Rachel Ellektra is a rare and intriguing talent. She’s been playing keyboards since the age of five, ventured into violin at age seven, and took up the guitar aged just eight. Her musical virtuosity didn’t stop there and she would later progress into DJ’ing, as well as experimenting in bands. Today, she runs Axis Trax, a label that branches out into many areas of electronic based dance music, and is currently making waves alongside New Romantic icon Steve Strange, with his new project the Detroit Starrzz.
Rachel Ellektra is a rare and intriguing talent. She’s been playing keyboards since the age of five, ventured into violin at age seven, and took up the guitar aged just eight. Her musical virtuosity didn’t stop there and she would later progress into DJ’ing, as well as experimenting in bands. Today, she runs Axis Trax, a label that branches out into many areas of electronic based dance music, and is currently making waves alongside New Romantic icon Steve Strange, with his new project the Detroit Starrzz, in which she also features as Executive Producer, as well as a writer. Rachel took time out recently to tell us about her exciting collaboration with Detroit Starrzz and her wide and varied background in the world of music.
Igloo :: What is your musical background? Who inspired you to make music?
Rachel Ellektra :: I never really had any official training (except for violin), I was always self-taught as I liked to develop my own methods and hopefully through that, develop my own sound. I started on keyboards at about the age of five, started learning violin at seven and guitar at eight when I also started to write songs and learned to write sheet music. By age fourteen I formed my first rock band, at fifteen I started DJ’ing then got into producing at sixteen! I made my first record at seventeen and was running my own label at eighteen. I suppose my primary instrument is guitar though, it’s the one I have spent the most time on. I grew up being influenced by Gary Moore, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Slash and loads more. However, my musical diet was varied and expanded far outside guitar music and it remains so today. My iPod has such artists as Vivaldi, Glen Miller, Al Bowly, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, Visage (of course!), Portishead, Massive Attack, Oasis, Imelda May, Adele, The XX, Emeli Sande. Basically anything from the 16th Century to now! I always say if it’s a good tune then I will listen to it!
Igloo :: How did Detroit Starrzz begin? I’m aware of how Steve got together with you guys—but how did the initial project come together prior to Steve’s involvement and how did you come together with Andy and Patrick?
RE :: Well I was introduced to Patrick by music mogul Eddie Gordon and we had been talking about working together on something, although we hadn’t really decided what. I had done a couple of remixes for Pat’s Nightstylers project, then one day he rang me up and said: “I want you to be part of this project, we’re called The Detroit Starrzz,”—a name Eddie dreamt up I believe, and so there it was born! We set out to be edgy and electro pop but it evolved over time into the sound we have now.
Igloo :: Pat was talking about your role as Executive Producer recently, and in particular he mentioned your guitar solo on the cover of “Loving the Alien.” Actually, he said your fingers literally smoke! How was the experience of recording the Bowie cover for you and just what exactly were your thoughts when putting together your smoking guitar solo?
RE :: It was fun to put together and a track I have always loved. It took a couple of weeks to get it just right and the timing was a problem as those stepped rises into the chorus run at an irregular number of bars each time so it plays havoc with the sequencing! I tried to get a sound to it though that gave a firm nod of respect to Bowie and the original version whilst giving it a current dance-floor crossover appeal. I just have to hope I managed it! As for the solo, well, that’s a tough one as 99 times out of 100 my solos are improvised and I plan absolutely nothing, so very little goes through my mind. I tend to get lost in my own world! I just run the track and play. A drunk friend of mine once told me that when I play it’s as if the guitar is a part of me. Like I absorb it and it becomes some sort of mystical extension of my soul (I know some very poetic drunks!).
We’re not trying to be cool and we’re not trying to be anyone else, we’re not trying to make history, we’re just making the music we love and having a good time doing it!
Igloo :: Can you tell us more about your role as executive producer? You do a lot of the technical stuff like remixing I believe? How do you approach all that and what is the creative dynamic between you and the other guys in the band?
RE :: Well how it generally works is Pat and Andy lay down some chords and musical ideas and rough drums then send me over the stem parts. From there I load them up and then I will build more synth parts on top and also arrange and mix the track to a demo standard, as well as adding rough guitars. I then send it back to them in London and they get Steve and Lauren down to record the vocals which are then sent back over to me so I can add them in, put the final guitars and details in then mix down the track and master it. So, all in all its quite an intensive job but it’s spread out over 2 or 3 separate sessions. I just try to work in different layers, textures, sound and influences into the tracks to give variety. I am passionate about orchestras and strings (I love Vivaldi!) so in such as “Wasteland” you have fierce electro basslines from Pat and Andy meeting sweeping strings and rock guitars from me all backed up with rolling breakbeats and topped with Steve and Lauren’s distinctive vocals. Quite a mix really!
Igloo :: I’ve said it before, but what is really interesting about Detroit Starrzz is the integration of some of those authentic blues tinged guitar tones set alongside the more dance driven electronic. Did you set out to manipulate this idea at all, or is it something that happened purely by chance/experimentation? It really does work doesn’t it?
RE :: Well I hope it does and as a band we all seem to think it does! It has been commented on a fair bit and I think it just came from experimentation. I started playing guitar alongside dance music about five years ago when I used to jam with my friend Dom Bacon (aka Audio Guru/Techstyle, Axis Trax) when he DJ’ed, sometimes I would DJ with him but one day I said: “I’ll bring my guitar next week!” It worked so well alongside the more electro, heavier bass tracks. When the Detroits started I thought the same might apply and dropped a solo in on an early demo and Pat flipped and loved it! From then on he asked me to put guitar on every track, although I do refuse sometimes as I don’t want every track on the album to sound the same and for people to think “here she goes with that bloody guitar again!”
Igloo :: I believe you are quite an analog synth enthusiast—what is it about analog and synths that you love?
RE :: I was into analog but I moved into the 21st century and sold them all a few years back. There were so many technical problems plus timing and tuning issues! I use all the emulation plug-ins now though so I am kind of digitally reproduced analog! I use the Arturia Moog Modular, Minimoog and Rob Papens Predator but I also love the Re-FX Nexus and NI’s Massive. Some die-hard synth enthusiasts would moan at me for going that way but I can’t deny that my production and sound came on in leaps and bounds once I made the switch.
Igloo :: I understand the final release will be coming out on your own label?
RE :: Yes that’s right, Axis Trax. We’ve been running since 2008 covering most sub-genres of dance music.
Igloo :: For you, what is special and unique about the Detroit Starrzz? Any major selling points for fans to look out for?
RE :: We are the world’s only electro, breakbeat, pop, new romantic, nu rave, indie rock ‘n’ roll band! We’re not trying to be cool and we’re not trying to be anyone else, we’re not trying to make history, we’re just making the music we love and having a good time doing it!
For more info about Axis Trax, visit www.axistrax.com.
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