'It is a man’s world, and we have definitely felt isolated in that sense. But we try to never let that get to us, we keep pushing on.'
In the vibrant tapestry of electronic music, Eli & Fur weave a story that's as evocative as it is enthralling. Since their debut in 2013, Eliza Noble and Jennifer Skillman have carved a niche that defies the ordinary. Their sound is a hypnotic blend of soulful vocals, lush synths, and pulsating basslines, creating an immersive experience that is both intimate and expansive, pushing the boundaries of electronic music through a deeply personal lens. Their impressive discography includes collaborations with heavyweights such as Camelphat, MEDUZA, and Booka Shade, and they have garnered support from industry authorities like Boiler Room and BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix.
Just before the duo are due to take the stage at Ushuaia, Ibiza, I catch up with them backstage. "I still get nervous before a show," Eli confesses. The duo greets me with warmth, and we snap a few pictures. Instantly, they start pulling playful poses, laughing in front of the camera. Despite their 12-year journey from college friends to international sensations, I get the sense that they are still very down to earth people.
Alice: Eli and Fur thanks so much for joining us today on RTL Today. It's lovely to speak to you. Eli, I met you briefly a couple of years ago when you doing some guest speaking at a DJ retreat in Ibiza, and I remember you were talking about your origins, how you started off as pop producers.
Eli: Yes it’s really interesting for us, because we came in from that world, and so it’s always been something that we draw from. We learnt so much because it was a very formulaic way of working. It started off just as a job, where we were doing some song writing, some engineering, and some vocal sessions. In the evenings we would stay late at work, and use the studio. The interesting thing about that is that when we write electronic music now, we definitely have that pop sensibility in the back of our minds. We take that and flip it on it’s head, and make a club track, but also have those catchy hooks and moments that we think are important in terms of capturing the audience with our vocals. It’s definitely taught us a lot.
A: For me, your music treads a beautiful line between dance floor and emotional. It kind of gets you in the feels, but also makes you want to dance, which is quite cool. What’s your ritual behind writing music, how do you bring it all together?
Fur: We usually start with some chords that we like, and that always inspires the vocal melody. That’s really important for us, to play some chords that we feel are fitting with our mood, and that will be the starting point of the song. And then we just build around it.
E: It’s always important for us to have a song first, a traditional song, because that is the hardest thing to get right. It’s really fun just jamming in the studio and getting a really nice groove, that you think will sound good on the dance floor, but then you’re like, ‘Ok, so how are we going to write on top of this?’. We have so many tracks in the vaults which we really love, that just haven’t really become anything, because we just haven’t been able to bridge that gap.
A: How do you balance the creative input between the two of you? It’s been 11 years since you released your first single, so you must have a rhythm by now!
E: Definitely! We love working together. In the pandemic, we had to do this whole album completely separately. That was really interesting for us, because being together in the studio can sometimes be less productive. We have so much fun together, we’ll run a bunch of ideas and then we won’t really focus in on any one thing. That really helped us with our process, because now we’ll send stuff back or forth. Fur, you’re a bit more fussy with things than I am! Say we have 10 ideas, Fur will like 3, so that will whittle it down a little bit, and it’s like another filter, I suppose.
F: I just know what I like, and I just sort of go with it.
A: You’ve had some really great new releases recently. Insomnia for me was on repeat when it came out. Your new track ‘My Reflection’, is really cool. What went into making that?
E: We did the vocal melody with Julia Church, who is just the most insane songwriter, I love her melodies. Often when we have a backing track that we’ve made, we’ll bring another writer in, and that’s where the whole top line idea comes from. In terms of it’s production, it was just an idea that we were working back and forth on. It just felt really emotional, but it would work on the dance floor, which is the two things we strive to do. It means a lot to us, we’ve been playing it out a ton, and it just really works. It’s introspective, we see people closing their eyes and we love seeing a track that we’ve made have that effect on people. It’s one of our favourites on the album for sure, and we’re really excited about it.
A: I’m asking a few different female artists about their challenges in music, how they’ve found navigating the industry. Did you have any challenges when you were both emerging in this space?
E: It’s a difficult one, we definitely faced challenges when we started. It’s a small world to get into in terms of people accepting you, wanting to write about you, and play your music. It is a man’s world, and we have definitely felt isolated in that sense, for sure. But we try to never let that get to us, we keep pushing on. There have been certain males in the industry who have really championed us and supported us. We’ve reached out to other women in the industry as well for advice. When you start any kind of journey towards something you want to do and you are not established, it is a difficult thing. So many people say 'no', so many things don’t connect. There are many times when you want to throw the towel in, and think it is never going to work. I think you have to have patience, perseverance, and not let anybody make you feel small, just believe in what you are doing.
A: Do you think being a duo has helped?
F: Definitely having a partner, a team, always makes things easier. There’s two of you. That’s what’s made us stronger.
E: You have someone to confide in, you’re doing this with your best friend. Our default is, whoever is feeling down, the other one is like ‘Ok, I need to be the strong one here’. I feel like we’ve lifted each other up, and motivated each other so many times over the years. That friendship is incredible, and definitely a benefit of being in a duo for sure.
A: Do you have the same musical influences?
F: We’re a little bit different. I grew up more on 80s stuff, music my mum would play. We bonded going out when we were 19, we’d go to clubs. We went to a kink show, and that was the first time we saw someone play using Ableton, and that was a huge inspiration for us.
E: I was into the acoustic, folky stuff. Playing the guitar and writing songs, but not in the electronic world really at all. Fur was totally my partner in crime, we liked the same parties. Then there was the job in pop music. We just took all those influences, and that’s how our music has developed.
A: You launched a label as well, NYX. How’s that going?
F: It’s great, it’s taken a while, we were so busy with everything. But this year, we put so much energy into it, and we found some amazing artists that we’ve been releasing and are still to release. So we’re just putting our all into it, and finding music to share with people.
E: Also for our own stuff, if it’s not right for a certain label, or we really believe in it but nobody else does, then we have that amazing outlet to put the stuff in front of people.
A: Going back to the women in music industry insights for a second, what do you think the future of diversity and inclusion in the music scene? Do you think there’s more opportunities opening up now for women in the space?
F: Definitely, it’s changed a lot from when we started. It’s nice to see more inclusion. I’ve noticed that for sure. Especially for kids growing up and having people to look up to, seeing that is really important. It’s definitely changing.
E: There was a real issue when we started, we didn’t have a lot of role models. There were obviously some people, but it was like, ‘What the hell, why aren’t people encouraging more women and girls to get into this’. There’s still a long way to go, but the tables are turning, which is such a nice thing to see.
A: There are a lot more initiatives aren’t there, for women and girls. Do you have any advice for new and emerging artists?
F: Stick to your gut, don’t let anybody put you in a box, and just keep going. Try not to look at what everyone else is doing so much.
E: That’s such great advice. I guess my advice would be exactly as Fur says, don’t let people put you in a box! The first few years you’re going to do things that you might look back on and think wasn’t quite right. But that journey is really important, don't be afraid of that, try different things, see what sticks and what feels natural. It’s a process and it’s not going to happen overnight. Just work hard, and don’t let people tell you ‘no’! Believe in yourself and stay true to yourself and when you do get to where you’re going, you’ll feel better about it.
A: What’s coming up for you over the summer?
F: So the album drops in September, and then we are rehearsing and doing 3 live shows, one in LA, one in New York, and one in London. We’ll be playing old and new songs all live, live vocals, so that’s pretty much what we are putting all our time into.
E: We’re in Furs garage basically every day for the shows, which we’re so excited about. We are touring here and there, we are doing US shows and some in Europe, and just trying to balance everything. Of course the singles will keep coming before the album comes out! Lots of rehearsing, DJing, and just getting the music out there.
Listen to the audio interview here:
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