The Mix 028: Evita Manji

I’d love to know more about your other art forms in 2D design, 3D design and crocheting. How did you get into these other crafts, and are you still doing them today?

I feel like I am a full-time artist, and that applies to all mediums. There are so many things that I have gotten into in my life; it’s kind of difficult to list all of them.

The 3D design, the 2D design, and the crochet stuff; people know more about those because I guess I show them more online. Like the 3D art stuff, I used them mostly for my label and my artwork covers. I did the artwork for my first EP ‘Neptune’, and then I did all the graphics for my label myxoxym, and I’ve done a bit of work for other friends. I don’t do that so often anymore.

I do love to draw. I do love to crochet and sew from time to time because I love making clothes for myself. But more consciously, I am trying to focus on music at the moment. But I feel like, and this also comes from wanting to do everything, I’m learning to trust others. I feel like I wanted to do all these things myself for the label and my cover and all that because I wanted to have total creative control over my work, and I love working alone.

This last two weeks, actually, I started putting together the second compilation for myxoxym and it’s the first time I have asked someone else to do the cover. They’re called Female Pentimento, and their art is incredible, there’s no one else who can translate the feeling of the cause we’re supporting. It’s just right, and I couldn’t do it better. And this compilation is, again, a fundraising compilation. We’re gonna raise money to support the animals affected by the fires this year in Athens.

Do you follow an ethos or creative vision with myxoxym, or is it more like a flexible being that you can change along the way or do whatever you want?

It’s like a flexible being. It’s more like a platform with endless possibilities for turning whatever I feel like turning it into at any time. Currently, it serves as a music label for these fundraising compilations.

In the future, I would like to explore releasing my own music through it, but as I get to know myself better, I am really not someone who can handle all the logistics. I’m quite impressed by how I’m handling the situation now with the compilation, but I think I’m not the right person to run a label.

I’m very slow in general, so that’s also a very slow project. That’s why it took two years to release another compilation. And I don’t want to force it. I don’t want to force myself to do much; I’m happy with how things are and the fact that this platform exists, and I can use it whenever I need it.

As well as producing and performing live sets and running your own label, you’re also a DJ and have recorded a mix for us too. What do you enjoy about DJing, in addition to your other disciplines?

I mean, if you asked me on a regular day about DJing, I would maybe tell you that ‘I hate it’. Or ‘I’m not a DJ.’ But the truth is that when I’m behind the decks, and I’m DJing, I love it. Maybe what I love when I’m DJing now is because I have moved on from making dance music, it is a moment for me where I can embrace that sound and share this moment and music that I like with the people on the dancefloor.

I’m intrigued by the broadness of your sound, both as a DJ and producer. For example, I watched your performance in the chamber in Phoenix Central Park in Sydney, Australia, which was chilling and made the hairs on my arms stand up. But I also listened to your Boiler Room in Athens in 2022, which had a totally opposite vibe in terms of atmosphere and sound. Do you like thriving in vastly different musical crafts and environments?

The thing is, I feel like the vibe I give as an artist is that my music is very sad. It’s very devastating. When I’m performing live, I’m also feeling it, you know, it’s heartbreaking. But I’m not sad all the time.

Sometimes, I make fun music, but it somehow doesn’t feel right to release it. I have always been more of a fan of sad and dramatic music. But then I also love embracing that other part of me, which loves hard club music, dancing, and being more carefree and fun. I mean, it’s that side of me that exists, which I love, but I just feel I don’t allow myself to be like that too often. I get caught up in reality and think about all the devastating things happening around the world.

Actually, nowadays, as I said earlier, I cannot go to a club. I very rarely go to a club if I’m not playing. So DJing is actually a really good opportunity to be in the club and embody that side of me.

What have been the most memorable DJ gigs in the last year or so?

My memory is really bad, but I played in London earlier this year, which was really fun. The people were dancing, and they were loving it. I have this ritual where I always end my DJ sets with this Japanese song from this girl group called Sakura Gakuin, which I’ve been obsessed with for the last 10 years. It’s just the cutest song, and this is always the last impression I get from a DJ set. And if people go hard on that one, I’m happy. I also played in Bristol this year, which was also very fun. These are honestly the only two gigs I remember right now.

