EANP [Interview]

Having worked together since 2014, it wasn't until 2018 that Buenos Aires residents Ezequiel Anile and Nicolas Petracca decided to coin the EANP alias for their collaborative efforts. Now firmly established, the moniker has become synonymous with quality progressive music. Continued support from genre tastemakers Hernan Cattaneo and Nick Warren, along with key releases for Balance Music, Mango Alley, Or Two Strangers and Replug have made the Argentinean duo a much in-demand act. This week finds the duo making their debut on Flown Records with a three-track showcase alongside a remix from Andrea Cassino.

Progressive Astronaut caught up with EANP to learn more about the release of 'Alnilam / Mintak / Sparkles', their background, nightlife in Argentina, creative process, DJing, and more. Enjoy.

Hi Guys, thanks for talking to us today. How are you and what was the last piece of music you listened to?

Hello, Progressive Astronaut friends! Luckily, we find ourselves very well! The last piece of music that really impacted us was "Guy J - Last Standing." We know it's not a new track, but it really left a mark on us.

How has your year been and what gigs have stood out for you across 2023?

Our year has been great! We've had a lot of live performances, and this year we've made more music than ever before. We continue to receive strong support for our music from top artists such as Hernán Cattaneo, Guy J, Nick Warren, among others. Undoubtedly, the events that caught our attention this year are those that Hernán Cattaneo has carried out in our country, Argentina. He always puts in a lot of effort to ensure the audience has a good time, investing a lot of time and work in a staging that surpasses itself every year.

Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your production work and otherwise, please.

We divide our days into morning and afternoon. In the mornings, we do more "social" work like social media, sending demos, and things like that. In the afternoons, we dedicate ourselves to music production. We also teach production classes, so that takes up a bit of our time, but we always try to organize ourselves well to meet the objectives of each week.

How did growing up in Argentina influence your music taste and direction? Or did it all?

We think we're lucky to have grown up in Argentina, and it's definitely something that helped us a lot in our career. We are lovers of progressive house, and in our country, there is a lot of culture around this genre since we have the number 1 exponent of the genre, Hernán Cattaneo.

When we ask most artists what is responsible for the popularity of progressive music in Argentina the overwhelming answer is Hernan Cattaneo, would that be your feeling also? And if so please speak on that, also to add to that, who else from Argentina inspired you when you first discovered the music.

Undoubtedly, he has made us visible in the eyes of the electronic music world by taking the genre to the top. It is also known that he is a great person and helps many producers by giving them visibility through his live supports. Another Argentinian artist who is also a big influence for us is Martín García, who works from the shadows but is a very strong artist.

You guys are both from Buenos Aires but have DJed around the entire country. How would you say the different major cities in Argentina differ in terms of nightlife?

In our country, there is a lot of nightlife, and that undoubtedly favors us since there are many parties to play. The crowd is very crazy, with a lot of energy, and they always expect the best. We believe that Buenos Aires is where the biggest parties happen, but that doesn't mean that in other regions the events are bad. It's just that in Buenos Aires, there are big events more often. However, we really enjoy touring our country and showing our music to different audiences.

What are some of your favourite clubs to perform at in Argentina and why?

There are many! but we'll name a few: The Bow, Crobar, Elements, and Switch (Rosario). In these places, it really gives pleasure to play for the public.

How did you guys meet and eventually start collaborating? And what musical projects were involved in prior to EANP?

We met in 2010 at an event we shared, and that day we connected. At that time, we had separate careers. From there, we started to get together to make music, and little by little, the good results were happening. We worked for a few years as "Ezequiel Anile & Nicolas Petracca" until we decided to give a name to this new project. Then we decided to call ourselves E A N P. We have been working together for more than 13 years, and every day that passes, we try to commit ourselves more to our project.

A successful partnership is generally based around balance and compromise; how do you manage these things within your production dynamic?

Without a doubt, we believe that our success as a duo is in the balance of our relationship. Working together with another person has many advantages if you know how to deal with the situation that you are not alone. In our case, we plan weekly tasks and divide them up. Everyone is good at different things, so we try to bring the best of each one of us

Do you have different roles in the production process? And if so elaborate please.

Yes, as we mentioned earlier, we have different roles when it comes to producing, but in general, we try to collaborate as much as we can. Our productions are the result of the work of both. Some tracks have a little more marked imprint of Nicolás, and others have that of Ezequiel. We believe that our best works are those where we were able to contribute the best of each one.

Working as a duo is an interesting dynamic. Do you guys share a studio where all the sessions are together or do you produce separately and pass files back and forth? And if you have done both, what do you prefer and why?

