Elevator Music Wants To Pop up at an Elevator Near You

It was, in fact, still a burgeoning project run by a group of four creatives in their mid-twenties to early thirties, calling in from Chicago, their hometown, and the birthplace of house music. Despite the distance over Zoom, the conversation pulls me straight into Chicago’s creative energy.

“Something’s in the Great Lakes water makes people super creative,” the team tells PAPER. “We have so much talent, but not always the platforms to support it. We either have to build something ourselves or eventually move to New York or LA. It’s our Trojan horse — a way to sneak into places like Berlin. People there think it's local, and then watch it and go, ‘Wait, who’s this artist from Chicago? This is sick.”

What began in 2023 as a one-hour pilot filmed inside a “perfect little box” to help one of their own secure a gig abroad quickly, and, improbably, grew into the real deal, amassing millions of views and active audiences across more than fifty-five countries.

Simply put, it’s a real, functioning elevator transformed into a live music platform that hosts everyone from DJs and artists to mariachi and polka bands, from the late Ron Caroll and DJ Lady L to Fatboy Slim and Takuya Nakamura. “We want people to feel like they are physically there and compelled to dance. Like a real elevator ride. Maybe the longest elevator ride you've ever taken in your life.”

Filmed inside a giant warehouse, the area surrounding the monolithic elevator is intimate and brimming with energy, with an open bar and room to watch and dance. The elevator walls have seen it all, from treadmills and harps to seventy-years-olds and even newborns. Every time the doors open, a new group of passengers steps into the elevator — people who have been waiting in line to hit the dance floor. “Whether it’s a group of friends or a father and son who came to see Fatboy Slim, everyone gets to walk home with a clip and hold on to that forever.” When the artist finishes their set and steps out of the elevator, they’re met with a cheering crowd.

Speaking with the team, it becomes clear that much of what defines the platform wasn’t planned but emerged organically, shaped by artists and audiences coming together in the same space. In that sense, it gestures toward a more intentional way of experiencing music today.

“You think you're listening to something independent and cool, and then you realize it's all just owned by a very small number of hands. You can feel it,” they tell me. “People are sick of the massive volume of slop content, and we respect our audience enough to prioritize high-quality, carefully crafted and booked episodes. You can be confident that every episode is made with love and care.”

From the start, the team opted not to favor one genre over another, or A-listers over emerging artists. “It’s a privilege for us to be able to say to artists, ‘Hey, come do this with us — come make an episode. We’ll give you all the support you need and handle the full production and rollout equally for every artist.”

They also feel responsibility to uplift the local scene in Chicago, without positioning themselves as gatekeepers. In April 2025, they launched an interview series called Elevator Pitch, documenting Chicago's house legends and preserving the oral history of the music firsthand. “We have a higher responsibility as a platform to document the artists and have that online forever. Future DJs could go and do their own research and figure out where the history is. Hopefully there are more than just us doing that.”

There’s a dream list, of course — and they’ve already managed to check off a few names.

One of those artists is Kaytranada, a booking the team described as “bound to happen.” “It had been in the works for at least a year with his team. It was mutual love all along. He confirmed with us 24 hours in advance, and we pulled it all together pretty quick. If you get confirmation from Kaytranada, you'll jump through the hoops to make it happen.” Putting it out in the universe, they’re hoping to land Stevie Wonder one day.

xSome of their favorite moments verge on the surreal. Before one set, Fatboy Slim downed two Red Bulls, gotslapped by his manager — a long-standing rumor they confirm with a laugh — and performed barefoot. In another, P1Harmony’s performance cemented just how far the concept had traveled, proving that a neutral space like an elevator brings together people you wouldn’t expect.

Out of all the hurdles of being independent, keeping the vision intact is the hardest, the team admits.

Their ambitions are big, but time and resources are limited. They’re open to finding the right partner to help scale the platform, but not at the cost of creative control. “We definitely want to remain one of those independent companies, and a pillar of that community as well.” So far, they’ve been able to do so by being selective about who they work with, from day-to-day collaborators to past partnerships with institutions like Apple Music and Tate Modern.

Above all, they want artists to feel they’re in good hands.

Eventually, Elevator Music aims to increase their name recognition abroad, believing exceptional music and spaces exist everywhere. Still, no matter how far it travels, Elevator Music will always trace back to Chicago. “It’s part of the responsibility that comes with building a company born and raised there,” they declare.

Photos courtesy of Elevator Music