Nicole Scherzinger was about to hear something she wasn’t expecting. On his way to New York to DJ an intimate party she was hosting, Eliad Cohen decided that a familiar Pussycat Dolls favorite wouldn’t be enough of a surprise. He went looking through her musical-theater catalog instead, landed on “With One Look,” and gave himself two days to turn it into a dance-floor moment.

“I fell in love with ‘With One Look,’” Cohen recalls. “In two days, I made the remix.”

When he played it for her, the reaction made the rush worthwhile. According to Cohen (and the video that circuited online), Scherzinger stayed on the dance floor, joining a room swept up in the surprise. For someone whose work depends on knowing when to deliver the unexpected, it was a particularly satisfying night.

That instinct is coming with him to URGE Miami Festival on November 27-30. Speaking with OUTSFL ahead of his appearance, Cohen is eager to bring the energy of his European travels back to the United States. His global itinerary has included Mykonos, Ibiza, Madrid and Amsterdam, and he describes arriving with fresh music and the kind of sunny, celebratory spirit that travels well from a European summer to a Miami November.

But the invitation extends beyond a good party. For Cohen, gathering openly as an LGBTQ community carries meaning, especially in Florida. He speaks about visibility and solidarity with the same enthusiasm he brings to his music.

“We are here, we are out and about and proud, and we need to make some noise,” he says. “It’s very important to be united.”

Cohen understands what it takes to bring that crowd together because he has spent years working on both sides of the DJ booth. As the producer behind PAPA Party, he was responsible for the details that turn a room into an experience: lighting, visuals, performers and the constant work of making sure everything runs. He also worked closely with DJs, sharing his ideas about music and the direction of the events.

Even before he formally became a DJ, music was the part that kept pulling him closer. “It was always my soul,” he says.

The pandemic then gave him an opportunity to follow that interest. With his touring schedule canceled and nightlife shut down, Cohen began learning to DJ and produce his own music. What started during an industry-wide pause became a new creative outlet, one that allows him to follow an idea from its earliest flicker to its eventual life in a crowded club.

Sometimes that singular flicker arrives at a decidedly unglamorous hour. Cohen laughs about waking up at 2 a.m., suddenly getting an idea and putting it in his phone before heading to the studio the next day. Later, he gets to watch people respond to the finished song without knowing where it began.

That connection between a private thought and a shared experience keeps him motivated. Writing lyrics, building a track and then seeing it reach people gives him a reason to keep making more.

Miami, of course, raises the stakes. Its nightlife audiences have heard plenty and partied widely. Cohen knows familiarity alone won’t hold their attention.

“You always need to reinvent yourself, and you always need to bring something new and fresh,” he says.

The Scherzinger remix is one example of how he approaches that challenge. Rather than relying entirely on the obvious choice, he looked for a song that would surprise even the person singing it. The aim was to find a way into the music that would make the room respond differently.

One of his most vivid memories of creating that response comes from a Carnival party in Brazil. Cohen remembers roughly 15,000 people, a jungle setting and the sun beginning to rise around 6 a.m. DJ Suri was with him, and Cohen had a specific idea for the transition into daylight: an acoustic track, opening with piano, at a time when the crowd might have expected the beats to get harder.

“You want to create a moment,” he says. “This is something that people remember.”

As he tells it, the change brought people together almost immediately. Guests began hugging and kissing, with strangers embracing one another as the sun came up. Years later, what stays with Cohen is the sight of an enormous crowd sharing something tender.

“You are responsible for creating a moment for the people,” he says.

Ask what paradise looks like away from the booth, and his answer stays very close to that sense of connection. Friends and family matter deeply to him, as does the affection he receives from fans. After a set, he likes taking pictures with people, finding a little time to relax with friends and eventually returning to the party.

He can’t help experiencing an event from several perspectives. The producer notices the lighting and production. The DJ though, listens to whoever plays next. And the person who loved going out long before it became his work still wants to dance.

“I’m a party boy,” he says.

Meanwhile, the studio keeps calling. Cohen describes a steady stream of writing, producing and collaborating, with artists including Alfie Arcuri and Luke Evans among the names in his musical orbit. Working with people across different countries keeps the process moving and gives him new ideas to explore.

There is still one collaboration he would particularly love to make happen: Rihanna.

“I love her voice, I love her attitude,” he says. “I love how she keeps it real.”

He is happy to entertain the possibility of helping soundtrack her musical return. Until then, there are new songs to finish, an URGE crowd to surprise and another chance to create the moment someone will remember long after they leave the dance floor.

Follow Eliad Cohen on Instagram @eliad_cohen

Tickets for URGE Miami Festival are available now at UrgeMiamiFestival.com.