THE current trend of deep, melodic sounds and moody, sultry vocals in contemporary electronic dance music has played straight into the hands of the sublime Eli & Fur.
Eliza Noble and Jennifur Noble first began turning heads back in 2012, breaking through with their debut track ‘You’re So High’. They have since risen to prominence with an inspiring collection of releases and they have collaborated along the way with the likes of Harry Romero, OC & Verde and Dosem while appearing on taste-maker labels such as Defected, Anjunadeep and Subliminal.
The London based duo have also appeared at some of the world’s biggest events over the last few years including Tomorrowland, SW4, Coachella and Creamfields which alongside their impeccable music has seen their popularity in recent years grow even further. They have just released new single ‘Coming Back’ on their label NYX Music, a spell binding follow up to 2018’s ‘Night Blooming Jasmine’. Remixed by another formidable, female force in dance music, Maya Jane Coles, ‘Coming Back’ is a welcome return.
We caught up with Eli & Fur ahead of their show for ANTS at Printworks, London last weekend to find out more about the new single, being inspired by Maya Jane Coles, gender diversity in dance music and the summer ahead. You can also listen to a fantastic mix from them over on The Night Bazaar CLICK HERE.
Congratulations on your new release ‘Coming Back’, it’s a beautiful track. Can you tell us a little more of the story behind the music? Who sang the vocal?
Thanks so much! That one is both our vocals layered which we like to do a lot as we have different tones which gives it a deeper feel. The song was written last year in our studio outside of London. It started with the chords and vocal melody, and we built the production around that.
Maya Jane Coles has produced a fantastic remix. Has Maya’s huge success over the last decade been an inspiration to you? Must be great to have her on the remix, especially since the release is on your own label NYX Music?
Of course! She’s a massive inspiration to us and an awesome person who stays very true to herself sound wise which is why all her music is so original and real. We were super happy when she was into the track and to have her on our label is a bonus!
Your music contains a lot of live elements. How does the dynamic work between you when creating music? It’s great to hear such a diverse range of tracks from you in terms of music aimed at the dance floor to a deeper melodic sound. Can you describe how you approach making music together?
Yes its always been quite an interesting way of working for us. We both come from a song writing background, primarily pop so we have always been more familiar with song structures. To merge the two worlds and get vocal hooks on our club tracks is the main task. When we hit that mark we are always happy. We often just start with chords and a vocal, and build up the track from there.
Your label NYX Music has been going since 2015 and your approach has been quality over quantity. What have you got coming up and are there any artists you would really like to get on board with the project in the future or is the focus primarily as an outlet for you?
The label has always been something we have wanted to do and has been a great outlet for us to have creative freedom. This year we are going to focus more on other artists we love, we are really excited about the the next release. We spend a lot of time listening to demos and when we find something we love it’s amazing to be able to share that though our own outlet. It’s definitely something we will continue to grow.
You’ve been busy touring the US in January? How have the dates been for you?
Amazing. We love it in the US. We have also made a lot of new music which we cannot wait to share!
You are no stranger to big festival stages these days as well as clubs. Do you go for a different sound on the big stages compared to a club set?
Yes, usually because the crowd is more varied it’s important to us to reach as many people as possible on an emotional level. This is a huge challenge but also exciting.
You’ve ticked off some huge shows at famous festivals all over the world such as Coachella, Tomorrowland and Ultra Music Festival. Do you have any favourites you enjoy playing?
Coachella has been the favourite so far!
And what about clubs…. Where are your favourite night spots?
We both loved Space Ibiza, what an end of an era but Hï is a great replacement. We loved playing there last summer.
We enjoyed some fabulous weather in February here in the UK and it looks set to warm up again this month! We can’t wait for the summer now! Can you spill the beans on any big festival dates for the upcoming summer?
Yes! We are playing lots of good ones this year. Looking forward to Extrema Outdoor in Belgium and also Anjunadeep in Albania, the location looks amazing.
As part of a wave of amazing female artists who have risen to prominence over the past few years, do you think equality when it comes to gender has been reached now in the industry or do you think there is still a lot of work to be done?
There’s still a lot to be done as things are not yet balanced, but this is also down to history. As long as we are having the conversations and people are promoting and supporting new female talent it will become more and more equal but that journey is still happening.
You are coming back to London to play at Printworks next month. Are you looking forward to it and what do you think of the venue?
The venue is one of our favourites! Such an amazing vibe there and to play for Ants which is always an amazing party in our home town is awesome.
Hailing from London how do you view club land in the capital in 2019 after a somewhat wobbly period at one point earlier this decade? Do you think the powers that be in the UK value electronic music culture in the same way as other countries? How do you rate the scene in 2019?
London is obviously a very artistic and varied city with a lot of rich culture and amazing music. We don’t tend to monitor things so closely but we will say that Fabric being re opened shows how if young people stand up for what they believe in and fight for important causes, people will listen. Nightlife culture is such an important and special thing to a lot of people. It’s about expression and freedom which is hugely important so hopefully the passion of the people in the city will drive things forward.
Eli & Fur ‘Coming Back’ is out now on NYX Music with a remix by Maya Jane Coles. Listen and buy HERE.
