"Before I started acting, I was a DJ on pirate radio in east London. We’d set up anywhere — on the roof of a tower block sometimes — and hope the police didn’t find us. If they did, you’d leave the turntables and grab your vinyl on the way out.
“I’ve always kept a little studio. I do my real production using Studio One on a Mac, but for scratching out a song real quick I use GarageBand on my iPad. It’s so intuitive and is perfect for putting down an idea. I was on the plane flying from London to LA and I wrote two songs. You can’t sing — I would have looked like a right idiot sitting in seat 5D singing into my iPad. I thought about recording it in the toilets but I’d probably get in trouble — the stewardess would be banging on the door. Just
like the pirate radio days in Hackney…”
To listen to Elba’s music visit Driis.com.
