Following the success of their debut LP Found in the Wild, Eli & Fur are back with their highly anticipated second album, Dreamscapes. Set to release on [PIAS] Électronique, this new project promises to captivate with its ethereal sound and emotive storytelling. To celebrate and build on their breathtaking secret performance at the National Air & Space Museum during the Cercle Festival in Paris, where Numéro NL was present, the duo will perform live shows at The Fonda in LA, Brooklyn Steel in New York, and London’s Village Underground this autumn.

The album’s lead single, Golden Eyes and Tears, already out, gives a tantalising preview of Dreamscapes. Featuring a blend of static hissing, isolated guitar notes, and the duo’s signature sultry vocals, the track encapsulates the euphoric high of nighttime nostalgia.

Additionally, My Reflection, another single from Dreamscapes, showcases Eli & Fur’s ability to craft poignant, multi-layered soundscapes. The track’s melancholic yet hopeful tones highlight the duo’s lyrical and technical prowess.

“‘My Reflection’ is a dream for the one that one got away… it is about being consumed by a person or feeling you cannot shake. It is blurring the lines between what is real and what is not – is it something you should let go of, or is it something worth fighting for? It is playing things over and over in your mind, every fleeting glimpse feels like a reflection of their lingering shadow.”

Eli & Fur

As Eli & Fur prepare for their live shows, we can look forward to a journey through the beauty of night, from dusk to dawn, in each of the album’s 15 tracks. Dreamscapes is set to be a landmark release, further establishing Eli & Fur’s unique place in the electronic music scene.

We sat down with Eli & Fur and dived into their evolving artistry, their creative process behind Golden Eyes and Tears, and the emotional journey encapsulated in their new album Dreamscapes.

Dreamscapes is described as an homage to nocturnal musings and solitary wanderings. Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind this album and how the concept came to life?
We have always been night owls – it was part of our friendship when we lived together in London after school where we would go out and listen to music, stay up to the early hours and spend nights writing music. All of our creativity comes alive at night and most of this album has been written under those exact circumstances. It felt fitting to theme the album around the night and the moments that we experience between dusk and dawn.

How does Dreamscapes differ from your debut album Found in the Wild? What new elements or styles can be heard in this new release?  
I think as artists we are always evolving, so this just feels like the next chapter for us. We try not to think too hard about what we’re making and really focus on expressing emotions and stories through music. This album is a compilation of tracks written over the last two years and felt like a body of work that made sense together, a combination of nostalgia, getting lost in your own thoughts, dimly lit dance floors and quiet sunrises… every song has a story.

Can you walk us through your creative process for Golden Eyes and Tears? How did the track come together from initial idea to final production?
We just started with a groove and sat on a balcony in Laurel Canyon on a sunny afternoon. The lyrics we originally wrote were gibberish so we added new lyrics later on in the car on the way to the studio to record. The guitar and melodic parts helped to lift the vocal and it came together pretty quickly after that.

Golden Eyes and Tears is meant to encapsulate the euphoric high of reliving the night’s moments. How do you channel such specific emotions into your music?
Making music is an important form of expression for both of us. It’s a very cathartic outlet for our emotions and we need it to stay sane. Because of that importance, it often comes flowing out naturally. However, we aren’t artists who could put out an album once a year. Inspiration can come at unpredictable times so it’s nice to spread the writing process out over a stretch of time. When we look back on the last two years of writing music, it’s special to see the tracks that made it onto the album, they are usually the ones that come naturally after a moment of inspiration.

Artwork for Golden Eyes and Tears

Are there any other tracks on the album that particularly stand out to you? If so, why and how?
It feels to us that there is a song for every different scenario during a day and night, a story being told, a different emotion in every track. We didn’t try and make it fit into a box sonically and tried to keep it as organic as possible. We both love Missing You and Oceanside, as these feel slightly different than anything we have done before, but at the same time feel very true to us. 

Your music often blurs the lines between the tangible and the fantastical. How do you hope your audience connects with Dreamscapes?
We wanted an album that someone could listen to from start to finish and go through those emotions with us. A song or a moment for everyone. We talk about the moments from dawn-to-dusk as it feels to us that each song can be listened to in those moments. For example, Oceanside at sunset, ‘Love Again’ on the dancefloor, Golden Eyes And Tears in the quieter moments, as well as all the fragments of emotions in between. We hope that’s what Dreamscapes does for everyone. 

You’re set to perform your first-ever live shows this Fall. What can we expect from these performances, and what are you particularly excited about?
We’ve been wanting to perform and sing these songs live for a very long time, so it’s the natural next step for us. We are excited to sing and play live, to really communicate and connect with the audience. We want to show them something they haven’t seen before. We cannot wait to put our heart and souls into these three special shows. 

Your work has been praised for its songwriting prowess. Can you share more about your background as lyricists and how that has influenced your work as electronic artists? 
We both worked at Xenomania Records – a pop production company – when we first started in the business. This was our intro to the music industry and the songwriting industry. It’s where we learned how to collaborate, write, and record vocal sessions with other artists. It was very inspiring to be able to work with such a diverse and talented group of people. We wrote songs for other pop acts and having success with that gave us the confidence to pursue things on our own, so we poured that experience into our own project as Eli & Fur. It was interesting coming at underground dance music with the pop background because it often gave us a different perspective than other artists in the space. We still draw on those experiences and practices when it comes to writing and production.

With over a decade of collaboration, how do you maintain a strong creative partnership and keep your music fresh and innovative?
I think being best friends and having the same level of drive and passion for the project, while also having different strengths, is what keeps things moving forward. Also, the fact that we both need to make music to express ourselves. We are always growing and changing and challenging each other, and we both think it’s incredibly important to think outside the box and never restrict yourself creatively. We also both love doing what we do – which always helps!

Beyond Dreamscapes and the upcoming live shows, what’s next for you? Are there any new projects or collaborations on the horizon that you’re excited about?
We have so much music on the album we will be shining a light on over the next six months followed by remixes, more releases, and a busy summer of touring, so we have a lot to look forward to. We are also so excited for some of the smaller, up-and-coming artists we are releasing on our own label, NYX. We love finding unreleased music and being able to bring it to life. Other than that, we will be continuing to push, grow, and try to inspire others in all ways we can.