A Sensational Sunday In Minneapolis With Eli & Fur [Interview]

This past Sunday afternoon, downtown Minneapolis was blessed with the deep tracks of Eli & Fur, which poured down from the rooftop of Seven. Dance Agenda and No Boys In The Booth brought in an all-female lineup to support the London duo. Local DJs The Real Jeilah, Big Mama, and Tee So did an outstanding job of making the blazing-hot rooftop even hotter! Smiles, sunshine, and skyline; a perfect setting for an Eli & Fur set.

The energy from the crowd and the set was incredible. Eli & Fur played everything from their classic “You’re So High” to an unreleased track from their latest EP titled “Night Blooming Jasmine”. The two loved it so much, they played an extra 40 minutes! When the set finally ended, the ladies took some time to greet fans and sign event posters.

When the dust finally settled, I had the pleasure of joining Eli & Fur downstairs at one of Seven’s tables for an interview:

Welcome ladies! Is this your first time playing Minneapolis?

Eli & Fur: It is our first time!

It was a fun afternoon up on the rooftop!

Eli: It’s been really, really fun.

Fur: I got a bit carried away. Not in a bad way! It doesn’t happen that often, but it happens when I feel really comfortable, and that’s what happened today.

You wrapped up an all-female lineup today! Is it kind of fun to kick the boys off the decks once in a while?

Fur: I really don’t mind if it’s a guy or a girl. It’s great having other girls playing, being a male-heavy industry. But whatever gender, we don’t care, we’re chill.

Eli: It was actually nice to have more girls in the lineup!

What started as a hobby between two friends has grown to be so much more over the years! Anjunabeats picked you up early in your career. Being in London, did you just walk down the street and knock on Anjuna HQ’s door or how did they come into play?

Fur: They just emailed us. We had a track out on our own label (the first track we ever put out, “You’re So High”), then they emailed us and said, ‘We like your music, send us some new tunes.” That’s how we started with the label!

Eli (To Fur): It was a pretty lucky thing wasn’t it?

Fur: Yeah! Timing. Lucky timing. Nowadays you really have to chase labels, whereas back then we were lucky that it kind of just worked out naturally. It’s been a great outlet for us in the sense that we haven’t had to try to be anything. The fact they’ve supported us, and they still do, is great because it’s another outlet for our music from our own label. We’re grateful for that.

Eli: They’re a cool gang. It’s nice to be a part of ‘the family’.

Fur: Anjunafam!

Let’s not forget you have your own label. How are things going for NYX?

Fur: Good. We’re taking it very slow. We’re not pushing it. We’re waiting for that moment where something happens and we go ‘This is it. This is our label’s sound.’ We’re kind of taking the backseat with it and we’re getting a lot of demos, which is great, but we’re waiting for the moment where we can really start to evolve.

Eli: It’s one of those things you have to take time with.

Fur: Yeah you can’t rush these things. You’ll make mistakes. Regret things. No one likes regret.

Eli: You have got to be SO sure about what’s going on. But yeah, it (NYX) works as an outlet. If we put a track out and a label is like ‘We like this song we’re gonna put it out it six months’, we’re gonna be like ‘fuck that. Let’s just put it out on NYX’.

Yeah, then it’s out there!

Eli: Yeah!

Fur: You swore.

Eli: I know. I’m so sorry I swore.

Haha! We’ll bleep it.

E&F: Bleeeeeeep!

For the most part, you’ve stayed true to your vocal-heavy tracks. Personally, I’m a big fan of vocals! Do you feel vocals make a track more complete?

Eli: It has to be the right vocal doesn’t it? I think if it’s an amazing melodic track, it would work, but a vocal does bring more. It’s the same as a fucking great synth line, to have a good vocal. You know what I mean? But it’s nice because we both sing and put our vocals on the track. Wouldn’t you agree Jennifer?

Fur: I agree!

Eli: You have anything to add?

Fur: [Dramatic pause] Yeah I sure do!

Eli: Haha! I KNEW she did!

Fur: I was going to say, if the track is heavily melodic, it’s very hard to fit a vocal in there because you gotta let the melody breathe. You can’t only layer a vocal over it. If you’ve only got a repetitive bass line and synth line, it’s fine. Once it starts going all whacky on you, you can’t just start singing.

I had the chance to preview the new EP “Night Blooming Jasmine”, which is out on July 13th Anjunadeep.  Amazing work! This EP is still deep, but has a lot more chill vibe to it than some of your other work. Was that the goal for this one?

Fur: It’s back to our roots. So, how we started was with song structures. Naturally, that comes very easy to both of us. We both sing, so we thought ‘Let’s make something people can listen to in a more chilled environment.’

Eli: But every single track does have a club remix!

Fur: It has a chilled, creepy feel.

Eli: When I’m chill, creepy is good.

Fur: When I’m in the bathtub, in the car, that’s where I like to listen to music.

Eli: It’s great to have a good club track, but also just to have a song!

Fur: You’ve got to put all the emotion out there as well. There’s two of us, you know? It’s a lot more than just a club record. It’s very deep.

Finally, besides the EP, what can we expect from you ladies for the rest of 2018?

Eli: Busy! We like to keep busy touring. (At Fur) Would you agree with that?

Fur: Yes. We’re moving to L.A.!

Eli: Yes, but not until January. We always have fun when we get to L.A.. The EP is actually based on L.A.. Night Blooming Jasmine is a plant that grows in L.A..

Fur: The smell when you’re walking home from many regrets. It’s the ‘walk of shame’, but at least it smells good! Some people think it’s the ‘walk of fame’.

Some! It depends!

Fur: Depends on the night!

I would like to thank Eli & Fur an incredible afternoon and one of the most of the fun interviews ever!  Trust me, you'll want to pick up their latest EP, “Night Blooming Jasmine” is available for pre-order now! I'd also like to thank Dance Agenda, No Boys In The Booth, Seven, and Strykerfoto who help days like this past Sunday become so magical.