Elf Traps

Emerging from Manchester’s underground scene, Elf Traps is a new project where beat- driven electronica collides with spiritual jazz and psychedelic, otherworldly, tones. On stage, live drums and synths are intertwined with drum machines, laptops, samplers, chopped vocal fragments and custom robotic percussion — creating a hypnotic exchange of rhythm, texture and improvisation. The music twists and evolves in real time, moving from meditative ambient passages to explosive, adrenaline-charged rhythmic peaks. No two performances are ever the same. The brainchild of Mercury Prize nominee Rob Turner (Mammal Hands, former–GoGo Penguin) and Liviu Gheorghe (former–Matthew Halsall / Gondwana), Elf Traps channels Squarepusher’s rhythmic chaos, Four Tet and Floating Points’ textural electronics, and Pharoah Sanders’ spiritual openness — creating music that’s raw, vibrant and rich with emotional depth.