Your passion and love for music can start at any age. That’s something that hangs in curiosity for many fans. What did this person listen to when they were younger? Who influenced them?
The ‘Where It Started’ series is a platform for artists of all kinds to speak on the anthems that raised them to be who they are now.
Meet Enamour: Enamour has become a definitive name of the dance floor, creating masterful soundscapes with no boundary of range: his productions infuse dreamy melodies of deep house, the potent power of progressive house, and the smoldering, alluring momentum of dark techno. Desert Hearts Black first welcomed Enamour into its fold with two shimmering tracks on the label’s debut ‘Gateways’ compilation. Now, the Anjunadeep and Lane 8 wunderkind returns once more with his first full EP. ‘Reality Is Poison. We figured this would be a great time to catch up with the upcoming talent and get an idea of where it started.
Where It Started: Enamour
Crystal Castles – Untrust Us
Crystal Castles was one of the first “electronic” acts that I really got into, without knowing about clubbing culture or dance music. This was alongside artists like the Bloody Beetroots, Digitalism, etc. who helped launch the indie dance wave in the late 2000’s—that for me at least was detached from clubbing and more underground house and techno, which I wouldn’t discover for a several more years.
Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes
I went to the same high school as 3 of the AC band members, albeit much later, though we did have the same music teacher. I think that pseudo connection got me interested in their music but I truly loved their breakout album Merriweather Post Pavilion, and Strawberry Jam before that. They helped me develop an ear for more experimental music before I really understood what synths, sampling and MIDI really were.
Neon Indian – Deadbeat Summer
This whole album really soundtracked the last couple months of high school into the summer before college, in a “Dazed and Confused” montage kind of way. It also inspired me to experiment with more lo-fi production techniques just as I was starting to get a grasp of Ableton. I remember routing the output from my computer into a cassette recorder and then back into Ableton.
Flying Lotus – Galaxy in Janaki
This song really opened up my ears to how complex some compositions can be. There’s an inherent spirituality and raw energy that comes from listening to it. I think Flying Lotus really leveled up on this album, taking a lot more inspiration from jazz and classical. This kind of stuff was what I was listening to when I first dove into production.
Dusky – Stick By This
I got into Anjunadeep a year or two after discovering Above & Beyond early in the decade. I think Anjunadeep 04 was the first compilation that starting shifting my taste deeper and I remember Dusky’s debut album was one that really stuck out to me. This track in particular captures the energy and emotion of some of that 2010-era trance while still being moody, deep and groovy—elements I was trying to balance in my early work.
Dive into all of Enamour’s Where We Started picks below.
