Rave routs retirement for Germany's oldest DJ

DW (English)

Her favorite music to play is techno and house. 76-year-old Elly Steiner is Germany’s oldest DJ.

Transcript

00:00Give it up for Germany's oldest active DJ, Elie!

00:16I feed off the people moving to the music and me influencing their mood.

00:21Now when I'm enthusiastic, they get enthusiastic too.

00:32I have played with the idea of retiring.

00:39If it isn't my friend, Akim!

00:55Tonight DJ Elie has a gig on a club boat.

01:00Wait, I'll try to go butt first.

01:09How are you, man?

01:10What's up?

01:11Good to see you!

01:18I didn't want to drag the big seedy players along. I just have my controller.

01:22Some of the guests even arrive by boat.

01:36Elie is one of a kind. We're longtime fans. We know what a gem she is.

01:41Age is just a number. What matters is what you do, right?

01:44Absolutely!

01:46Forever young!

01:52I would love to be half as fresh and cool as she is. For sure!

02:07I don't want to be sitting around by myself when I'm 75 only to play rummy with other oldies once a week.

02:14I'll be happy if I can still party with my girls.

02:22She's still at it, and I think she's going to go another hundred years.

02:29When I've found a connection with the crowd, with the people on the dance floor,

02:38then we're kind of on the same wavelength and everything becomes smooth.

02:42There's a connection.

02:48Drugs and alcohol take away your inhibitions.

02:53I don't drink alcohol and I don't take drugs. That's my credo and I stick to it.

03:00For 20 years Elie was an addict, but that was before she became a DJ.

03:06You have to surrender. You have to surrender completely.

03:13I'd stopped recognizing myself. I said, Elie, this isn't who you are,

03:19what you've gotten yourself into. That isn't really you.

03:24I just came to the conclusion that I couldn't be doing this to myself anymore.

03:43I always do Tai Chi in the morning. It's the first thing I do.

03:49I want to keep fit, and even when I'm feeling sick and can't do Tai Chi,

03:55which often happens, then I just drop it that day.

03:58I'm in pretty good shape, but I want to stay fit because being in movement is being alive.

04:07If you stop moving, you die.

04:13It's the best. Raising the mood and finding a way to bring it back up again when it falls.

04:19Because you can't always be up there.

04:22There has to be a bit of movement and an interaction between myself and the crowd.

04:27And I love that. I just love it.

04:42For four whole hours, Elie gives her all, with some support from a younger colleague.

04:58The morning after is a bit rough.

05:01Oh, my back.

05:04Why the back?

05:07I just worked way too long.

05:10I'm exhausted. I think I need to sit down.

05:15Straight from lying down to sitting down.

05:18Oh, dear.

05:22It was exhausting, and I'm still tired.

05:31Hello, Lily.

05:34Look who it is.

05:36My world-leading expert.

05:39She's from Birmingham.

05:42It was an amazing gig. I think it was my best set in the last ten years.

05:47It was so great, Maika. People were screaming.

05:51I went down to the boat at half past three.

05:56Didn't head back home?

05:58No, Maika, I'm telling you, I said to myself I'm going to sleep right here with a pounding bass.

06:06Wow.

06:07Like a heartbeat good for sleeping.

06:11And then I thought it's all a mantra. All sounds are a mantra.

06:16Your mantra is bringing you into a deep sleep.

06:19And then I dozed off.

06:21And you, my dear?

06:23A bit exhausting. It was our first conference there.

06:28If she hadn't had struggled with addiction and had the experiences she's had,

06:34I sometimes tell her I don't know if we would have gotten together if we'd met during that time.

06:46Well, today I feel kind of sick. I have a stomachache. I'm exhausted.

06:52I slept the whole time, too. I kept falling asleep.

06:57Elli and Maika have a garden of their own.

07:03The garden is our haven, where it's really just me, Maika, or the two of us.

07:13When that time comes, I don't know what it will be like.

07:17We see death as a part of life, and we talk about it just like we talk about other topics.

07:23Of course, you think, that we're suddenly 20 years older,

07:27and that one of us will pass before the other, but that's just an illusion.

07:34It will always be a difficult topic. It will be harder for the one who's left behind.

07:41Maybe death itself isn't the hardest part, but the time leading up to it,

07:46or what to do when someone needs care, how does that work?

07:50Those questions keep coming up.

07:56Corn's yummy.

07:58It's delicious.

08:02That's just how the world works. That's just life.

08:06But it's also love. Getting older is part of it,

08:09because without getting older, you don't get any new insights.

08:14And suddenly, Ellie's health takes a turn for the worse.

08:22Yesterday, she collapsed at the GP's office.

08:25They called the emergency doctor straight away.

08:28Anne took her to the emergency room, and that's where they're doing all the examinations.

08:44It's hard for me. I'm really worried.

08:52Two weeks later, Ellie is back on her feet.

09:02I felt so bad that I said to myself,

09:07Hey Ellie, this is it. Your time has come.

09:15Luckily, it hadn't.

09:21Today is a sensational gig.

09:23Once a year, Stuttgart celebrates Christopher Street Day.

09:29I'll be DJing for an hour or so, something around that time.

09:34And if I can't do it, then I'll get support from someone.

09:38And then they'll take it from there.

09:45We've made a deal that she shouldn't exhaust herself,

09:48and that I come and bring her down if that happens.

09:52Because when Ellie is having fun, she starts bouncing around.

10:04I'm closing at nine.

10:06You're the closing act?

10:08I'm happy. Happy to hear.

10:13What? It's already quarter to eight?

10:16An hour to go.

10:18I need to rest a bit.

10:23I'm exhausted.

10:25I need to lean on something.

10:27Otherwise I won't make it, you know.

10:34I'll be wiped by the time I'm supposed to play.

10:40Can you lean on that, dear?

11:03Give it up for Germany's oldest active DJ.

11:34When you have these magical moments, you feel like you're in heaven.

11:49It felt like an out-of-body experience.

11:52Incredible. Like being in another world.

11:56I don't think I want to retire quite yet.

11:59Only when I can't keep on doing it.

12:02If I'm not able to walk or stand on my own two feet for five hours,

12:06then I'll have to pack my bags and say goodbye to the crowds.

12:26Germany! Germany!

Category

Transcript

Recommended