"Entre Nous taps into the contemporary dub and ambient electronica scenes we know and appreciate, but Eden Aurelius hits on something we’re not hearing from producers operating on the same wavelengths."
‘Plateau’, her 2024 debut EP, Eden Aurelius quietly and confidently rolled out a sound consisting of smoky underground ambient with strands of techno, dub, and bass music. She’s spoken of the impact both GAS and Éliane Radigue had on her as a listener, and the way both incorporate classical and drone into electronic frameworks informs the way she can move, with ease, from off-kilter synth vignettes to beat-driven segments. Add that to years spent participating, both as a performer and a fan, in the vast and vibrant DIY worlds of Chicago and New York, where she’s currently based. Both cities proudly boast varied techno, noise, and avant garde scenes that intersect across warehouse parties, clubs, and galleries.
Two years later, ‘Plateau’ has only gotten better, never feeling stuck in a particular moment but allowing listeners twenty minutes to float towards infinity. The promise of what Eden could deliver on an LP are fulfilled with ‘Entre Nous’, her debut full-length for the estimable Short Span. French for “between us”, Eden’s latest is an intimate release with an enclosing atmosphere that allows a bond to form between the listener and the work. Consisting of six tracks of lush, warm ambient techno that move organically at slower tempos, like a dense fog settling in and never lifting.
The tone is firmly set with “Acquiescence”, a lovely, distended piece that navigates both the headier home listening effects of the album with a nod to the communal power of a big soundsystem. At a high volume, the track winds you into an arresting calm that plots out the proper headspace for the rest of ‘Entre Nous’.
The subtle sound design allows your conscious to be fully immersed in this unknown yet welcome space. Lightly warped percussive sidewinders in the title track give way to the blissful atmosphere of “Passing”, giving nods to those influential composers mentioned above. On that track, Eden brings together a strong confluence of electronica with experimental forms that are enthralling in their weightlessness. The songcraft is carefully considered, with not a moment wasted while sounding like it could stretch to double or triple its length and remain as vital. It’s an excellent example of ambient done the right way, not relegating itself to the background but pushing itself to the forefront of your attention.
The back half of ‘Entre Nous’ unfolds with the disjointed and askew “Ion”, featuring Pontiac Streator. What feels, at times, like you’re stuck in a delirious locked groove glides towards the deep dub techno of “Darkroom” and “Eclipse”. Those final tracks bring the listener full circle to a dense yet silky stream of dubby ambience that, like ‘Plateau’, resonates long after the album fades out.
An outstanding debut LP, ‘Entre Nous’ taps into the contemporary dub and ambient electronica scenes we know and appreciate, but Eden Aurelius hits on something we’re not hearing from producers operating on the same wavelengths. You can certainly chill out to the sound within the album, yet it’s absorbing in the way it feels constructed for a concert, whether it be on your own with headphones or in a venue. Where a lot of works in this space are fleeting and forgettable, ‘Entre Nous’ is essential listening for the present and future.
‘Entre Nous’ is out now via Short Span. Listen to and buy a vinyl copy from Inverted Audio Record Store.
TRACKLIST
1. Acquiescence
2. Entre Nous
3. Passing
4. Ion ft. Pontiac Streator
5. Darkroom
6. Eclipse
