Hailing from near Bordeaux, Northernelg effortlessly shapes, with a trailblazing style, the musical trends flooding our Instagram and TikTok feeds. As his remixes ring out all over the globe and get used millions of times, Rodmusic sat down with the artist to go behind the scenes of his creativity. Your…
Your remixes are heard all over the world, but few people know your story. How does it begin?
I started my journey on Instagram in 2016, at the age of 17. At first, I only shared photos from my travels. I had a huge passion for photography and that’s what pushed me to create an account. I wasn’t expecting anything, I didn’t have any specific goals yet. It was really like: let’s go, let’s give it a try and see what happens! After a few years, a small community had formed. Around 2020, when my account was close to 28,000 followers, I felt the urge to change my content. And above all, to change field. I was focused on the outdoors and mountain photography, but none of that felt like me any more. So in 2021, after some serious soul-searching, I decided to combine content creation with the world of music.
How did your passion for music and content creation come together?
Music and content creation take up a huge part of my life, they’re what drives me most. So it was only logical that I decided to combine the two in a unique, original form. Ever since I was little, I’ve been a big fan of electronic music. I grew up on the French Touch, with David Guetta, Laurent Garnier and Daft Punk. It made me dream: at 4 years old, I was already obsessed with the world of music.
In my early teens, I started playing the piano. Then the drums and electronic music at the same time. All of it at the conservatoire, thanks in particular to my teacher Martin Mestres. He’s the one who introduced me to Ableton Live, the software I still compose with today. Those years at the conservatoire gave me technical skills but also cultural ones, and I’ll always be grateful for that.
Each of your videos and remixes seems to channel a real sense of French chic. Is that part of your artistic intentions?
Yes, completely. When it comes to video, I’m very inspired by the French art de vivre. I try to create shots that showcase objects, cities or museums with a distinctive elegance. Over time, I’ve been able to establish an artistic style that feels like me. On the musical side, I’m very much into house at the moment. That’s probably down to the many influences I’ve come across since the beginning, and also to current trends.
Has Bordeaux, your city, influenced your musical direction?
I’m from Marmande, a town a few kilometres from Bordeaux. When you grow up next to a city like Bordeaux, you’re directly influenced by it. I remember that before I moved there to study, I saw Bordeaux as a really trendy city, and it still is today. The techno scene and the house scene are both very present there. It has clearly had an impact on my musical direction!
What is your creative process behind each new remix or mashup?
At first, I went in a bit blind. I’d take a song I liked and post it on Instagram without really expecting anything to come of it. But over time, I’ve set up a process that turns out to be effective. I won’t hide it, I’m now chasing virality. So I’m constantly on the lookout for the latest releases and the tracks that are trending on Instagram.
For remixes and mashups, I keep it as simple and effective as possible, because they’re made specifically to trend on Instagram. You need something with impact. I add drums, one or two synths, a few effects, and I stop as soon as I think I’ve found a catchy groove. Music is 50% of content creation. For it to go viral, you also have to rely on the visual side. A good video will put the music in the spotlight and vice versa. It’s a super interesting process!
What is the key to your success in getting so much engagement on social media?
On social media, there aren’t a thousand secrets. What makes the difference is: offering something unique, grafting hard and being patient. If you have an original concept, you increase your chances of building a community. For my part, I decided to create my own “niche”. On my account, I combine music creation, travel inspiration and an educational side. To push my remixes into the trends, I post a tutorial in which I teach users how to use that audio for their next Reel. It sounds very abstract put like that haha, which is why I suggest people take a look at my account to get a concrete idea!
Even today, I’m the only one offering this “Tutorial + music” concept, and that’s the secret of this success.
Are you thinking of producing original tracks, or releasing your remixes on official platforms?
Yes, it’s one of my goals for 2024! It would be incredible to be able to release remixes officially on streaming platforms, and why not some tracks of my own. I have a few remixes in the bag right now, and once they’re out on Instagram, I’ll contact the managers of the artists involved to discuss it.
How do you approach your collaborations with brands and record labels?
Two months ago, I was contacted by Warner Music for a pretty unique collaboration. The aim was to remix Trinix’s track Emorio and push it into the Instagram trends so that users would pick it up for their videos. In the end, it did trend and more than 18,000 people used the remix. It gave a boost to Trinix’s original track, which also started trending. Having created my own niche on Instagram gives me this kind of incredible opportunity, and it’s really great! In the near future, I’m going to approach record labels to offer these services, because the results are really satisfying!
How do you see music content creation evolving, especially on social media platforms, over the next few years?
That’s a good question! I don’t see any significant changes in the coming years: social networks will still be just as useful for getting music and artists known. In 2023, quite a lot of artists are using Instagram and TikTok to promote their tracks and, honestly, I think this trend will carry on for the next few years. Social media is a real springboard for launching careers, and that’s a good thing. But because of that, there will probably be a standardisation of music, and maybe everything will start to sound the same. So people will have to innovate, but that’s a natural cycle.
Do you have any specific projects or ambitions for what comes next?
Musically, as I said earlier, I’m thinking about releasing remixes and original tracks in 2024. That would be great. Beyond that, I’ve had the same plan for 2 years: to keep creating content, come up with new ideas and, above all, have fun!
