Enrica Falqui and Dea Dvornik are two techno producers. One hails from Sardinia and the other Croatia. It’s in Germany where they met each other and decided to launch ERIS. In 2018, the pair released their debut Ep “Moments” on Dj Masda and So Inagawa’s Cabaret Recordings and followed it up a year later with “Champions League”, still on the same label. Since then, they are touring renowned clubs and festivals. These two vintage synthesizers passionate work on new projects in their studio based in Berlin-Friedrichshain. Interview.

Your fist step into the world of electronic music? 

Dea: I was taken to my first rave by my high-school mates, a colourful gang of ravers, back in summer of 2000, I was 14 years old, they were 2-3 years older, and they sort of immediately took me and my best friend under their wing so to speak. Their vibes, style, progressive if not rebellious beliefs and attitudes just resonated with me and so did the music and the whole underground movement in my home town, they introduced me to. There was so much freedom, love and acceptance there, especially when taken into a context of an extremely backward and narrow-minded social and political narrative of post-civil war Croatia, I was just sucked in and never looked back. :)

Enrica: I was 15 and some friends took me to a club in my hometown. It was late in the 90’ and Cagliari, in the south Sardinia, was a very lively town that time.

What has been your musical environment?

Dea: I was born into a family of artists, actors, musicians, descending from my great-grandparents, to my uncle and father who are acclaimed funk and blues authors. The house I grew up in was full of instruments but I was gravitating mostly towards the piano since the moment I could reach for the keys, so my parents just put me into music school as soon as I was old enough to be accepted, 7 or so, I wasn’t interested in pursuing further classical music education after my 8 year graduation, as I had found it was not giving me what I wanted in terms of creativity and freedom of expression, it was actually quite restrictive in that sense, but at this point I am happy to have that foundation as it has enabled me to express my emotions through the music I am producing much more intuitively and effortlessly then it is for my colleagues who now have to struggle with understanding the nuisances of music theory alongside figuring out how to use their machines, computer program, the principles of arrangement, sound design and everything else you need to figure out on your journey of becoming an electronic music producer. Enrica and I were lucky to partner up with each-other in a sense that each of us brought separate and compatible set of skills to the table so to speak, she had her knowledge and experience in the technical part of the job and I came in with my classical music background, what brought us together is a shared sensibility and taste in music, so we both love what the other one does.

Enrica: I’m a self-taught person. I played percussions in a female little band when I was younger.

Why did you decide to found ERIS and how did you meet Cabaret Recordings? 

We got introduced by common friends on a night out in berlin’s Club der Visionaere in spring 2018. We clicked immediately, continued the night in Berghain which ended with Enrica inviting pass by and unwind in her studio nearby before heading home. There I was mesmerised by very cool vintage looking synths and asked can I hear how they sound. Enri turned on the machines, I started playing some random chords and melodies which inspired her add some beats on her 808, and we just started jamming, had a lot of fun and agreed to meet there the next day, and the next day, and the day after that... :) I spent the rest of my Berlin visit with Enri in her studio, that was by chance nest door to Yuki’s (DJ Masda) studio, who came by one day to say hi, took interest in what we were doing and that how we got our first release on his Cabaret Recordings label.

What are your sources of inspiration?

Dea: Main inspiration for music I make as well as for my dj sets/podcasts are always my emotions, whatever I am going through in my personal life, I found that the creative process of channelling that through music is the best way of dealing with it and at the same time emotion generated music will always have a greater impact on the listener. My 20 years on the dancefloor are immense source of inspiration, I’ve lived through so many phases from techno, electro, house, minimal, breaks and bass music, you name it I loved it already, and now I get to bring it all together in my DJ sets. So Much Fun! But I must mention that I am also very inspired by this new wave of producers who seem to have come from the same place as me, as there is this hybrid of everything, I ever loved about electronic music being born right before my eyes (ears), for example pretty much everything that comes from Montreal resonates with every cell in my body! I’d really love to go there and check out what’s going on there some time!

Enrica: Life, just life. Lately we both developed a strong interest in percussions. I just get influenced by everything I experience in life.

What does the vinyl represent for you?

