Ece Era, the Turkish musician and filmmaker, releases her first EP “War on Innocence”

Ece Era (pronounced “Edge-eh”) is the artist name and electronic project of Turkish musician and filmmaker Ece Eryavuz. Istanbul > NYC > Belgium, Ece has always been on a mission to explore her creative and philosophical interests. After landing in Belgium to focus her studies on film, she discovered the freedom of making electronic music thanks to her peers who grew up in the local music scene.

His first 3 track EP, War On Innocence was released today via 2MR (Kedr Livanskiy, Mike Simonetti). Using elements of Eurodance and Trance, Ece laid the groundwork for each track, iterating them until they achieved a sense of timelessness.

From an early age in Istanbul, Ece found herself inexplicably struck with great emotion during the most curious and mundane moments: sitting on a rooftop, gazing at Istanbul’s ocean of concrete and minarets, listening to a overplayed pop song, watching passers-by through the car window. The intensity of these moments would be matched by their bitter sweetness, a complexity of emotion that she had trouble channeling. Ece has always had an artistic view of the world, but being the only person interested in the arts at school took its toll, making her wonder if there was something wrong with her.

“Elementary and middle school were hell. People made fun of me for being weird or having different tastes. My mother often told me that she wished she had a “normal” daughter. I ended up thinking there was only one way to be – an ‘objective reality’. I studied the behavior of other children in order to reproduce it. I succeeded, but deep down I was dissatisfied.”

As a fan of American films throughout her childhood, Ece found herself forced to experience the American way of life and moved alone to New York to complete high school and college. Although her American high school was not what she envisioned (a very religious boarding school, something she didn’t know before going there), she was finally able to explore her artistic side there. She joined the choir and began playing the lead role in school plays.

Since childhood, she was fascinated by philosophical analysis and continued her studies in philosophy at university. The dry rigidity of traditional philosophical pursuits left something to be desired for a sense of human connection and communication, and she found herself, once again, gravitating towards the artistic world. She landed on film and music as creative outlets to balance and account for what she couldn’t articulate in haughty prose and argument.

“I’ve always had a soft spot for Eurodance, growing up in Turkey and going on summer vacations where it was played out in every beach and hotel bar down south. Trance is also nostalgic for me. I associates it with travel: being at an airport with futuristic architecture, or driving through tunnels with amber tungsten lights. Moving from place to place, becoming yourself… I carry these feelings when I play music.”

For Ece, music is a metaphysical mirror that looks at us, communicating the incommunicable. The very act of making music serves as a conduit between Ece and her surroundings: an activity of grounding and connection. His music often has minimal lyrics and is playful. Thanks to music, she can finally freely explore her Dionysian side.

Listen to the new single here:

Watch the music video for “Chero” here: