After establishing a reputation as one of the finest behind-the-scenes figures of Melbourne's burgeoning electronica contingent, producer Andrei Eremin has gently tip-toed into the spotlight in the past year or so with some high-profile remixes and a strong showing of original compositions. After a strong preface of collected remixes in Recycled 2013-2015, Andrei has now unveiled his first fully-realised collection of original material with Pale Blue. The EP condenses a multitude of styles into its six tracks, bringing in likeminded talents KUČKA and Fractures along the way. Andrei gives us a track by track rundown of each of the EP's fine cuts."Anhedoniac" (x KUČKA)
This was the first song I wrote at the deep end of having serious insomnia. Anhedoniac was a word I constructed that began to resonate with me – someone unable to experience pleasure from everyday activities. At the same time it was kind of liberating, because this is one of my favourite creations to date and it proved that no matter how little I slept (I was going on 20 hours a week at this point) I could still reach my goals."Ghosts" (x Fractures)
This is the first track where I achieved something in the middle of experimental and palatable - something I'm continually refining as a way of combining my studio knowledge of pop production with my fascination of cultural progression. My longtime friend Mark/Fractures came on board after I'd made a three minute demo and posted on Facebook asking for vocal collaborators. Something like a day later, he'd already finished his whole part and I just had to figure out how to do it justice from my end!"Pale Blue"
A short piano piece I wrote to serve as the pickled ginger for this sushi course (that is to say, the palette cleanser). As a stark contrast to some of the extremely digital tracks on the EP, this was an exercise in imperfection. It was recorded in one take, impromptu after a night of tracking Brightly's last album and left unchanged as a counterbalance to the thousand hours I probably spent on the first two tracks."Sleeper"
This is my speaker blow out track. Play it on a sound system with a subwoofer and you should hopefully have broken something or gotten a complaint from the neighbours by the end of the song. Chronologically it's the oldest song on the record, but something about the overall structure and unguided groove always stuck with me."Two Dones" (x Nearly Oratorio)
Finishing this song was like drawing blood from a stone. It started off with the warped harp idea and a rough form, which I then sent to my friend Simon Lam/Nearly Oratorio (I'lls, Klo), who was inspired by the polyrhythms and lo-fi sounds. He wrote a beautiful vocal over the top, then I spent a year trying to work out how to make the song feel finished. There's something to be said about the saying "Good artists copy; great artists steal" - as it turns out, if you try and write something by doing neither of these things, inspiration becomes an elusive concept.The double bass part was something I wrote and performed last on the EP, it's an instrument I hadn't touched since high school. I hit up Paul Bender from Hiatus Kaiyote, who lent me his beautiful handmade Tasmanian bass while he was away on tour promoting Choose Your Weapon. One week of frantic practicing later, I had the bare minimum of technique back to fool people into thinking I knew how to play properly!Pale Blue is out now. Download it for free on BandCamp.Andrei Eremin performs at this year's Paradise, taking place at Lake Mountain Alpine Resort, Victoria on November 27-29. Tickets onsale now.Andrei Eremin on SoundCloud // Facebook // Twitter
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This was the first song I wrote at the deep end of having serious insomnia. Anhedoniac was a word I constructed that began to resonate with me – someone unable to experience pleasure from everyday activities. At the same time it was kind of liberating, because this is one of my favourite creations to date and it proved that no matter how little I slept (I was going on 20 hours a week at this point) I could still reach my goals."Ghosts" (x Fractures)
This is the first track where I achieved something in the middle of experimental and palatable - something I'm continually refining as a way of combining my studio knowledge of pop production with my fascination of cultural progression. My longtime friend Mark/Fractures came on board after I'd made a three minute demo and posted on Facebook asking for vocal collaborators. Something like a day later, he'd already finished his whole part and I just had to figure out how to do it justice from my end!"Pale Blue"
A short piano piece I wrote to serve as the pickled ginger for this sushi course (that is to say, the palette cleanser). As a stark contrast to some of the extremely digital tracks on the EP, this was an exercise in imperfection. It was recorded in one take, impromptu after a night of tracking Brightly's last album and left unchanged as a counterbalance to the thousand hours I probably spent on the first two tracks.
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This is my speaker blow out track. Play it on a sound system with a subwoofer and you should hopefully have broken something or gotten a complaint from the neighbours by the end of the song. Chronologically it's the oldest song on the record, but something about the overall structure and unguided groove always stuck with me."Two Dones" (x Nearly Oratorio)
Finishing this song was like drawing blood from a stone. It started off with the warped harp idea and a rough form, which I then sent to my friend Simon Lam/Nearly Oratorio (I'lls, Klo), who was inspired by the polyrhythms and lo-fi sounds. He wrote a beautiful vocal over the top, then I spent a year trying to work out how to make the song feel finished. There's something to be said about the saying "Good artists copy; great artists steal" - as it turns out, if you try and write something by doing neither of these things, inspiration becomes an elusive concept.The double bass part was something I wrote and performed last on the EP, it's an instrument I hadn't touched since high school. I hit up Paul Bender from Hiatus Kaiyote, who lent me his beautiful handmade Tasmanian bass while he was away on tour promoting Choose Your Weapon. One week of frantic practicing later, I had the bare minimum of technique back to fool people into thinking I knew how to play properly!Pale Blue is out now. Download it for free on BandCamp.Andrei Eremin performs at this year's Paradise, taking place at Lake Mountain Alpine Resort, Victoria on November 27-29. Tickets onsale now.Andrei Eremin on SoundCloud // Facebook // Twitter