For the 393rd edition of the Inverted Audio Mix Series, we are thrilled to present an hour-long sonic journey from Eden Aurelius. Currently based in New York, Eden’s spent many years immersed in the DIY and club scenes of NYC and Chicago, her previous home before relocating two years ago.
Last year’s debut ‘Plateau’ EP on co:clear was one of our favourite releases of 2024. A potent mixture of ambient and dub techno, ‘Plateau’ has only gotten better in the spin around the sun since it was released. It hooks you in with its unhurried rhythms that pulse with a vibrant spirit. The album feels like a welcome time out from the anxieties of constant connections and endless news cycles.
Along with recent output by Purelink (who are friends and collaborators), Eden’s work feels like an essential new chapter in the long, winding story of ambient dub. As Summer takes control, we caught up with Eden to talk about her musical beginnings, all time and current favourite albums, and upcoming projects.
Interview by Jason Cabaniss
"I always like to push myself to explore new ways of contextualising a broad spectrum of music - which is illustrated a bit throughout the recording. That being said, I love to combine ambient selections throughout a dance mix, almost as if it's a gloss or haze in which rhythms appear in and out of."
Hi Eden, thank you for recording this mix for Inverted Audio and answering our questions. Can you talk about what mood you were aiming for and how it influenced the song selection. Do you recommend a specific listening environment?
The mix is a bit of music from friends, vinyl that I picked up on my recent visit to Lisbon and London, and some dubbed out dance tracks that I’ve been obsessed with.
I always like to push myself to explore new ways of contextualising a broad spectrum of music – which is illustrated a bit throughout the recording. That being said, I love to combine ambient selections throughout a dance mix, almost as if it’s a gloss or haze in which rhythms appear in and out of.
I had just gone on a long walk in the sun before recording this so I’d have to say that’s the ideal setting – or somewhere where you can detach or get lost for a while.
Take us through your musical history. When did you pick up your first instrument? How long after that did you get into electronic production?
I’ve been playing instruments my entire life. I’m classically trained as a drummer which I started very young. I started to produce electronic music around age 14. Originally I was recording droning guitar loops that I’d stretch out in some free audio software to make long form ambient tracks and just really experimenting with production in any way I could. I was also pretty obsessed with the SP – 404, so I think that’s where my love of sampling and reshaping existing sounds came from. After that it progressed pretty quickly throughout the years.
What are some formative records that influenced you as both a listener and an artist?
A pivotal album that really changed my perspective is ‘Pop‘ by GAS. The album came to me in 2015 just after the loss of a close family member. I remember spending hours walking around my midwestern hometown – walking through the forest and processing a lot of what was happening at that point in my life. It was also a big introduction to sample based “ambient techno” – which looking back, is now a huge inspiration to what I do.
As of recent: ‘L’Île re-sonante‘ by Élaine Radigue has also been extremely impactful. A friend of mine had reintroduced me to this song while playing it at a deep listening event here in New York. The ghastly, cinematic overlapping voices going in between the resonating waves of synth drones makes me feel like I’m ascending into a new dimension.
We were big fans of last year’s ‘Plateau’. Tell us about the process of putting that together, and how did you connect with Purelink for the remix?
Thank you so much! The body of work came together very naturally as I started the project in Chicago just before moving to New York. I think the combination of moving and experiencing so many new stimuli was really crucial to the development of the EP. While recording Plateau I became obsessed with this vast open feeling – being at a point where everything is colliding together and forming in front of you. I think sonically these inspirations have shown themselves in different ways throughout the project.
As for the remix, I have known Akeem (Millia) for over a decade at this point. Aside from being a great friend and living together, we have always collaborated on music and he’s been someone I always go to for constructive criticism.
A couple years back I was introduced to Ben (Kindtree) and Tommy (Concave Reflection) through him and we shared a ton of similarities in music taste and they have since become great friends in my life. So it just kind of clicked and once the project was done I felt as though they would understand the music a lot and reshape it in a beautiful way.
Would you describe your current studio set up? Do you have a favourite or exciting new piece of gear?
