Elhel is the musical stage name of Argentinian musician and producer Yamil Eljel. Having originally started performing in Spanish, Yamil switched to producing English language music in 2019.
Having signed with Dance Cry Dance towards the end of 2021, Elhel has been working on a forthcoming EP. Outskirts is the first track to be released from that EP, and it seeks to capture the joy of connection and freedom that many of us experience in the summers of our youth.
Opening with analogue synths and a broad, hollow-feeling bass line, Outskirts feels wonderfully nostalgic from the get go. Elhel finds inspiration in the sounds and images in 1980s cinema — something you can both hear and see in the video for Outskirts. The lyrics have a beautiful innocence to them from the first line:
“We live on the outskirts, a quiet place. I love taking pictures of your face.”
And then the chorus drops, and it feels like the rush of your favourite person squeezing your hand. Yamil’s vocal starts to erupt, his real emotions fully on display as he cries out, “Sometimes we take our car, and drive it, at full speed”. And as the layered melodies soar, you feel a moment of recognition — for just a moment, you can exist inside the connection Elhel feels with the other passenger in that car.
Check out Outskirts below: