Between the clinic and the club: Why DJ Elsa Wurzel Ova needs both

“I need both to be happy”, says Elsa Wurzel, laughing briefly. “Just nightlife? That won’t do. Just medicine? That won’t do either.”

Elsa Wurzel is a DJ and psychiatrist in Zurich. She is half Czech, half Swiss, grew up surrounded by languages, cultures and music, and now combines her medical work with club culture. The 30-year-old is known for her energetic sets spanning leftfield bass, UK breaks, garage, dubstep, techno, house, trap and baile funk, as well as for her involvement in the city’s feminist and cultural scenes.

During the day, she works as a psychiatrist in outpatient care with regular hours. In the evenings, she’s in clubs with music and friends. In between, she tries to balance her life: “It’s lovely, but also very exhausting. There aren’t enough hours in the day.”

Her resources are music, dancing and her friends. And yet there came a point when she couldn’t cope any longer. At 26, she suffered from burnout.

“It was all too much. I was tired, drained.” Today she can sense earlier on when things are about to tip over: “I had to learn to say no.”

She started playing the piano at the age of six; by fifteen, she wanted to become a pianist: competitions, daily practice, concerts.

“The classical music world is very strict. I was too emotional, too stressed.” At 17, she stopped abruptly. Later, she studied medicine: “I wanted to work with people.”

She found her way back to music through electronic sets: “I play the way I want to dance myself. I don’t care about the genre.” Many say you can tell just by looking at her how much she loves her music. She dances behind the decks: “There’s an exchange of energy taking place.”

Eva Wurzel Ova is also active in the political arena: she organises sold-out talks at the Zentralwäscherei featuring female artists who address left-wing feminist issues, culture and politics. Examples include Seyda Kurt and Franziska Schutzbach. She also organises interdisciplinary, accessible events with the feminist collective F96. For a year, she also worked as a co-curator at Zurich’s Karl der Grosse. The Zurich native is interested in topics such as endometriosis, ADHD and feminist perspectives.

“For me, it’s about creating platforms. Ultimately, it’s about exchange based on solidarity.” She speaks quickly, thinks out loud. Two years after her burnout, she was diagnosed with ADHD. “Very late, but a lot became clear.” Loud, emotional, impulsive – traits that were often held against her. “But I actually like that side of myself.”

Does she see herself as an artist? She hesitates: “Perhaps ‘hobby’ is the wrong word. Music is my passion.”

Personal life? “Difficult.” Elsa Wurzel Ova hardly has any time to herself. Having more of it is right at the top of her list. She has no children and feels more like she’s in her early twenties than her thirties: “I’m only really getting to know myself now.” When she looks back on her younger self, she says: “Taking a break isn’t a failure. It’s a strength.”

At the end of our conversation, she talks about the healthcare system, about tiredness and working hours: “We can’t do this job properly if we’re always exhausted.” The healthcare sector is chronically understaffed, she says, leading to too few breaks, a phone that never stops ringing and 50-hour working contracts. Politicians interfere too much and make decisions where they have no business doing so.

Then Elsa Wurzel Ova has to move on and returns once more to her work as a musician: “The best thing is when people come together. When something shared is created. Then it’s all worth it.”