I’ll admit it… I didn’t know who Eli & Fur were until they laid me out with their gorgeous, Anjunadeep set at ABGT250. As they were the only women on the lineup, I made sure I took in their set as women are wildly underrepresented in the Electronic Dance Music industry. Their lack of flashy attire and obvious love of one another were endearing, and their set was one of the best of the weekend. I didn’t know it at the time, but they captured exactly what I look for when I select my #WomenCrushWednesday artists. After that epic 250 set, I can’t wait to hear what they bring to the ABGT Weekender at The Gorge Amphitheatre July 27-28, 2019.
How many times have you looked at your bestie who loves the music and scene just as much as you, and said “We should create a DJ duo. We’d be so badass!” I know it can’t just be me! Well, that’s essentially what happened with these beauties. Mates since they met at 16 years old, they moved in together after school and began playing for other music-loving friends at house parties. Eli (Eliza) plays the guitar, Fur (Jennifer) specializes in beats, and they both sing on their tracks, so they enjoy and excel in producing intelligent music with live instrument elements. Having spent so much time together, they don’t have conflicts, they have discussions. Like sisters of the heart, they’ve got each other’s backs, so when one isn’t doing great, the other picks up the slack and as Fur as said, they’re “able to bounce off each other.”
When it comes down to it, these ladies are relatively fresh faces. Their first release “You’re So High” came out in 2013, and it propelled their careers into the spotlight. To this day, “You’re So High” is one of my favorites, and these gals specialize in moody. Their productions often give me the same feelings I get when I listen to the Blues. Not quite sad, but not entirely happy either. Wistful. Like they’ve had their share of heartbreaking experiences and they pour that into their tracks. When I first heard it, the track reminded me of “Son of a Gun“, the Janet Jackson take on Carly Simon‘s “You’re So Vain“. Both badass tracks and vastly different takes on players by women of all ages fed up with games.
A short year later, the ladies hit us with “Feel The Fire“, a track I still hear in many artists’ Deep House sets. Balancing their dark vibes with a bit of light, this one definitely makes me burn and keeps me “moving all night.” It was their first solo Anjunadeep release, though they were featured on others in 2014 and that was just the start of their Anjuna relationship.
Eli & Fur toured the U.S. for the first time in 2015, and filmed their travels across the states on GoPro which they turned into the video for “California Love“. It’s exactly what you’d envision of two besties traveling a new place together for the first time. Plenty of love, fun, sun, and not much sleep as they hopped from city to city by any method necessary. What with Fur’s fear of flying, planes are the mode of transportation she tries to avoid, though it’s not always possible for a London-based duo who are hugely popular across the pond.
A few short months leading up to ABGT250 in September 2017, one of their biggest shows to date, they appeared on Way Out West‘s track “Running Way“. For those who didn’t know them before, a collaboration with WOW, one of the longest-running Progressive House acts who returned to production after an eight-year hiatus rocketed them into the who’s who of EDM. Rather than waxing on rhapsodic about their ABGT250 set, do yourself a favor and check it out HERE.
There was truly nowhere to go but up and 2018 found them releasing their “Night Blooming Jasmine EP“, with four original tracks and one remix. As you’d expect from them, every track is smooth as butter, with a bit of melancholy evened out by their ability to use melody to uplift. I mean, the Anjuna label is known for bringing the tears, but Eli & Fur know how to tug the heartstrings and memories of pain while also getting the dancefloor moving. My favorite is the titular track bearing the same name as the EP. Possibly because I grew up in Hawaii where night blooming jasmine is prolific and you can smell it just driving down the road. In much the same way as the powerful scent of the flower remains despite distance, the lyrics speak of the lingering scent of a lover.
I can’t wait to hear what they bring us at the mainstage at The Gorge Amphitheatre for ABGT Weekender. They’ve played huge audiences at Tomorrowland 2018, so this won’t be an entirely new experience for them. Considering how open they’ve been about discussing the hardships facing women in the industry and the mental health concerns facing artists, I have my fingers crossed that they’ll agree to an interview with yours truly as both of these topics are dear to me. I hope I share a dance with you when these #WomenCrushWednesday ladies take the stage at my favorite venue in the world at the end of the month!
*Featured Image Via Artist FB Page*
