Elias Mazian (NL)

DJ, producer and singer Elias Mazian is a firm fixture of the club circuit in Amsterdam and beyond. His DJsets are never predictable, with house music forming a base to deviate from into all manner ofunexpected sounds, be it jungle, techno or a classic pop song. The former Trouw and De School residentis refreshingly unafraid to share his sensitive side on the emotional journeys that form his dj sets,productions and radio shows.Elias Mazian grew up dancing in the living room with his brother, to Prince albums and a Michael Jacksonconcert recorded on VHS. They were raised in a highly multicultural part of Amersfoort, a small city in theEast of the Netherlands. As a fourth generation Moroccan boy, the academically gifted Mazian feltdisplaced when he ended up in very white school, where his otherness was frequently pointed out. Thisfeeling came back again for him when he entered the club scene of Amsterdam aged 19, though he wasthrilled to have finally found a place where people were passionate about the same things he was - music,freedom, and the fine line between melancholy and romance that only exists in the corner of adiscotheque. The recent shift towards a more inclusive dance floor, where he might not be the onlyperson at the party to look like him, is a welcome one.Mazian started out in hip hop, playing for Dutch rappers Jiggy Djé, SpaceKees and Hef as a teenager.Moving to Amsterdam, he fell in love with house music and was invited to be a resident at infamous ClubTrouw. Having always produced beats on the sly, he now found the courage and support from friends toput his house tracks out into the world. Releasing Future Times on Voyage Direct in 2014, and thenDuplicate on the same label three years later, Mazian cemented his place as one of Amsterdam’s newgeneration of quality dance music producers. When the pandemic hit, Mazian added the accolade popsinger to his repertoire, releasing an album of Dutch language synth pop songs on friend Job Jobse’slabel De Vlieger. ‘Vrij van Dromen’ (‘Free of Dreams’) is a wistful trip into love, longing and heartbreak,wrapped in a warm, electronic blanket.Then there is Private Hearts, the radio show that Mazian has hosted more than 130 episodes of, andcounting. Now on Radio Radio FM, the show was born in the Red Light Radio booth as a space to playlistening songs rather than club tracks. Yet more proof, if proof were needed, to confirm that Elias Mazianis not one to be confined by genres.