Canadian DJ and producer Ekali has been turning heads for a while. He rose to fame after receiving a writing credit on Drake's mixtape If You're Reading This, It's Too Late, with tracks Preach and Wednesday Night Interlude both containing samples of Unfaith, which came after a 2014 stint at the Red Bull Academy in Tokyo.
Today he's released his new album, A World Away, which includes singles Be Fine featuring the crystalline vocals of our very own Wafia, so let's take a look back at Ekali's journey thus far.
Ekali first made his move into music at just 12 years old, beginning to learn the violin. While he didn't stick with the instrument, he did learn guitar, as well as others, as well as playing in bands in Vancouver. He was actually initially inspired to start making music after playing Final Fantasy, and listening to the soundtrack.
At 19, he began touring with Said the Whale as their bassist, and while touring he began to start experimenting with making electronic music. In 2016, Ekali left Said the Whale after deciding to focus on his solo music and joined Skrillex's label OWSLA. Through the label, Ekali dropped his collaboration with Denzel Curry, Babylon, which pairs Ekali's laidback production with Denzel going absolutely mad. Skrillex put his own spin on Babylon, which brought in more than a few new fans for the producer.
2018 saw Ekali drop his EP, Crystal Eyes. Full of lush production, the EP was a hit both with new and old fans alike. Speaking to Run The Trap about the EP, Ekali said "With the EP I was just trying to focus on a distinctive mood. For me, summer was ending, I had just been through a breakup, it was a sad time where I was reflecting on my life and I wanted to make the EP reflective of that mood. So whether it’s a hard song or a soft song, throughout the EP you can notice a distinctive mood and distinctive textures, and that’s my only real goal when I’m putting together a project."
Ekali is set to continue his rise to superstardom, so make sure you're along for the rise. With this new album here, we can't wait to hear the next evolution of Ekali's sound.
