Q&A: Thelma’s ‘Delusions of Grandeur’ Explores Subtlety in House Music
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY MOLLY PECK ☆
Photo By @nicho.santini
“GET INTO THE GROOVE”—has been DJ and producer Thelma’s motto for the last few years. She is known for energetic tracks that encourage the crowd to dance, not just jump. Her melodic approach to house music has made her a regular on the scene across Europe and in Australia.
Thelma’s shows are known for their high-energy dancefloors and her tracks often feature a variety of synths that blend together to create their own atmosphere. Based in Barcelona, she is a frequent fixture at shows in the musical hubs of Europe, like Amsterdam, Berlin and Paris. One of her most recent accomplishments was a second feature on Boiler Room, where she played a set with friends and collaborators to a particularly excited crowd.
As her career flourishes, Thelma is starting to work with several production companies and collaborators who support her sound. Her work with the UK-based label ec2a pushed her musical boundaries and allowed her to explore new depths. Thelma’s first release with ec2a, The Higher Land EP, inspired her to incorporate more groove and garage-inspired sounds into her tracks. Those influences remain pertinent in her most recent release, Delusions of Grandeur.
While Delusions of Grandeur, a two-track EP and Thelma’s second project with ec2a, stays closer to the traditions of house and trance, Thelma still pushes the limits of her comfort zone. The title track, “Delusions of Grandeur,” stays true to Thelma’s usual style with a fast BPM and a strong build. However, the second track on the EP, “Subtle,” introduces listeners to a slower, more complex style that Thelma hopes to be able to play with more in the future.
We recently sat down with Thelma to chat about Delusions of Grandeur, her upcoming tour in Australia and more.
Photo By @nicho.santini
LUNA: For those who might be unfamiliar with your music, can you name some of your inspirations and influences?
THELMA: I’m very inspired by house music, especially deep and minimal house, but my music is definitely at a faster tempo than that. I like reintegrating the slower sounds into something a little bit more high-energy. My biggest inspirations would probably have to be Danny Snowden and Chris Stussy; also, SAM would be a really big one in house music. I've tried to keep that melodic side, and a lot of drawn-out synths, and bring it into the more techno, fast BPM scene that I'm in now.
LUNA: You said that your last EP with ec2a, The Higher Land EP, was heavily influenced by groove and UK garage music. How has that changed or carried over into your new EP, Delusions of Grandeur?
THELMA: Delusions of Grandeur is my second EP with ec2a, and it's definitely a little bit more house than the last one. Like, slowing down the tempos a little bit. The whole UK garage influence you can really hear with the organ sounds and the M1. I'm using a lot of very typical sounds that are very nostalgic, that you would hear in a lot of older UK garage tracks. I wanted to keep it as old school as possible, but give it a bit more of a modern twist.
One of the tracks is a faster BPM track, “Delusions of Grandeur;” that main track is what people are used to hearing from me. “Subtle” is a more, I guess, subtle track—that's why I called it that. It's more stripped back and much slower in tempo than “Delusions of Grandeur,” but it still retains the same elements. They're like different versions of each other. “Subtle” is showing people what I'm leaning more into now.
LUNA: How do the two tracks on the EP complement and contrast with each other?
THEMA: Following on that, they are similar in terms of the synths and the melodies, and they're both quite nostalgic, but still high energy. I would say that the first track, “Delusions of Grandeur,” is definitely the main track, because I know that that's what people know me for best. Very, very high energy, peak time, and then the second one, “Subtle,” is me exploring something a little slower. That can be scary to do as an artist, because you don't know how people are going to respond. I felt like this EP was a bit out of my comfort zone, where I still retain my initial sound, but I'm trying to show people something new and slower as well.
LUNA: You travel around Europe a lot. Do you have a favorite place to DJ, and how has that influenced your style?
THELMA: I might have to say Paris, in terms of the energy levels. People are very, very involved in the scene there, and the kind of events they organize are always amazing, and the venues are always beautiful. You can tell there's a lot of care put into it beyond just the event. I don't know how I would say that's influenced my sound. Sound influence-wise, playing in Berlin has really influenced me, with going back to more OG techno sounds, layering things more and playing around a bit more, because they can be a lot more patient; but I would say Paris in terms of the energy and the crowds.
LUNA: You recently did a second set with Boiler Room in Amsterdam. Can you tell me what that experience was like?
THELMA: I think that was not even a week ago, so very recent. It was really fun. I played earlier on in the night—I think I played at 11 p.m.—but the energy was through the roof. I got to play my tracks from this EP, and basically 90 percent of the set was my unreleased music, which I've never done to that extent. It was a little bit scary, because it's very vulnerable, but it went really well! A bunch of my friends were there in the booth, and people that I'm really close to, so it felt like a very full circle moment. It went really well, and the energy was great, so I was really happy
about that.
LUNA: Luna’s next print issue is all about female DJs. Could you talk a little bit about your experience in that community?
THELMA: There are less female DJs, but I think the biggest thing that I've realized being a producer is that there's not a lot of space for female producers. There's always a thought that we're not producing our music ourselves. It is difficult for sure, but it's also very rewarding to be a female DJ and producer at this time, and be able to—not that we should have to prove ourselves—but to have full knowledge that you know what you're doing, and you're bringing something to the community. I really do think, having worked with other female DJs and producers in the scene as well as attended their sets, that we're a gift to the scene. We're very intuitive, and very good with reading crowds and understanding the right moment to play certain things. I feel like there are a lot of gifts in that, and that we should keep going, and not let the criticism get us down, because we need women DJs.
LUNA: Your upcoming tour in Australia starts in January. Have you toured there before? If so, what do you like about Australia?
THELMA: This is my fourth time, which is a lot! I can't believe I've been [to Australia] four times. My first tour there was in 2021. It's my biggest audience in terms of listenership – that's why I've toured there—just from my productions. It’s really cool that a few songs on Spotify got me to go to the other side of the world, and I'd never been either, so that was really fun. It's definitely a really high-energy place. It feels like a bubble in a way, but it's really nice going there every time.
The most special part about the more recent shows is that I’ve developed a community there, not only of people who support me, but also within the scene. Because we're so far away, we always talk on the internet, but now I’m collaborating with people who actually live there, and I’m able to host events with people. Having a bit of a community there makes me more excited to go back because it feels a little bit more like I'm at home, and not on the other side of the world.
LUNA: Besides the tour, is there anything else that's coming up next for you?
THELMA: Next Friday, I have a track dropping that is a remix for LOVEFOXY, who is one of the women in the scene that I adore. We met when I supported her in Melbourne this time last year, and now this year, I'm remixing one of her tracks on Warehouse Project Records, which is amazing. That's been a goal for a while, so I'm really excited about that. That’s a big thing coming up, also a potential collab with Fitzpatrick, who's been a huge inspiration for a long time. Production-wise, a lot of things; I think show-wise, too, but I'm not allowed to talk about them yet.
