut wood. It’s nice to get out of the house and do something that’s not related to music, just to get a little palette cleanser. I mean it’s fun, working with my hands is a fun thing.
Who are some producers or DJs you look up to? Even artists.
E: Growing up, my idol was John Mayer, I know he’s not a DJ but he was the artist that made me want to make music. And then once I fell in love with electronic music, it’d be Skrillex, Porter Robinson, and Avicii. Nowadays I love Rufus and Odesza. Just any kind of electronic music with some heart and melodic soul and some real emotion in it. Seven Lions of course. Strangers by Seven Lions is one of my favourite songs of all time.
Are there any producers or DJs you hope to collab with in the future?
E: Yeah, I just launched an artist collective and label. I have another song with Sabai coming out in a couple weeks. And we’re working with a bunch of really cool artists on the label, it's very much a homie crew. There are guys like Hoang and Yetep. It’s called Hidden Horizons and we’re launching it at Miami Music Week in a few weeks with our very first event. And we’re going to put out some music along with it. So, I’m really excited for it.
Are there any up-and-coming producers or DJs in your opinion who are making the waves in the scene right now?
E: I mean I just mentioned a bunch of them. Sabai’s killing it, I’m very excited especially for the next generation of Asian-American artists because coming up for me. I was the one of the few people doing it. But now, I feel that the generational waves are changing and there’s a lot of young talented Asian-American producers I think are super talented. There’s this girl Chyl who’s making really dope music right now, very excited, very cool and very fresh. She’s awesome.
Aside from Hidden Horizons, are there any projects that you might be working on that you can tell your followers about?
E: Hidden Horizons is the big one, we’re launching this label and collective. And I have a ton of music associated with it coming out, and that's the big move for me this year. You know, staying on tour, playing a bunch of shows and doing some more events along with that. Planning a lot of big stuff for that. But as for albums, you’ll have to stay tuned though, my vision is to put out a collective album, the label, I want it to be very collaborative and very community driven. My goal and my dream is to put together a big album with my friends. It’s totally more fun that way.
Are you going to have any new merch coming out soon?
E: Yeah, I have a new jersey drop coming very soon and we’re getting some Hidden Horizon merch made as well. It is coming very soon, I might be leaking but I haven’t announced this yet, but we do have a Dynasty Season jersey coming, it got some really cool designs.
I just wanted to say, so previously with my interview with Sabai. Before, I didn’t know that you actually sang most of your songs. So, I’m very impressed, you’re very musically talented considering you play the keys, the guitars and sing your own songs. Not a lot of DJs and producers do that themselves.
E: Yeah, I mean it’s fun and that’s how I started my career in music, by writing songs, singing and playing open mic. I have a little bit of a different background than a lot of other producers. It’s just one of those things where you’re always looking for ways to make your songs unique and when I look inside, it's like what really makes me me, that’s a big part of it.
I know that you’ve also worked with a lot of other artists as well, like Haliene is one of them. Are you slowly drifting towards more melodic bass or dubstep?
E: Yeah I'm always experimenting with new things you know, early on in my career, I didn't do a lot of collabs because I always was pretty stubborn and very specific in what I wanted and I felt like I wanted to prove something, that there's a vision that I wanted to present and now that I've been around for a while and put out a lot of music. I feel like I don't really have anything to prove anymore. It’s more like working with other artists that are doing cool stuff and just having fun with it.
Yeah cause you even have a new song with Beauz which was Right Before Our Eyes. We had them play here in Toronto not long ago as well.
E: Yeah, they're homies too and they're making some cool music as well, but that was a cool club banger bouncy house song that we did and it's just like you know making music with friends and trying on new sounds.
Aside from that, I’m going to say. I love your remix for Starbright by Dabin. That guitar solo near the end is too good.
E: Dabin’s a homie and he’s also an unbelievable guitarist, I remember being like I love this song but I wanted to hit it a little harder, so I think I might have hit him up and went like “Yo, can I remix this” so that was a really fun one to make and I was really stoked how that one came out.