Your music explores themes such as death, grief, climate change, and the human condition. Do you ever feel mentally overwhelmed when exploring such themes? If so, how do you manage such feelings?

Making music about it is the fun and healing part because it’s not like I’m forcing myself to think about those things. I think a lot during the day, and it’s mostly about those things, and that’s the overwhelming part: just thinking. But taking action and actually putting them into my music and transforming them into something more useful than just spiralling, that’s the fun part. So, I wouldn’t say it feels overwhelming.

If it does, sometimes I’ll just listen to a track that I made, and it’s very devastating, and I start crying. But it’s good tears because the truth is that I live for the drama. When this happens, I feel so alive. So, I wouldn’t say it’s ever overwhelming to make music about those things; if anything, it’s the exact opposite.

What’s life like in Athens for you at the moment?

I’m living a very quiet life in Athens. My grandma is in Athens, and she is my favourite person on earth, so I love spending a lot of time with her and taking care of her. I love going on nature trips. I don’t like going out, especially in Athens. I feel like the nightlife in Athens is really boring.

Why is it boring?

It’s just that there’s no vibe on the dancefloor, you know? The crowd. I don’t know; I feel like people don’t know how to party. I mean, I haven’t been to many clubs in Athens in the last year or two, so I can’t really say much about it, but the few parties that I’ve been to…the crowd is mostly boring dudes. They don’t know how to move their ass, basically. Or it’s like clubs where you see a lot of queer people, younger people, and everyone is taking selfies and videos and stuff like that, which I don’t like much.

I also cannot handle loud music very well. I just find it terrifying. I need to be behind the booth and be able to control the level of my monitors.

Before this interview, we chatted briefly about some events in Athens you’re working on that take place in tunnels. Can you tell me more about these events, which you also mentioned are not parties, per se?

We have rules, and one of the rules is: ‘no pre-recorded music.’ It’s like a gathering of musicians, non-musicians, friends, and people who want to come and see the performances. But it’s all live performances. It’s mostly ambient, experimental, and noise sounds — you won’t dance in there.

It’s more like a listening experience; we all sit down in the tunnel. Or sometimes, my favourite thing is when we walk all together in the tunnel, and we sing like a choir, but it sounds very atonal because we’re not a choir. But it’s a very beautiful experience, and it just feels like you lose your sense of place and time in there, and everyone is incredible. And because it’s not like a show, no one feels the pressure to bring a “good” show. Many musicians just come and experiment with their sound. That’s what I do as well. Like, I’m not gonna bring my ‘Spandrel?’ live show in the tunnel. I always bring a few loops and then figure it out on the way but amazing things come out from this approach in combination with the sound limitations in there; the feedback is crazy. So even if you don’t want to make noise, it’s going to end up sounding like noise, at least a bit. It’s very fun.

What else are you working on now, and what’s coming up next for you?

I’m working on an album, but I don’t know when it will be out; I’m just letting you all know.

In theory, it’s been almost two years since my last release, but this year, I have produced so much music for other things. I did a residency in Berlin at MONOM, a spatial sound studio. I was working on a 40-minute piece. So it’s basically like I have produced an album, but it’s specifically for the MONOM soundsystem which consists of 48 speakers, so it’s hard to translate that in stereo sound. I might try to do that though.

I also did some commissions this year for fashion shows and videos and stuff like that, which kind of left me with no time and energy to work on my own stuff. But I’m hoping to have an album ready soon.

Can you tell us about your mix?

I had a lot of fun working on this mix, especially because it’s been a long time since I put together a more dance-oriented mix. There’s a lot of music I’ve been enjoying lately and been wanting to play in the club, some of my all-time favourite tracks and a lot of music from the new compilation. It goes through many moods, but that’s how I listen to music myself. Jumping between moods and genres unpredictably. Listening back after I finished it, I realised that it sort of reflects the way I’ve been feeling these days: more hopeful and energised. And it’s sort of like a tale of going out too, ending with Placebo’s ‘In the Cold Light of Morning’, which is exactly what the end of a night out sounds like.

‘Plasmodium II‘ is out now, get it here

Niamh O’Connor is a freelance music journalist, follow her on Instagram