Meet Elle Shimada | Musician / Event curator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elle Shimada and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elle, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Music chose me. I tried to escape, but it always came back to me.

At 15, I left the Tokyo project housing I grew up in for Australia with little English. Music became my language, my tool for connection. It wasn’t a career until my mid-twenties. It helped me navigate emotions, communicate, and connect.

A pivotal moment was curating a four-week residency to launch my band in Melbourne. Each week, we themed around political and cultural topics, featuring musicians, dancers, designers, even tattooists and masseuses. It was born out of necessity; we lacked managers or business skills.

The response was overwhelming. Despite my lack of expertise, we filled a 200-capacity venue. It was eye-opening. I was just a young, passionate kid with creative friends, lacking financial literacy or PR knowledge, but eager to share my experiences.

Each week, multidisciplinary artists explored themes like intentional rest and feminism, using dance as a form of active bodily meditation.

The impact was profound. Audiences felt heard and inspired, artists felt free to explore. A friend called it a ‘movement,’ and that stuck with me.

I knew I had to get serious. I immersed myself in learning. We had fun, but I realized we couldn’t sustainably continue without financial stability. So, I learned to monetize our passion to support ourselves and grow together.

For the first time, I felt powerful, creating spaces where all my passions could align. Music led the way for me to do something way beyond me, with the generosity of my crew’s time talent and trust in the vision, we created an event series that was an intersection of art, community, social change and business. It was liberating.

I still create and build with the same crew. We are now grown and get to call it our calling, and career too.

I don’t chase bag, fame or men, the freedom is the only thing I chase

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I make cinematic music for dance floors and clubs. Violin, electronic music production, and voice are my main choices of weapons. I love to tell stories too, my debut album was exploring a sense of ‘home’ beyond the geographical, it’s conceptual and quite introspective.

I was inspired by underground club music and it’s resistance movement, and wanted to find a way to connect these sounds and influences with what came more authentic to me; my violin and my stories.

My debut album explores the concept of ‘home’ beyond geographical boundaries, weaving introspective themes with spoken word, layered strings, jazz, and club influences. Inspired by the origins of underground club music and its resistance movements, I sought to merge these sonorous landscapes with a more conceptual, introspective approach.

The next album is all about ‘overcoming’. It’ll be a lot more raw, honest, and emotional.

Under the banner of ‘CO-DREAMERS’, I curate events that range from intimate gatherings to larger venues, all with the aim of harnessing music’s unifying power for dance-floor activism. While I’m in the process of expanding this into a touring event series, its roots remain firmly planted in Melbourne, Australia.

Recent writing and performance tours across SXSW, LA, NY, and LDN, as well as Asia, have been transformative experiences. Playing my original music back in Asia was particularly meaningful, and the warm welcome I received as an underground artist was truly heartwarming.

Navigating the music industry as an artist presents its challenges. Income streams are unpredictable, and understanding the business side of the industry is crucial. Focusing on cultivating a loyal local fan base and building a trustworthy team have been instrumental in overcoming these challenges.

For me, entrepreneurship was a necessity rather than a choice. I resisted the exploitation prevalent in the industry and realized that building my own business was the only way to protect and preserve my art.

I feel deeply grateful for the opportunities music has afforded me—to build community, travel consistently to new places worldwide, meet inspiring people pushing boundaries, and acquire business and financial literacy. Music has not only opened my mind to countless perspectives and experiences but has also pushed me to learn and grow continuously.

What’s truly remarkable is how music has enriched my life in myriad ways now. Taken me years of failing again and again to be able to say this, but these days, I consider myself incredibly blessed to enjoy almost every aspect of my job—from recording, performing, directing music videos and all the creativity and exploring new territories to networking and managing the business side of things.

While I may be smily, silly and friendly by nature, I have learned now that it is essential artists and business owners demand that our authentic self is respected so we can reach my highest potential.

If there’s one thing I did right, its taking time to find ‘where’, where my ‘who’ can thrive.
I firmly believe in creating environments where my true essence can grow. Only through this place, I can be truly free. And my goal is to share that freedom with my people who I build with, and extend that to everyone who comes to our dance floors.

This principle has guided me to spaces where investing time and effort into both my creativity and business endeavors feels fulfilling. It’s about finding that perfect balance where passion and purpose intersect,

I’m truly grateful because I found something that I truly love doing.
And it allows me to be curious, consistent and have fun along the journey.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m from Tokyo so there’s no shortage of fun things to do with a good friend.

I’d take them first to my grandmother’s traditional soba noodle place near the famous Shibuya crossing. It’s a beautiful peaceful restaurant in the heart of Tokyo. We could go to Mori art gallery, go digging and find some Japan limited edition records or find some vintage fashion in Shimokitazawa, catch some jazz at The Room then dance at a club called Contact.

Tokyo is a crazy city, there’s so much on and you never get bored.

We could go to the countryside too, Tokyo is huge, bigger than NY, but nature is only an hour train ride away. I’d love to show them the peaceful side of my home land, swim in the river, and eat amazinglocal food on the top of the Takao mountains…

If it’s Melbourne they’re visiting, I’ll take them first to my favourite record shop Northside Records.
It’s like a church for musicians. The live music scene is thriving, and there’s always a gig on.
Melbourne breakfast is also very delicious.

I’d then take them to Footscray market and make them a delicious dinner or go for a skinny dip in the beach at night.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to thank music for running through me. I am yet a vessel of her voice.

Big love my mother Naoko Shimada – she’s my creator – god is a woman. And my father, who has taught me that life’s all about adventures and taking risks!

Gratitude to my collective CO-DREAMERS, Lucky Pereira, Bella Waru, Quartz Pistol, Kurt Lam, Rara Zulu. They are all boundary-pushing artists. And Naarm based creative community. The team of Asian queens Kim Suree, Yang Chen, and Aakanksha Sidhu.

Last but not least, thank you to my fans and everyone who has come to my gigs, listen to my music and created spaces with me. You are the most important part of this music business.

Website: elleshimada.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elleshimada

Youtube: https://www.elleshimada.com/musicvideo

Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6QCfENvTPwkHq4V6nTMOpk?si=fb7NoJ9OT4-g7ihbkVRXwQ