Aside from having the Asian-American DJ producers coming out. I’m surprised there’s a lot of you guys that play the guitar too. There’s Dabin, Sabai, Hoang and you, that’s actually a good amount.
E: Hey man, we were all music nerds at one point, like playing piano, with our parents teaching us. So, you know, we got to come back around somehow.
Put it to good use! -laughs-
E: Yeah, exactly. -laughs-
LIGHTNING ROUND
Day or Night? Night, when I was younger, it was definitely night, but now that I have a dog, I have to be awake during the day. I got to get up early. So, I definitely trend towards the night but in reality, I’m more maybe a day person.
Piano or Guitar? I’m going to have to go with the guitar. I started with piano, but the guitar is where I fell in love with writing music. Yeah, the guitar is perfect instrument, you can get harmony, you can get chords, you can get leads, you can get rhythm. It’s just good stuff.
Coffee or Tea? Coffee, for sure, every day, every morning to start off the day.
House or Trance? House
Dubstep or Drum & Bass? Oooh, for most of my life dubstep, but right now, probably drum and bass. I'm into drum and bass right now.
Tech or Psytrance? Psytrance, psytrance is fun, I can’t do extended periods of it but when you get a little taste of psytrance, you get that energy.
Cold or Hot? Hot. I live in LA.
Dogs or Cats? Dogs, big dog guy.
Rare, Med-Rare or Well-Done for steaks? Oh, med-rare. I can’t respect anyone that has well-done steaks.
Following the lightning round, Tim and I got to chat around some more, I brought up the part about how my good friend was so sad Elephante couldn’t make it to Escapade Music Festival last year and for this booking we had here in Toronto, she couldn’t make it this time. Well, to anyone excited to see Elephante as much as my friend, Escapade was the first event Elephante ever missed. Tim said that it was such a bummer, he was at the airport and with the flight delays and the final arrival time, he was going to miss his connecting flight to Ottawa. There was just no way to get to Ottawa in time, which was tough, and he felt really bad. Which is why he came to play in Toronto.
Tim even messaged my friends that were excited to see him at Escapade to let them know he was coming to Toronto! So honestly, respects to you Tim because that’s how fans and I feel your passion and love towards music and your fans. To anyone else excited to see Elephante perform sometime, just know that he definitely wants to make it up to everyone. So hopefully we’ll have Elephante back in Toronto again soon, perhaps with the Hidden Horizons crew! Like Tim said, that would be a vibe!
As for his set after the interview. Man was that a good set! Tim went off starting his set with an intro version of “Dynasty” into “Closer” which is my most favourite song by Elephante. He even played and sang “Strangers” by Seven Lions too which we spoke about during the interview. As for songs from his three albums “I Am The Elephante”, “Glass Mansion” and “Heavy Glow”, he crushed it as the Elephante he is with mixing in his own edited versions of the songs while mixing in some dubstep, psytrance, a lot of live singing to even “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” by Green Day into a drum and bass drop. I really didn't see that coming. Omg. LOL.
Surely, we can’t forget songs like “Right Before Our Eyes” with Beauz to “Love Again” with Sabai to even his newest release “Say It Like You Mean It” with Sabai and Olivia Ray. As for the last song of the night. Elephante closed off with “Dynasty” which got the crowd jumping. Can I say, throughout my 14 years of raving. I’ve never seen a DJ sing so much in my life. So wow, that was truly a very special night. Thank you for that and the opportunity to conduct a very fun interview with you Tim!
I can’t wait till you come back to Toronto soon! Fingers crossed that you’re going to bring Hidden Horizons to us! 😊
Don’t forget to follow Elephante on his socials!
Thanks for reading!
-Keith Au aka Keyfu.
This event was brought to you by IntoK Entertainment, Electric Escape and Elephante with his Dynasty Season at The Forbidden City.
Don’t forget to check out the full video interview below! :)
