A Conversation with Eulalie about Escapism, Communication, and Small Steps

If you’re looking for something a little different, today we have just the right hint for you. Eulalie’s music moves between pop, electronic textures, dreamy atmospheres and experimental edges that resist clear categorisation. And that’s exactly how she prefers it. Not following a fixed plan, but trusting the process — staying in motion, adjusting along the way, letting things open up as they want to.

Born in Kyoto, she grew up in an environment shaped by small daily routines and a certain sensitivity to space. She describes the city not as something loud or dramatic, but as a muted tone that still lives somewhere inside her. “For me now, the word ‘home’ sounds like a place that allows me to breathe,” she says. This way of breathing, of leaving room, also resonates through her music — soft, searching, open to chance.

With her new EP Escapism, released on French imprintt Ano Ano, she invites listeners into a world of drifting thoughts, subtle emotional shifts and soft electronic storytelling. A small journey that finds its way step by step, much like her own creative path.

We spoke with Eulalie about communication, inner worlds, the meaning of home, and the slow, intentional process behind Escapism.

Photography by Eulalie

Your new EP is titled Escapism. How difficult was it for you to find this title, and how long did it take until it felt right?

Originally, the track title IPPO was intended to be the album title. However, I felt this word wasn’t quite appropriate for describing the overall mood of that EP. IPPO means “to take a step forward” in Japanese. I like that name, it works as the album’s closing track, but as the first three songs are most introspective the EP’s mood would be slightly different from that.

Actually it took about three years to release this EP, and we discussed it throughout that time. Whilst I was explaining about the EP concept to Ano Ano label several times, the word “Escapism” I happened to use was adopted as the title.

I love that your music is hard to categorize – it blends so many influences, yet remains calm, delicate, and unmistakably yours. Do you feel this fluidity also reflects your personality? (smiles)

Thank you so much. Yes I suppose I have a personality that is rather impressionable.

When I take a liking to something, I want to try all sorts without worrying about genre or categories. Also, even if I am into something, I find it difficult to create an exact replica. This isn’t just when making music, but also when painting or cooking. I really like a process to adjust things as I go to get closer to the final piece, so it rarely goes according to plan. This process is pretty much the same whatever I’m doing, so I think it probably comes from my personality or traits.

Mirror in the mirror is one of my personal favourites on the EP, and it was also the first song you sent to Ano Ano. It feels incredibly soft. Can you tell us more about the story behind it?

Thank you so much for liking that track! This song is actually the very first piece I ever composed. The theme of this song is communication, though I have inspiration from other sources: analogue video feedback, mirroring effects, and musically, listening to a concert of the African mbira instrument. I found it profoundly beautiful how a single short phrase could form a complete piece, then gradually transform through their reverberation and interaction.

“What I once thought impossible was just one facet of the world.”

What drew you to Ano Ano as a label?

I was very taken with the concept of focusing on their undiscovered artists, that kind of the anonymous ones. I felt they selected artists based on their intuition, not commercial motives or rational logic. In my opinion, labels like that feel like a single piece of art in themselves. Many of the labels I released on are run by people with that kind of attitude, and I like those sorts of people and label.

There is something very cinematic about your sound design – almost like building a dream sequence. What does your creative process look like when translating inner feelings into sounds and atmospheres?

I actually get a lot of my inspiration from film scores, like Vangelis, Kenji Kawai and more. I think the effect when visuals and music combine is truly striking, and when I compose, I often draw inspiration from some visual images. It’s like the hands of a clock, mirror effects and a spiraling, rotating universe. Composing while playing back these images in my mind is perhaps a little similar to the process of adding sound to film.

Your vocals feel intensely intimate – whispered, close, almost fragile. Do you record them in a specific emotional state, or do you just let them happen spontaneously?

Thank you for the kind words about my vocals! But the reason I ended up with this style isn’t anything special… It’s because when I started recording, I was singing into my laptop’s built-in microphone! Between the problems of the microphone feedback and worrying about complaints from neighbours, I had no choice but to sing in a mumbled voice… I never imagined at that time I’d end up singing so many different songs! Of course I’ve bought a proper microphone now. But without those circumstances, honestly that’s the style of vocals I prefer. I like people who sing loudly and resonantly, but I prefer something more intimate and natural.

“I never imagined I’d end up singing so many songs — all from a mumbled voice into a laptop microphone.”

You’ve spoken about communication being difficult for you since childhood – something I think many people can relate to. What helped you find a bit more positivity in communication over these past years?

This is a personal story and it’s going to be a bit long. I think the turning point that made me more positive about communication was when the Manchester label Pure Life invited me to the UK. I used to think I was the type who couldn’t cope with group activities, and that being around someone for long periods would overwhelm me and make me ill. In fact, that caused constant problems with getting to school throughout my time at secondary school, high school and university. So I’d pretty much given up on connecting with society. In a way, Mirror in the mirror is a song about that situation. I felt like everyone was looking for someone I wasn’t.