Dea: Well for me the difference in-between playing vinyl as opposed to digital format would be most closely compared to making love to another person as opposed to a dildo! (laughs). I can get off both ways, maybe even faster with digital technology, but I’m the kind of person that tends to enjoy the journey even more then the destination and the process of selecting records and caressing wax or a lover in flesh and bones is much more of an intuitive, sensuous and magical experience then scrolling through blurry folders on the tiny screen and pressing knobs on a media player or a vibrator! lol at least that how I feel about it. To each their own! :)

Enrica: A vinyl records is a handwritten letter.

What was decisive for you to produce?

Dea: For me the crucial factor of deciding to dedicate myself completely to this path was the sheer Joy I felt in the process of making music with Enrica, I had previous attempts in electronic music production with some of my producer friends, but what was missing was this intuitive understanding and chemistry that Enrica and I shared in the studio from that first random after-hour jamming session. We share very same but different taste in music and have a lot of fun together learning, creating and ultimately djing together. And in my case, If I’m having fun, I’m down for the ride! (laughs)

Enrica: It never really was a decision, it’s what I’ve always wanted to do since I can remember. We have a mix of old and new equipment, to name a few the Juno 6, the Korg Minilogue and the Roland 808. Everything runs through a high-performance sequencer the Sequentix Cirklon and the sound that come out is warmed by some Eventide boxes effects.

Did your way to produce change for last few years?

Enrica: Of course, it has. We are always learning, always adapting to each other, it’s an ongoing process, so yes definitely we feel more at ease with each other, we are still growing up as artists and it’s still a long way to go.

What kind of message would you like to convey?

Dea: When you let go of expectation and trying to control your life, and instead just try to trust it and flow with it, you are taken exactly where you need to be and it will be better, then what you might have planned for yourself.

Enrica: Well, my motto is “put all your effort in what you do”

Which artists from Slovenia and Italy we should know?

Dea: You should keep an eye on my boys from the Luckison. Tzena and Mayell, young, fresh and insanely skilled and talented djs and producers. In the collective, there are also Valentino Kanzyani, Tim Kern and myself to name the main players, but it’s really a group endeavour of the best gang you can find in the world, the activity is mostly around creating out of this world very intimate full weekend events on secret spots in Slovenia’s breath-taking nature. If you haven’t heard about them yet, you most definitely will very soon!

Enrica: I really like Grand River and Claudio PRC. They are quite different as the first one is an ambient produce, while Claudio s a techno DJ producer. I really admire their talent and skills.

Are you positive concerning the near future?

Dea: In this situation in terms of its aspect on the electronic music culture, I try to search for the silver lining in things being brought back to basics, to the roots, the sub/underground, the small intimate, if not clandestine event where people really get to interact closely with one another and a sense of community is awakened, that’s how it all started and that is what we can always come back to. Throughout the history the electronic music scene has always thrived in difficult social conditions.

Enrica: I live the present but also lighting candle, burning incenses and crossing my fingers. Regarding our project we are focused on finishing the next EP and maybe planning on our first album soon!

What about your next projects?

We are working on the new Ep right now and we have one track coming out on the label 20:20 artists called “Enchanted” (various artists release). A friend of ours Ottber played some percussions and congas in the track for “20:20 Vision”. Ottber is a very good friend of us and talented producer from Venezuela. We share the same test of music and sometimes we send time together in his studio where he has a big variety of old synth. The one we prefer is the Roland Mars, a wonderful synthesizer from 1979.

Which artists would you like to collaborate with?

Dea: Well my still unfulfilled dream is to have a band! :D I love to sing and write lyrics, and I would really love to take part in an acoustic project along the lines of trip hop, or experimental jazz ... that’s the direction I see myself exploring in the future.

Any anecdote?

We got our first international gig together in Paris actually in Nodd Club for the girl form RA+Re collective , and somehow we both missed the fact that we are flying from Schoenfeld airport and took the taxy to Tegel instead, we were already pretty tight with time, and I was reassuring Enri we will make it as I know the alternative security C gate that is always empty, as we arrived and our boarding passes didn’t “pass” the scanner , the lady working there told us our flight goes from another airport, technically there was no chance we make it still we ran out and i screamed at the taxi drivers lined up there: “Hey! who can take us to Schoenfeld airport in 30 minutes?” And one badass Turkish guy just threw away the cigarette from his mouth and exclaimed: “I can get you there in 20!” He really took it as a mission and it was the wildest drive across Berlin, I think he broke several laws along the way, but somehow, we made it on time to board our plane last minute.

ERIS in 3 words…

Love, Laugh and Chaos.

Interview by Sabrina Bouzidi / Photos by Ann Murray