Electronic artist Echo Juliet shares new single 'Life On Trains' from new record Abandon Reality
Abandon Reality arrives on 27th October 2023 via Invisible IDs
‘A future legend’
- Jamz Supernova
'An empowering vibe with rolling percussion, moody synths and glistening harp’
- Mixmag
‘Carries shades of Four Tet or even Gold Panda, but with something deeply original underneath. New song ‘Red Sun’ is out now, and it’s a beautiful example of her blossoming artistry – painterly in scope, there’s a real sense of world-building to her production.’ - Clash Magazine
Also supported by:
Ransom Note, BBC 6 Music, NTS
Today, Echo Juliet shares new single 'Life On Trains', premiering now on Inverted Audio. The new single is taken from her forthcoming, debut mini-album Abandon Reality out on October 27th, via her new label Invisible IDs. Written entirely on a train, 'Life On Trains' is a hypnotic, electronic minimal groove.
“I wrote all of this on the train, I’ve spent a lot of time on the train for work and wanted to capture the feelings that gives me. The groove has a kind of rolling, perpetual forward motion but I was also feeling exhaustion, listlessness and a sense of inevitability that I tried to capture in the melody” says Emily, of her new single.
Born in the rural outskirts of Essex, as a child Emily dreamed of playing percussion on Later with Jools Holland. Following years of classical training, instead she fell for the allure of electronic music. Owing a debt to artists like Bonobo, Four Tet and Floating Points, her downtempo sound also draws influence from garage, deep house, jazz and soul.
“To be honest if you told me ten years ago that I would be doing this, I would have laughed in your face!” says Emily. “Self confidence has been a massive barrier for me. We didn’t have a lot of money when I was growing up and it took me a while to find the instrument for me. As a result, there were some things I couldn’t do as well as others, but I just decided it must be because I wasn’t naturally talented enough. I got rejected by four music colleges to study classical music, couldn’t afford to try again and therefore gave up trying to be a professional musician,” she explains.
Following her move to Birmingham, Emily learnt to DJ and eventually produce her own music. “I had always said I wouldn’t be good enough to produce electronic music but my boyfriend bought me a copy of Ableton as a surprise so I had to give it a go,” she says. “I loved being able to use my percussion skills in a new way, then a producer showed me how to make a whole track and I was hooked. He helped me for free and told me to pay it forward later, so now I’m working to empower other women to give it a go,” she continues.
Emily has been an activist for several years, commissioning research on gender representation in music and appearing on BBC Woman’s Hour. She is passionate about opening up the music industry to more people from working class backgrounds, and is leading the Future Proof project for Bradley Zero’s Rhythm Section label which aims to improve representation in the electronic music scene. Emily also teaches music production for Saffron, and is a director of DJ community Selextorhood.
“I often write music as a way to escape something that’s bothering me,” explains Emily, when asked about the inspiration for her new record. “Most of these tracks were created in moments like that, from feeling so frustrated about social inequality to experiencing burnout and questioning my life choices. In the process of making each track I created an alternate reality for myself, where things feel warmer, brighter, calmer,” she continues.
Abandon Reality is set to be the first release on Emily’s new label Invisible IDs, a project that began life as a platform to spotlight electronic music by women & gender-expansive producers. “There are a lot more women behind the decks now but most mixes still almost entirely consist of music by men. Currently we’re sharing track IDs chosen by guest curators via instagram, playlists are launching soon, and later this year, it will become a label with my record as the first release.”
Tracklist
Red Sun
Life On Trains
Eating The Rich
Burnout
Wave
We Move
Willow
Echo Juliet Live Dates
7th Oct - Cheltenham Literature Festival (DJ)
20th Oct - Variations supporting Poly Ritmo, Hare & Hounds Birmingham (DJ)
21st Oct - Abandon Reality album launch party, Pan Pan Birmingham (live)
28th Oct - Selext Sounds supporting DJ Bus Replacement Service, Deya Cheltenham (DJ)
4th Nov - Jumbi Peckham (DJ)
7th December - Future Proof residency, The Standard, London ( DJ set)
8th Dec - Rhythm Section, Peckham Audio (DJ)
14th Dec - Cobalt Studios, Newcastle (live)
Echo Juliet Online:
Twitter // Instagram // Website // Soundcloud // Spotify // Bandcamp
