Details

A kinetic succession of dance beats and abstract compositions.

嶋田会希–Elle Shimada is a violinist, producer, curator, DJ and multi-instrumentalist from Tokyo based in Melbourne. Fluidly fusing Tokyo’s futuristic underground scene, Melbourne mellow-jazz and influences from house and traditional music from around the globe, Shimada’s production and live sets are a kinetic succession of dance beats and abstract compositions.

For Elle Shimada, the concept of home is ever-changing; it is the current which flows through her debut album, ‘Home ≠ Location’, released on Australian label The Jazz Diaries. The album contains lean, skittish skeletal beats upon which Shimada’s shimmering falsetto climbs. Lithe and loose, marrying incisive political commentary with deep introspection, the album folds in blends of house, bass and candied keys to showcase why Shimada is one of Australia’s most exciting talents.

Elle Shimada’s live shows often feature multicultural and diverse artists of various mediums of arts including dance, fashion, and fine -arts. Her curation is a politically charged peaceful protest and emphasises exchanging knowledge and energy between the stage, dance floor and the community. Shimada utilises the uniting power of music to cultivate a dancefloor-activism that is inclusive, honest and raw creating progressive spaces beyond musicianship.

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Artists

Elle Shimada vocals, violin, synthesizer, sampler
Rara Zulu vocals
Lucky Pereira drums, sampler

About Elle Shimada

嶋田会希–Elle Shimada is a violinist, producer, curator, DJ and multi-instrumentalist from Tokyo based in Melbourne.
A unique combination of thickly layered string lines making tender love to heavy new-jazz influenced beats creates a cinematic and other-worldly atmosphere while keeping the dance floor pulsing with visionary and edgy production.

Fluidly fusing between Tokyo’s futuristic underground scene, Melbourne mellow-jazz and influences from jazz, house and traditional music from around the globe, Shimada’s production and live sets are a kinetic succession of dance beats and abstract compositions.

Elle Shimada Band’s live shows often feature multicultural and diverse artists of various mediums of arts (dance, fashion and fine arts etc.). Her curation is a politically charged peaceful protest, and emphases on exchanging knowledge and energy between the stage, dance floor and the community.

Shimada has independently collaborated with a myriad of artists in Melbourne and overseas, performing and recording with Clever Austin, Paul Bender (Hiatus Kaiyote), Jace XL, Allysha Joy and Dufresne, Triple J 100 artists such as 40 consecutive sold-out shows with Tash Sultana – music that can be found on releases by Worldwide FM and Stamp The Wax, appearing on festival stages such as Womadelaide, Blues Fest, Strawberry Fields, Meredith, Sun Cycle, Laneway.

With an undercurrent of feminism, cultural curiosity and a political mindset, Shimada’s musicianship has been shown on stages supporting Lonnie Liston Smith, Giles Peterson, and The Australian Art Orchestra as well as sharing stages with Sampa the. Great, Freddie Gibbs, Floating Points, and many more.

Shimada utilizes the uniting power of music to cultivate a dance-floor-activism that is inclusive, honest and raw creating progressive spaces beyond musicianship, through collaborations with the Human Rights Film festival, model, and as a conceptual event curator.