In the beginning, we got together in Ezequiel's studio to make music, but with time and the pandemic, we changed that. Nowadays, the way that works best for us is to work each one of us from our own studio and then pass the projects from one side to the other. In our case, it allows us to work more calmly and with more time to achieve better results. However, we meet one day a week in Ezekiel's study to work on some things together.

You have a new EP out now via Flown Records, tell us about the tracks and how they showcase your current sound.

We are always characterized by a sound full of harmonies, music, and groove. But, as we all know, times change, and music evolves. We always try to be at the forefront. In this EP, we propose 3 tracks for different moments of a night. "Alnilam" is the deepest and most progressive of the three, designed for the first tracks of the night. "Sparkles" has a groove and serious vibe, thinking about it for a mid-night moment. "Mintak" is the hardest and darkest piece in this pack.

Let our readers inside your studio for a moment, what is your current setup and what studio tools are featured heavily in your recent productions and more specifically your EP for Flown?

Our favorite DAW is Ableton Live. We usually work with virtual instruments such as Hive, Dune, Omnisphere, among others. We also use quite a few external plugins from companies such as Waves, FabFilter, etc. We've experimented with external instruments, synthesizers, electric guitars, but what we find most comfortable and fluid is working inside the PC.

This is your first appearance on Flown, what was it about the label which gave you confidence to do an original project with them right away?

We have a friendship with one of the creators of the label, Scippo. That made us want to be part of the label. In addition to liking the previous releases a lot, we believed that our music could fit into the vibe of the label.

Let’s look a bit more at production, once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on?

It's very important to step away from the project for a while. Sometimes when you're working many hours on the same thing, you start to lose objectivity.

What does this process look like in practice?

Once we feel that we can't contribute more to the project, we let it rest for a while without listening to it. After a few days, we listen more critically. This always triggers some fixes for production.

What is the task you enjoy the most when producing and what would you prefer someone else to do?

What we enjoy the most without a doubt is the creative process of the track—the search for the idea, the selection and creation of the elements, and the composition. The part that we like the least is related to the mixing and mastering. Those stages of the production are very important, but it is what we enjoy doing the least.

Now let’s talk about DJing for a moment, how would you describe your approach to it? And how do you function as a duo while DJing?

DJing is something we enjoy a lot, as it is the moment where we can connect much more with the audience, and it is an opportunity to try our most recent productions. We mix one track each, one is positioned to the left of the mixer and the other to the right, and we always remain both in front of the audience. You could say that in every mix we make, we both intervene—it's as if we were one. This allows us to make better transitions between each track.

Can you tell me a bit about how your work as DJs has influenced your view of music, your way of listening to tracks, and also, your work as a producer?

When you're a DJ, it undoubtedly changes your perspective a lot regarding the music you listen to, since we're attentive to factors that others don't. Even when you're listening to music for pleasure, we're actually very attentive and on the lookout to discover new sounds or new ideas.

How much prep do you put into the tracks you choose to play? Or are your sets totally spontaneous?

We always do some work prior to our set, looking for the right tracks for the occasion. First we download everything that catches our attention, then we do some filter processes, where we separate the ones that have to sound no matter what. We prepare a list where we propose our ideal set, but always and on the fly, we make some changes in the course, also paying attention to the reading of the dance floor.

If you could set up an event with a line-up of five artists of your choice, who would you book, and what set times would you ascribe to the
artists?

Opening: Guille Quero
Warm up: Martin Garcia
Main: Guy J
Main: Nick Warren
Main: Hernan Cattaneo

What TV series have you been enjoying recently and what are some of your all time favourites?

We share a love for series and movies. The series we both like the most is "The Office (USA)" but we also watch horror, sci-fi, action and documentary series and movies. It's really something that we enjoy a lot, plus many times, they are a source of inspiration for what we do as musicians. Recently, we collaborated on a track with a producer friend where we captured the vibe of a sci-fi movie and the result was incredible.

Current Top five tracks in your sets?

Currently we are doing sets with most of our own productions, but the ones that give us the best results are:

E A N P - Rubberband (unreleased)
E A N P - Drome (unreleased)
AudioTox, E A N P - Mechanism (unreleased)
E A N P - Atoms (Meanwhile)
Aether, Benjamin Yellowitz - Dynamite (E A N P Unofficial Remix)

What does 2024 hold for you in terms of releases and gigs? Anything you can share with us?

We continue to work as we do every year to continue with the growth process. We have some presentations scheduled for the beginning of 2024, in our city and in other parts of our country. Our next release for next year will be with the Meanwhile label, which will have a collaboration with Juan Deminicis and 2 of our originals, one of them has had the support of Guy J in his last presentation in our country a few months ago, so with many good stuff to come!

'Alnilam / Mintak / Sparkles' is available now via Flown Records: http://tinyurl.com/e3fvh9r6