Elena Colombi

The London-based selector gets deep and spooky for Crack Mix 280.

Eclecticism is increasingly overused as a descriptor for modern DJs. But Elena Colombi is one of the few DJs who truly ignore boundary and convention is a rare thing. As her radio shows, mixes and increasingly international sets attest, hers is a style that’s impossible to pin down. Due in part to an upbringing spent travelling the world with her family, Colombi’s appreciation for the different strands of music runs deep. Early headline slots in London and gigs spent supporting the similarly-minded likes of Jane Fitz and Lena Willikens allowed a fertile ground to explore her whims, and lead to her deserved reputation as one of the most unpredictable DJs on the circuit.

Her Crack Mix occupies the spaces in between genres, with electro, techno and industrial all featured in her entry. The mood is slippery and gothic, and the sounds angular and metallic. It can feel hard to latch on at points but this sense of discombobulation ultimately makes tracks like the classic Tresor cut, and Navario Sauro’s remix of Scandinavia Sessions, more rewarding. Colombi is capable of turning out tracks for any mood, but it’s in the club that her talents hit hardest and we are delighted to share this mix, one which belongs in the darkness.

Colombi described it this: “A spontaneous musical meander recorded in London as I returned from a month long tour across USA, Mexico & Japan.” Adding “it features some records I bought while on the road, unreleased music from friends and some very special tracks that are coming out on a record label I’m launching very soon!”

Elena Colombi plays at Bilbao BBK Live, Spain, 11-13 July