Ece Era
Ece Era (pronounced "Edge-eh") is a grounding musican and filmmaker who grew up in Istanbul, studied in New York and now resides in Belgium. She has consistently been on a mission to explore her creative and philosophical interests. Ece is establishing her electronic artistic career as she sees music as a metaphysical mirror that reflects us, communicating the incomprehensible.
Ece was hit with immense emotion in the most peculiar and banal of moments as a child growing up in Istanbul: sitting on a rooftop staring across Istanbul's ocean of concrete and minarets, listening to an overplayed pop tune, watching passers-by out of the vehicle window. The bitter-sweetness of these encounters would match their intensity, a complexity of feeling she fought to harness. Ece had always seen the world through an artistic lens, but being the only person engaged in the arts at school took its toll, leaving her wondering if there was something 'wrong' with her.
After completing her studies in New York, Ece relocated to Belgium where she discovered the freedom of making electronic music by meeting musicians who grew up in the electronic scene there. Her music often has minimal lyrics and is playful. Through music, she is finally able to freely explore her dionysian side.
Getting into the nitty-gritty of Ece's music, Coeval find out her musical influences, creative force, and what upcoming releases we should keep our eyes and ears open for.
Explain your relationship with music, did your childhood have musical influences?
I'm more of a fan of silence than music. Some people listen to music to drown out the noise but I need silence to think and feel clearly. Listening to music for me is an experience that demands focus. “Act of listening.” I'll try not to sound pretentious but I first felt the power of music from watching filmmakers like Tarkovsky. I was blown away by what humans can create, like gods. I felt so powerless in the face of it. It consumed all of me, and occasionally I broke down crying. When I was 10 I'd record myself on VHS crying to a particular song and screaming to the camera, "I can't handle how beautiful this is!" I guess I've always been pretty melancholic. I didn't study music but I studied film instead because I felt it would give me more tools to build and communicate worlds: both images and sounds at once! And although I wrote and composed by ear I couldn't play any instruments, so studying music was just not an option. I took violin and piano classes but I was just terrible, and I'm not sure why - maybe I lacked discipline. I'm a dreamer more than anything.
Where do you draw most of your creative force from?
The creative force is drawn from everywhere, but lately, I discovered that when I feel a lack of control in my environment I navigate towards the arts. It's like meditation. The minute I sit and start making music for example I forget about my obsessions. I guess I'm a bit of a control freak so this is therapeutic, and it's nice because it's an enriching and productive way of dealing with my difficulties rather than destructive. I guess, then, with pain comes creativity.
Can you describe the sound you create?
I go through many stages when I'm working on a song. Initially, I try to come up with a catchy, effective chorus, kind of like in eurodance. I record vocals. And then I produce accordingly, but I end up hating it, so I dissect that chorus into a song I'd like. That's the most important aspect - that I have to like it at the end. I like timeless songs. I don't care to fit into anything at the later stages of production. I want to make something real, genuine, and if I can, new. At least new for me.
Name some of your most cherished moments as an artist so far.
I've only been making electronic music for a few years now. The satisfaction that comes with landing on a tune that feels like my child or something is the best feeling ever. I remember four years ago I went to a sound meditation session with a friend who is really into those sorts of things. We laid down on the floor with pillows for like an hour and listened to the ethereal noise. Each one of us then talked about what we felt and thought. I broke down crying. During the session I was imagining a young girl who was pregnant, playing at a park. Swinging endlessly. It was a sunless day, but still beautiful. The instructor said I had to finally create: to give birth. It was long overdue. I had to do something. So now to be able to learn how to make a song and to do it is me finally giving birth.
On the flip side what have been some challenges, and how did you overcome them?
I'm not sure if it's the same for many (I think so) but making art is so difficult. I drive myself insane sometimes. I become a recluse, I don't leave my house and even order groceries for weeks on end. I made a short film recently and had a similar experience with it. Your brain and body are constantly on edge. Although I'd rather be stressed about creating than, for example, a romance that's never going to give me the same fulfilment I delude myself into thinking it will. I'm finally getting my priorities right and that feels good, in the long term.
How do you want people to feel when they hear your music?
How I feel, childlike and soft. Innocent. I don't know. I'd hope they feel something... I hope they don't skip it in the first 10 seconds. It's impossible to control what anyone feels but I'll even take boredom to nothing! I hope to find people like myself and connect with them. It’s lonely out there.
How do you see your music developing over the next few years?
It develops the more I learn about new tools and plugins. I'm happy using just a midi controller for the moment. Plugins excite me the most. I just discovered the trance gate plugin for example! I think the easier it becomes to produce in terms of skill, the faster I'll be, so that's exciting. At the moment everything's slow and I take my sweet time. Finding proper funding for videos is another thing I'd like to happen in the future. I have many ideas and although I studied film and know more or less where to start, I rarely do it because I just have no money for it.
Is there anything you have coming up that your fans should be excited about?
I'm working on my first album now! I don’t know when it'll be done as I don't want to put out anything less than self satisfactory, but it's in the works.
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