Perera Elsewhere Talks New Album, Latest Single And More

Perera Elsewhere, the mercurial Berlin-based, UK-raised electronic artist, producer, DJ, lyricist, composer, sound artist and trumpeter releases atmospheric double single ‘NGL’/ ‘Visions’ featuring Neven. Her fourth album ‘Just Wanna Live Some’ is released on 24th October 2025 and she spoke to us all about it:

 

What is your earliest musical memory?

Probably Hindu temple…devotional music, called bhajans…. or just the distorted speaker in the temple blasting.

My mum also sang me the Dallas TV show theme tune music as a lullaby for some reason.

 

When did you begin songwriting?

Probably it started as spoken word poetry after I left university and when I moved to Berlin. I was also writing on tracks and beats that weren’t necessarily songs, thus the process is different to writing on chords etc.

 

You have your fourth album ‘Just Wanna Live Some’ being released on 24th October 2025. How did you want to approach the making of the album?

 

I think I just make and see what happens over the period of writing… Life usually happens. E.g. the Margate residency at Prah Foundation where there happened to be a Hohner Pianet, or I happen to meet Andy S over TikTok and started writing music for her to write to. I composed music for exhibitions of the immersive experience artist Dukhee Lee Jordan… things like that also bleed into my album. I also wrote some dancier stuff too, as I was literally enjoying it and doing some grimey vox…. In the end I love f*cking with my voice in the studio. I also love leaving it naked like on ‘NGL’, the current track. But I am also happy to pitch and stretch my voice into sounding like another character. All part of the sound design and production process. I tend to write the songs while I’m producing them rather than just write them on a piano and then record them much later.. I record bits, write vocals at the same time and see what happens.

 

Where did you record the album and who produced it?

 

I recorded most of the album in my studio in Berlin and I produced all of it. Neven is a producer who I collaborated with on my current double single track ‘Visions’. Neven also developed what Andrew Huang called ‘Plug-In of the year’, it’s called Playbox from Native Instruments. It’s probably my favourite virtual software.

I also wrote ‘NGL’ and ‘Just Wanna Live Some’ in Margate at the Prah Foundation residency.

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?

 

I often cut hooks out of vocals… they are unplanned. ‘F*ck Le System’ was just a part of a verse, I turned it into a hook via production. Same with the hook of ‘Fountain’… I cut the ‘Now that I’m a Rockstar’ part of a verse. Also, working with Neven was fun because it is the only track I had another producer on board.. .and Neven then pushes me to do more vocals and so on. It becomes a longer process, but that challenges me.

 

Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?

 

Playbox .. the virtual software .. .It is such an amazing instrument that speaks to me in terms of sound aesthetics! It is so ‘Elsewhere’ sounding!

Hohner Pianet … thr 70s epiano.
Pelussio condenser mic in my studio….
Neumann condensor microphone in Margate.
My trumpet !

Lots of sine sub bass, 808 kicks and I often use a labyrinth synthesizer VST for those soaring moments.
I also mentored groups of female identifying and non-binary Berlin teenagers for a project called Error Music, the students recorded sounds like toilet flushes, footsteps, gasps, water splashes etc…. those sounds end up on my computer and I often use such things for percussion. This personalises the experience for me.

 

Which of your new album tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

 

a. Happiest __ ‘Purity Sin’ is an ultra happy opener.

b. Angriest… ‘NGL’ is inspired by anger i guess, even though it’s really pretty

c. Reflective… ‘Post-Everything’…. The timing and the way the trumpet drops in the break! ‘Dream Like That’ also.

 

You have also released your double single NGL’/ ‘Visions’ featuring Neven. What was the story/inspiration behind the tracks? How did the collaboration with Neven arise?

 

I’ve known Neven for a long time from Berlin. she is also half British and moved there earlier than most. We have collaborated before and she has also done remixes. She is a truly incredible producer. She developed Playbox and while recording sounds for the plug-in she recorded my trumpet and kalimba. So there has always been a relationship. Huge respect for this artist!

 

The single is accompanied by a visualiser. What was the thought process behind it and who directed it?

 

Hugo Holger Schneider directed the ‘NGL’ and ‘Visions’ visualisers, he is a long term visual collaborator of mine and he is a genius and a G!

The ‘Visions’ one was filmed at a fairground. With super trippy motions. I would never get on that ride LOL.

‘Availablism’ is a concept we have always talked about… including the videos we have made for other releases. Using what is available seems really obvious, but it actually gives you authenticity as you use things that are already part of your life rather than going shopping for a new image that nobody will ever believe. YES we are independent!!!

