In the late 1990s, he earned a privileged spot with New York's avant garde guru Laurie Anderson, serving as the lead engineer on her concert tours, the designer for her computer programsme, and the recording and mix engineer. From there, he developed another long-lasting engagement with Bang On a Can, the visionary contemporary classical music organization that has revolutionized the relationship between popular and classical music.
One thing leads to another, and Elff signed up to work front-of-house for Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. He later recorded the group's Grammy nominated Off the Map and is currently in the midst of recording the group's newest work. Other high-profile clients include Ethel, Tan Dun, Paul Winter, Hothouse Flowers, and Anderson's late husband, Lou Reed.
All the while, Elff has nurtured a successful career as a fine artist by working in innovative ways with sound, and his diverse talents have earned him teaching opportunities at MIT, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Hartt School of Music. His sonic installations have been shown at PS122, Dance Theater Workshop, The Kitchen, and Moving Image Gallery, and he has a commissioned sound installation permanently installed in Lyon, France. Elff has basically had several interesting things going on at any given time for 25 years.
Just as a veteran furniture craftsman amasses the finest tools to do the finest work, so too has Elff amassed a collection of favoured technology, including Metric Halo SpectraFoo sound analysis software. "Back in the late 1990s, when I started working with Laurie Anderson, I had my first opportunity to have complete design control over the PA system (rather than just being a guest at a venue for an evening), and I was well aware of how important proper PA alignment was to a successful show," he said.
"Back then, in many local venues, it was still the Wild West. I could walk into a venue with an artist and it could be great or it could be really terrible. Through my friends at Firehouse Productions, I was introduced to the guys who, at the time, were just starting Metric Halo. They gave me a run-through of SpectraFoo, and I immediately recognized its value for system analysis, and started using it on Laurie's tours. I've been using it ever since."
(Jim Evans)