But in 2022, Pure Life invited me to the UK for a label event, and I spent some time there with labelmates. I was really surprised. Even though I was in a place I’d never been before and my English was truly awful, I felt a warmth in communication I’d never experienced before. What shocked me was how, no matter how long we were together, my health didn’t deteriorate at all. In fact, I felt increasingly well. Everyone on the label was genuinely kind and honest, never hesitating to offer kindness without expecting anything in return. They treated me as a true equal. I think for them, it was probably just a normal way of being, and they likely didn’t realise how deeply moved I was. They probably think I’m overreacting. Haha

But discovering their warm, creative way of life was truly a salvation for me, and meeting them felt like a miracle. It was genuinely comfortable and enjoyable to be myself with them all, with all my flaws, rather than trying to adapt me to someone else’s expectations.

Finding that one community showed me that what I thought impossible was just one facet of the world. Through them, I realised communicating with someone wasn’t just a fantasy for me. After that, talking to people gradually became genuinely enjoyable. Even though things often go wrong, I’ve learned to enjoy meeting new people. Sorry, that was a bit too personal, but the point is that finding a place where you can be yourself makes things a little easier, and that place doesn’t necessarily have to be somewhere very close to home. And even if most of life doesn’t go well, if you can find just one thing to believe in, you don’t have to despair.

The closing track Ippo (“one step”) carries a sense of acceptance and a quiet form of hope. Is there a personal moment in your life that this song reflects?

Yes the song reflects how my mindset has changed through encountering those kinds of people. Initially the song order was a bit different, but for the EP I wanted this track to be the last one. The other three songs sing of communication problems, escaping from reality, fatigue and restlessness – in reality, there are all kinds of suffering and all I can do is just keep moving forward, dealing with each problem one by one. But even step by step, change does happen and I believe that change I bring about myself is more precious than any results.

“Suffering is subjective — and each person’s pain should remain their own truth.”

The Gazzi remix of Ippo is fantastic as well. Love it! How did this collaboration come about?

Yeah I absolutely adore this remix too. It’s truly amazing!! I’ve already played it live. The label Ano Ano connected me with Gazzi. Gazzi’s album TUS OJOS, released on Ano Ano, is also a truly emotional and brilliant album, so I’m really happy he remixed it. Honestly this release is under my name, but genuinely I think it is a release with the Ano Ano members. Pierre added loads of sounds and composed extensively, then Kincaid handled the arrangement and mixing. Thanks to Manu and Charles from the label doing so much for the release, we could try all sorts of new things. We exchanged many ideas, so I genuinely believe this release absolutely wouldn’t have been possible by me alone!

When listening to the EP from start to finish, it feels very cohesive, almost like a journey that finds its ending. Was it clear early on how the songs should sit next to each other, or did it take time to find the right order?

The track order changed several times, but in the end, the order I wanted, I got. I sent them quite a lot of opinions, I did. Ha ha. It really started with Ano Ano wanting to release Mirror in the mirror, so I had them pick two demos I’d made up to that point, and then I added one completely new song, Tick Tack. When the release based on Mirror in the mirror included Ippo, a narrative had already formed in my mind. Tick Tack then filled in the middle section of that story. So the track order was decided in my mind right from the composition stage.

Because if the order were different, there’d be no hope anywhere in it?

You once said, “Facing the fact that reality is full of suffering and the determination to keep moving forward.” I appreciate this honest, philosophical way of seeing things. I also think that when you look closely, life contains a lot of pain, and yet we continue. Do you see this as a subjective truth, or closer to an objective one?

Well, that’s a difficult question. I believe suffering in life is an extremely subjective matter. So one can only imagine it. It’s certainly not something that can be taken objectively. I think forcing it into an objective truth also risks diminishing that person’s suffering. On the other hand, thought often occurs to me that while I suffer, the majority of the world outside myself lives without suffering. But that is merely a highly subjective observation. When interacting with people, I frequently realise that those who appear outwardly successful and seemingly without worries are actually harbouring profound suffering. Therefore, I feel that suffering certainly exists as a hidden reality within many people. But whatever that person’s pain may be, it should be their truth, detached from any notion of objectivity.

You grew up in Kyoto – do you feel that place is still a vivid part of you? And what does “home” mean to you in general?

I’ve been here since I was born, so Kyoto feels like something taken for granted, something I’ve grown accustomed to. For me it’s less vivid, more like a muted, low-saturation hue.

For me now, the word “home” sounds like a place that allows me to breathe. It might be within a truly local community, or perhaps somewhere far away. It could be a community of shared interests, or the arms of someone dear. If a person feels they can breathe there, then I think that places can be called “home”.

And finally, what is the next small step (ippo) you want to take after this release?

Make a new piece!

Thanks so much for sharing your world with us!