My current setup is honestly just a computer and an Ableton Push. I’ve been obsessed with all of the Cong Burn devices recently. Their instrument “strokes” is a really intuitive sequencer that can create rhythmically complex compositions. The device is built with cross modulation between the voices so it’s really fascinating to have different movements and parts of the sequences interacting with one another.
I’ve also been obsessed with resampling projects as I’m working on them. It’s a really fun way to create new elements in a song while still improvising on a central idea – almost using the DAW as an overdubbing FX unit of sorts.
"While recording Plateau I became obsessed with this vast open feeling - being at a point where everything is colliding together and forming in front of you. I think sonically these inspirations have shown themselves in different ways throughout the project."
Having lived in Chicago and now New York, both have a rich history of house and techno. What are your experiences with the music scenes in each city? Would you share some of your favourite venues, clubs, or festivals in both places?
Smartbar in Chicago is such a historic and important cornerstone of the city. I remember turning 21 and going there that same week to see a Discwoman party. The Chicago House Music Festival was also such an amazing and free event this city offered.
As many others would agree, there is the extremely vibrant DIY culture the city has. Seeing friends play in warehouses on the southwest side of town, renegade parties on the beach, or even a house party that Akeem (Millia) and I played in 2019 with DJ Plead. Chicago is one of the hardest working cities in America with some of the most underrated musicians and DJ’s around.
As for New York I have only lived here for two years at this point, but Nowadays has been such an extremely influential venue throughout the time that I have been here already.
Last month was my first time playing there, opening for Deepchord and livwutang as a part of her residency there. Playing on that soundsystem after being a dancer for so many nights was such a pleasure and was one of the best nights I’ve had performing.
I’ve heard some of your DJ sets, but do you have or are you considering a live set up? What are some challenges to bringing a sound as atmospheric and not quite dance-oriented as ‘Plateau’ to a live setting?
I have done a few live sets during the production of the EP and have since been fine tuning it – most recently for a show that I played in Lisbon for an event / mix series called Living Room.
It’s really beautiful to hear more spatial, ambient productions out on sound systems that you normally just hear dance music on. Having a way of implementing live instrumentation and forms of improvisation into the performance is key for me when I’m preparing for any show.
As an independent artist operating within smaller, DIY scenes, what’s your relationship with social media and the streaming apps? Both are necessary evils for engaging with fans and building an audience but also have too many downsides to list.
Social media itself, albeit a powerful tool for connecting and organising with like minded people, unfortunately silences voices of marginalised individuals. At the core of these systems is algorithmic censorship and bias – which disproportionately effects BIPOC and the trans and queer community.
Major streaming platforms devalue artists’ work and quite literally function off of our collective free labor. Now with these same companies and music festivals are investing into AI military systems that are directly linked to genocide. I genuinely hope that there is a point where the landscape can shift and people invest more directly into artists and the values that uplift the world around us.
What musical plans do you have in store the rest of the year? Any performances or recordings we should keep an eye out for?
I had the pleasure of working on a remix of “See The Light” by Fumio Miyashita. The remix is featured amongst three others by Fumio’s son Jody Tenku, Loop Diary, and my close friend DJ Kumon. Aside from that, I am currently putting the finishing touches on a larger body of work and will hopefully have it out before the end of the year.
TRACKLIST
1. Sa Pa – Captigon [Short Span]
2. Externalism – Externalism 01 [False Aralia]
3. Civilistjävel! – Järnnätter (A Made Up Sound Remix) [FELT]
4. Purelink – Circle of Dust [Peak Oil]
5. G.R.I.T – Phoenix [Meanwhile]
6. Zzzzra – Douce Mollesse [Perso Records]
7. Deepchord – Xpan [Soma Quality Recordings]
8. Conna Haraway – Unreleased [Upcoming – Short Span]
9. Remote_ – Tundra [Meanwhile]
10. Advanced Dreams – Waiting Of Landing [Not on Label / Self Released]
11. Sleepdial – Airtank [West Mineral Ltd.]
12. Al Wootton – First Words After Sunrise [Berceuse Heroique]
13. TLF Trio, Moritz von Oswald – Foyer (Moritz von Oswald Variation) [Latency]
