Eliza
DJ
Eliza is an Irish DJ and resident of Dublin Digital Radio, Gash Collective and Lepton with an enviable collection of vinyl spanning all sorts of sounds from the dustiest corners of Discogs and beyond.
An avid crate digger, Liza’s sound leans towards the electro realm but her well-thumbed stacks of vinyl include acid, Detroit techno, EBM and a dash of weird noise. Her ‘Eliza’ radio show on DDR has acted as an outlet to hone her craft and experiment with genres to merge a myriad of kinetic sounds together over the course of an hour.
As a resident for the womxn & LGBTQ+ led platform for artists Gash Collective, and the electro collective Lepton, Eliza has played out across Ireland and has supported the likes of Radioactive Man, Elena Columbi, Bill Converse, SPFDJ as well as a set at Corsica Studios in London last year. She regularly plays alongside Gash founders ELLLL and Lolz and Lepton founder Ngoni Egan, each of whom are well-known producers and DJs in their own right. Bookings at multiple Irish festivals including Body and Soul, Electric Picnic and Open Ear have also showcased Eliza’s sound to a wider audience.
The below image was taken last year when going out to a sticky space down a laneway was probably taken for granted by a lot of us. Eliza shares why this memory resonates with her during lockdown…
Photo: Dylan Deally
Where was this photo taken and why did you choose it?
This image was taken at a Dublin Digital Radio Halloween party in a special place called Jigsaw – for anyone that has been to a party there knows how unique the atmosphere can be.
The line-up consisted of collaborative composition and performance from Dream Cycles and Sean Being followed by Thrust Collective’s Sohotsospicy, I had the honours of closing the night, the clocks had gone forward which meant I got to play for an extra hour or so, in total I played for 3 hours which is quite rare for Dublin. Ireland has some of the most archaic licensing laws in Europe, still operating under a theatre license, Give Us The Night (GUTN) is a campaign doing some powerful work to reform these laws for positive change. I packed a mixed bag of EBM/acid/electro, and it really went off, there was no holding back, (made special by lots of mates there). It just one of those nights where everything ran so smoothly, the decks, monitors were perfect…which enabled me to get completely in the zone.
What are you listening to at the moment if you’re working from home?
Like most, I’ve been off work, but it’s given me time to catch up on assignments and all the other necessary stuff that has been out on the long finger. At the start of quarantine, I retreated to my parent's house in the country which luckily gives me a little bit more space and freedom. Every morning I’ve been tuning into ddr. Bricfeasta, it’s a new show dedicated to the lockdown - residents from the station have been going live from their home - it has been very comforting and soothing.
There is a wealth of amazing music and labels coming from Ireland right now some of which includes a lot of drone, field recordings, IDM, punk.
BELAQUA
Belaqua is a Galway producer who has been making some of the finest music today, his first in a series of ddr. shows is a must, full of slow, off-kilter chuggers made in quarantine.
LOLZ
Lolz from Gash Collective did an amazing mix for Nialler9, it’s a journey from start to finish rammed with Irish artists.
RISING DAMP
Rising Damp’s new release ‘Petrol Factory’ on the esteemed label Where the Time Goes. It’s punk, it’s EBM, it’s goth, it’s the perfect accompaniment for these times. The label’s previous release All Times Now Nothing – Tears Voyuer is an audio-visual project made up of collages; a sonically beautiful, uncanny, and captivating experience.
THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
The Department of Energy’s beautiful landscape mixtape, it consists of archival material, drones, spoken word, with the use of text and imagery.
MOOT TAPES
Moot Tapes latest release with Odd Ned and Static is the perfect balance of dub sounds.
GARIES
Garies – In Bits; a forthcoming release on Future Times, is pretty sick.
OFFTRACK
I’ve also heard some snippets of Offtrack’s next release and it’s banging.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or anxious, do you have a go-to track or style of music that significantly lifts your spirits?
I tend to lean more towards IDM-ish sounds, always digging the latest Central Processing Unit releases. I’ve also been making my way through the Open Ear sets from 2019 that got uploaded at the start of the pandemic. It’s a festival comprising of an all Irish line-up on one of the most idyllic islands - Sherkin, West Cork - which I had the pleasure of playing at last year. Listening to them has transported me back to some very memorable times with friends old and new.
How do you intend on celebrating once we’re out the other side?
Going for a cold pint and a nice meal with friends, a dip in the sea, maybe book a cottage down the country with some mates. Mainly readjusting to normality from this reality!
Any tips on how to look after your mind and body during this slightly stressful time, as well as trying to stay motivated?
I’m lucky in that I have been with family during isolation, which has helped a lot. Don’t be too hard on yourself, it’s a pandemic after all, but maintaining some sort of normalcy, have some kind of routine, showering and getting dressed is something I’ve maintained every day.
What’s beneficial for me is getting out every day for a run or a walk while staying within the 2km guidelines followed by yoga. Switching my phone off for a few hours a day when it feels like it’s getting too much. Limiting my intake of the news, at the start I was looking at news updates constantly.
Reading - I’ve just finished Cosey Fanni Tutti’s autobiography and I can’t recommend it enough, the sacrifices and dedication she made for art and industrial music is hugely inspirational. It’s also packed with recommendations of artists and music labels.
Currently reading Matt Anniss - Join The Future: Bleep Techno & the Birth of British Bass Music, it’s a must-read for all lovers of Warp records.
Mubi for some independent cinema and cult classics.
Also check in on friends, look out for each other, have video calls with them.
Listen back to all of Eliza’s shows on DDR here and follow her below: