Navigating Chaos and Opportunity with Elijah

We reached out to Elijah to learn more about his refreshing perspective on the music industry and what he’s looking forward to experiencing at BIGSOUND.

One of the most exciting aspects of BIGSOUND, the southern hemisphere’s largest music industry gathering, are the insightful Keynote speakers we have each year. This time around, one of our most buzzed about Keynote sessions comes from Elijah, a London-based creative force challenging conventional narratives that currently exist within music. 

With an impressive 15-year career, Elijah’s roles span from creative consultant, writer, and DJ to artist manager, and co-founder of the trailblazing grime record label, Butterz. Now, Elijah’s focus is on his innovative and thought-provoking Yellow Squares project. By simply sharing a series of social posts containing insights, guidance, and ideas that challenge current industry standards, Elijah has garnered global attention for his refreshing takes.  

We reached out to Elijah to learn more about his perspective on the music industry and what he’s looking forward to experiencing at BIGSOUND.  

Amongst other things, you’re often described as a Thought Leader in the music industry. Can you tell us a bit about your background and what it means to be a Thought Leader? 

My background is in the Grime and Pirate Radio scene in London, where following the rules of the establishment wouldn't have achieved anything. So, I wouldn't call myself a thought leader - independent thinker [though], for sure, as I try to find things that work for me and projects that I work on that may be counter intuitive to the rest of the industry.  

Why did you initially want to get into the music industry? 

I thought I had something original to contribute to my local scene, Grime, and at the time the convergence between music and how it will live on the internet wasn't fully figured out yet - so it was chaos, and where there's chaos, there's opportunity.

What made you realise newcomers in the music industry needed short and sharp advice? What initially put that idea in your mind? 

Most traditional advice doesn't think about how it scales. If people take anything from my work, the ideas in it could work if one person, or one thousand people, did them in their own ways. The initial spark came from the lockdown ending and wondering what the music scenes would be like on reopening.

Do you wish new artists were less concerned about their work not being seen, heard, or producing ‘results’? 

One of those, it depends on what they want answers [to]. My project currently needs regular audience feedback to work effectively - I'll work on others that don't too, that balance keeps me sane. 

Do you think every kind of creative person could benefit from removing themselves from social media like you did prior to starting your Yellow Squares project, even if it’s just for a short time? 

For sure. It's good to tune out of the distraction for a while and re-establish why you are there in the first place. Even just creating new accounts and starting fresh. I might abandon the account after I complete the Yellow Squares project. 

What are you looking forward to learning, exploring, and sharing at BIGSOUND 2024? 

Anything that could have only been made in Australia. 

Elijah’s Keynote was on Thursday, September 5 2024 at the Judith Wright Arts Centre.  

This event was for Artist and Delegate Pass holders only. Get your Delegate Pass for 2025 here.  

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