Berlin’s underground has always thrived on risk-takers, and few embody that more vividly than Elninodiablo. Known as the force behind the queer party series Lunchbox Candy, Stephanos Pantelas now steps forward with his debut album, The Downey Groove, out today on his own imprint, El Niño Diablo Music. What emerges is both a personal document and a fearless exercise in body-led improvisation, rooted in rhythm, bass, and emotional heat.
Back in 2021, we featured him in this article when he presented the music video for his single Dorothea's Rainbow. Four years later, The Downey Groove arrives as a powerful continuation of that journey. The project traces its origins to an unlikely place: a period of solitude in the mountains of Cyprus. “There was a total lack of distraction, and the surrounding nature provided the energetic container to be in a creatively receptive mode,” he explains. With little more than a laptop and a field recorder, Pantelas turned isolation into fuel, sketching ideas that later blossomed into a record rich with dub, psychedelia, disco, and electronica.
It’s an eclectic sound world, but one that remains true to his vision. “By being true and authentic to the source of all that which is me, myself, and I, along with the mysteries of the universe. I am simply the channel, creator and filter of information that wants to come through. That is the core,” he says. Rejecting the need to bend towards market trends, he insists, “also keeping an open mind and an open heart without the need to shape the music in order to fit in a marketing campaign and commodify the art for external validation.”
This resistance to formula extends beyond the studio. Lunchbox Candy itself has become one of Berlin’s most talked-about queer nights, a space for radical expression and embodied freedom. That same ethos bleeds directly into the record. “One of the ideals we push for at LbC is radical self-expression, which can be interpreted in so many ways. For me, it’s all about authenticity that comes from one’s personal embodied truth and the natural extension of that into creative expression—fearlessness, playfulness, self-love, and joy have absolutely had an influence on the way I approach music making.”
For Pantelas, creation is not just sonic but physical, rooted in movement and release. “The process always begins with me as the artist—the music creation becomes the conduit for energetic movement and alchemy. The intention always emanates from the subconscious, and it’s the guiding force behind the creative choices I make when I’m writing music. So, the tension release happens in the actual process of the creative expression with me as the artist. If anyone else resonates with that and finds release while they are listening to the music, that would be a beautiful added bonus.”
The result is an eight-track trip that touches ceremonial dub, cheeky disco detours, and expansive psychedelia, yet never strays from its visceral centre. As he frames it, The Downey Groove is not just a record but a release. “It’s really a snapshot of a moment in time. Spirit captured in sound and frequency. It has freed me up to experiment more, follow my intuition and have fun in the process without worrying about what anyone else thinks!”