Asheville-raised, New York-based DJ Equal (aka Elliot Heller) is just about to release his first effort as a solo artist. The track, “Lost in the Evening,” features singer-songwriter Gary Jules (known for his version of Tears for Fears’ “Mad World”), who calls Asheville home.
The track will be released officially on Tuesday, Oct. 8, through retailers like iTunes and Amazon, but Vice Magazine is premiering it here.
The song came to Heller, a life-long drummer, initially as a beat he created while on an airplane. He brought it to collaborator (and Columbia Records artist) Samuel and the two started working with samples. Samuel wrote the lyrics and, when the duo began looking for the right vocalist, it was Heller’s father — composer-producer Steven Heller of Asheville’s sound studio, Upstream Productions — who suggested Jules.
Jules laid down the vocal track at Steven’s studio; Steven recorded the bass line and a third Heller — Elliot’s brother Drew, who plays in Toubab Krewe — handled the guitar parts.
The project was mixed by Vic Stafford (yet another Asheville connection) and finalized at HeavyRoc Studios in New York. “They’re my friends, that’s where I do my production,” Elliot says of that studio. It was a natural choice to put out the track with HeavyRoc Music. And, though “Lost in the Evening” drops as a single, it’s part of an EP in the works.
So, does Elliot have other vocalists in mind for future tracks? “I have a wish list but nothing I can share yet,” says the DJ and producer.