 

Does the album’s title have a specific meaning/significance?

 

An alternative title could be ‘How not to die ‘. I saw a nutrition book with that title recently and realised that is almost the flipside of my album title. Life can seem so complicated and convoluted at times. Especially in this current era with this amount of information, You can end up feeling helpless and demotivated. You can end up getting very heady/existential about all of this. This album addressed the idea of self-determination through creativity and action in itself. Not wanting to even give a fuck about many things because there is so much to give a fuck about, is a reaction many have. Sometimes you feel to just simplify things and live each day at a time. The feeling of , well I gotta do something as the world is prolly gonna end tomorrow. Apocalyptic nihilism and hedonism even.

 

Was it a difficult album to write?

It was only a difficult album to write because I had to take breaks for other compositional work… e.g.. Reparation Nation .. a 72 min dance piece that I composed the music for and performed at one of the biggest fringe theatres in Europe, Kampnagel in Hamburg. It was a lot of work but I totally loved working with dancers from Senegal and Cameroon etc. But big projects like that take over your life and you feel pressure to finish your album in that time. So stuff like that slows me down as I lose focus on the album. But in the end, I love making music for meaningful projects so it was worth taking that time off from the album process.

 

Who designed the album artwork?

Hugo Holger Schneider designed the album artwork, he is a multidisciplinary artist and my homie… based in Berlin. We have worked together for years and he has been a vital part of the visual process for me. He also makes a lot of the visuals in my live audio visual show… so it is all part of the visual world of Perera Elsewhere.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

London – dynamic, chaotic, progressive, rhythmic, elitist.

 

How do you look after your voice?

 

I yell a lot in loud environments … hahahaah….. So ummm I don’t look after it enough to be honest…. I guess I have a character voice LOL.
Thankfully I see myself more as a vocalist than a singer and actually I am more of a producer than anything. Thus I find it funny when people ask me who produced the record etc. Probably if I had a massive vocal range as a singer and didn’t play the trumpet I wouldn’t be a producer. I just have always been an all rounder.

 

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2025/2026?

Yes! Hamburg, Brussels, Berlin… and London in the pipeline.

 

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

 

That is a hard one tbh. Not sure if I will ever totally leave the stage or the studio. When I leave, I will leave as Lee Scratch Perera though!

That I know! In a wheelchair with dub sirens and flashing lights!!!!!!

 

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

Roland voice transformer, Logidy midi pedal, manipulator plug in as a live harmonising pitch shifter for my trumpet. The Shure Beta 57A microphone is a dynamic condenser and it really suits my voice tbh.

 

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. I loved all the footnotes on this… where she did her research. It made me want to read all of her sources, as this is a historical novel which changed my perspective of 6 generations… the grandma of your grandma is not very long ago in fact.

Middlesex is a historical novel that also totally interests me.

 

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

Jon Hassell, Mica Levi, General Levy, Billy Boyo, Kind Tubby, Snoop Dogg, Soul II Soul, Roska, Serocee, Burial, 2562, Ndagga Rhythm Force, DJ Rashad & DJ Manny, NameBrandSound, Moondog, Alice Coltrane, Angel the Oracle, J Dilla, Gonja Sufi, Pink Siifu …..An endlesss list

 

What two pieces of advice do you have for a novice producer?

Just work with the gear you have alone and gain some confidence through trial and error and form your own sound. Start sharing that with a few mates you really trust in terms of their taste and opinions . Collab with people with the aim of learning new skills. Slow growth curve. Longevity is the key. Put time in.

 

What makes Perera Elsewhere happy and what makes you unhappy?

 

I guess we are kinda the same person. usually… People who meet me are shocked at how bubbly and sarcastic and full of banter I am. I am actually a really vibing person… Just my music channels a really introspective part of me. Happy that I am not actually quite as moody as my ‘Doom folk’ persona LOL.

 

Feature Image Photo Credit: Supplied By Dedikated PR

Perera Elsewhere’s double single ‘NGL’/ ‘Visions’ featuring Neven is out now on LA label Friends Of Friends.

Listen Here: https://fofmusic.lnk.to/NGL-Visions

Her fourth album ‘Just Wanna Live Some’ is released on Friday 24th October 2025.

Pre-Save Here: https://fofmusic.lnk.to/JustWannaLiveSome

Official Website: https://www.pereraelsewhere.com/