Elaine Mai: "I definitely found a sense of community when I first moved to Dublin"

For Mayo-born electronic producer Elaine Mai, community is a central part of her experience with art and the world at large, as reflected on her newest album For Us. It’s incredibly emotional and gorgeously produced electronic music, filled with some wonderful collaborations.

I chat with Mai ahead of a show in the Button Factory – one of her favourite venues in the city.

“It’s really well set up for electronic music,” she enthuses. “They have a brilliant lighting and sound set-up, and even just the shape of the venue works very well for that. For this show, I’m gonna be joined by Faye O’Rourke, Sinead White, MuRIi and MayKay – all the folks on the new album.”

O’Rourke and MayKay are long-time friends and collaborators of Elaine’s, notably present on the single ‘We Are’. The track features young people from the Aida Refugee Camp in the Occupied West Bank in Palestine – to whom all the proceeds from the track are donated.

“MayKay had been volunteering over there a couple of years ago,” Elaine explains. “I was working on the album around the same time. She recorded lots of vocals of the kids over there, because she was doing music and songwriting workshops.

“She sent me some of the audio that she had collected, and we talked about it, and thought: why wouldn’t we include this on the album, and give that platform to these voices? I started working with it then, and Faye had separately recorded the main chorus vocal. It was like a jigsaw piece: it just slotted together very organically.

“The kids really loved the track as well,” she continues, “so we wanted to make sure that it got out there, and all of the proceeds would go to the camp. It was an opportunity to share the platform that I am very privileged to have, and to give the opportunity to other people who don’t have that.”

On this particular track as well as all throughout her career, Mai puts a major emphasis on the communal aspect of songwriting and music production.

“I can work in lots of different ways, but the collaboration piece brings this really exciting unknown to the table,” she says. “The track’s gonna go in a direction that you hadn’t envisioned. You have to be open to that, and be willing to not push against it, and see where it takes you.

“I love that element of surprise, and all the people on the album are so talented. I feel very lucky to be able to hand over projects and say, right, how does this make you feel? What comes to you?”

In their search for community, Mai and her wife have recently moved back to the west. “As I get older,” she explains, “the drawback to a smaller community feels very strong. The world has gotten quite fragmented, and the more that we can put an emphasis on communities and people coming together, the better.”

In Dublin, though, the Mayo native has also always been able to find her people, be it within the music scene, queer space, or both.

“I definitely found a sense of community when I first moved to Dublin,” she says. “Mother would always have been the place we went, and still go to. It has such a good community vibe and it’s something they really foster. They make sure that people know it’s a queer space, and an inclusive space, and that the community can feel safe there. They go to a lot of effort to make sure that’s communicated, and I think that’s amazing.

“They do some of the bigger festivals,” she continues, “like Pride Block Party, which happens in the summertime, and it’s just amazing. I’ve had the privilege of playing that a couple of times, and it’s just so nice, there’s such a good vibe.

“I’m ageing myself here by saying it was the Front Lounge when I moved to Dublin,” Mai laughs, “but Street 66, now, is also a really good place for people to hang out. And then Outhouse – I’m a big fan of Outhouse, as a drop-in centre. They’ve got a little cafe in there, and I’ve been to some of the events, like when we were canvassing for marriage equality.

Outhouse

“It’s just a really good hub for the community, a great place to understand and hear about what’s going on, and a resource for smaller groups within the community to meet. Panti Bar, for me, has always been a great spot for meeting people and hanging out. No matter what time of the day you go in there, you can just chill and have a pint, catch up with friends. I’ve always felt very at home there.

“I think upstairs in Workman’s is good craic. Not necessarily a queer space, but definitely a very open space, and I’ve always felt very welcome and safe there.”

Favourite places for a coffee or a meal? “The Pepper Pot is such a nice cafe, and a great place to go in and meet people – if you can get a seat! Las Tapas de Lola is a great spot as well, really welcoming. I always feel very at home in Gutter Bookshop. And Indigo & Cloth is class, I love that little spot.”

Dublin is also bustling with queer cultural events that foster a strong sense of community. Of her personal highlights, Mai mentions the GAZE International Film Festival at the Light House and the IFI.

“I was actually on the board a few years ago,” says Elaine, “and they put such care into that festival. They give a real opportunity to queer talent in the film industry. Queer films need to have a space to be shown in a proper big experience, so I love that festival, and I always will try and go out of my way to make it.

“The International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival is something I would always look forward to as well, because, similarly, they’re just giving a space to queer voices that they might not get at other times. The Pride Festival is always great. It’s become very family-friendly, more of a big citywide thing, which is class, so there’s something for everyone.”

An iconic Dublin queer figure? “Tonie Walsh does these queer walking tours of Dublin,” Mai says, “and he’s been such an incredible advocate for our community throughout the years.”

When remembering her early days in Dublin, and still to this day, Mai has a particularly good memory of Thomas Street, which she would still consider her favourite area of the capital.

“It’s changed loads over the last few years, actually,” she admits. “But I used to live near the Guinness Storehouse, so I’d walk down Thomas Street, and all around the Liberties. There’s just so much going on and so much life. There’s some really good charity shops all around there. And more recently, there’s loads of nice cafes. It will always be my favourite part of Dublin.”

For family or friends visiting her in the city, though, Mai would take them, “Out in Clontarf, for a walk along the water, because it’s just so beautiful, and it’s a side of Dublin that you don’t really see unless you make the effort to go. St Anne’s Park was always a part that we loved to visit as well – it’s so big and sprawling, and there’s nice markets at the weekend.”

Finally, if she could choose a queer Dublin soundtrack, Mai says she would go for “Pillow Queens – I know it’s obvious, but it’s right.”

• For Us is out now.

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