STORE MIX 123: EERA

Many artists make a start releasing tracks on Soundcloud, but few have been able to curate a career from it quite like Eera. Growing up in West L.A., Eera’s journey with music began in the depths of the internet, experimenting with beats on his computer, eventually finding his own niche sound in the electronic scene. After making his way to New York, Eera co-founded Surf Gang alongside Evilgiane, and Harrison, forming a multifaceted creative collective/record label in the underground music scene. Since their formation, the group have production credits amongst the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Pinkpantheress, as well as signing acts like Snow Strippers.

More recently, Eera released his debut solo record Can’t Stop Wasting Time in 2023, featuring the artist’s signature approach to melodies in a video game-esque ambient soundscape. He’s now the next artist to curate a featured Store Mix for us, and to coincide with this we spoke with him about reflections on his career, alongside what is yet to come.

You’re here in London for your tour. How does the city sound to you, compared to L.A. and New York? London reminds me of New York. I don’t find London and New York similar to LA at all. I always enjoy coming here, though. My family used to live here when I was younger. It feels like I’ve been coming to London every year for the last 10 years.

What do you find different about the crowds in each city? European tours are always interesting because there are cultural differences between cities with relatively small distances between them compared to touring in the US. I wish we got to go a bit farther out this year but it didn’t work out that way this time.

You’ve been releasing music online for around a decade now. How has your sound evolved? In a weird way I feel like it has come full circle. When I first started making music, the way Soundcloud functioned was different. Producers would make instrumental tracks, upload them, and sometimes rappers would end up getting on them. Most of the production that people were getting on early on were just instrumental electronic tracks that people had uploaded, a lot of the time they were popular tracks. I feel like what I am doing now is very similar to doing that. I still make beats, which is what I spent the majority of the time I’ve been making music doing, but since I started playing a lot of live shows in the last two years, I wanted to make my own music that I could play live. Music that people would enjoy hearing at events as opposed to headphone music, a category which I feel a lot of the music that I have released falls under.

How do you feel your relationship with online platforms, like Soundcloud, has changed since you first started? Soundcloud has changed so much since the beginning. The layout and UI made it feel a lot more like a MySpace or a Facebook (wall era Facebook) than it does now. In 2025 every streaming platform and basically every social media app are all just re-skins of each other. In terms of online platforms, it feels like I only develop new relationships with other people via Instagram nowadays.

Your work —even without lyrics— feels intimate. Is this something you’re thinking about throughout your process? I don’t know if I’m thinking about that. Maybe subconsciously. I think my goal when making music is expressing parts of the common human experience through melody. I think the beautiful thing about music without lyrics is that everyone can interpret what I am trying to convey differently, in a way that relates to them and their experiences.

Video game soundtracks seem to serve as a source of inspiration for you. How would you say they’ve impacted your work? It kind of relates to the last question. All of the music that was made for GBA Cartridges, like Pokemon, was limited by the technology at the time. The music was all instrumental electronic songs, and a lot of those songs carry a really emotional, bittersweet feeling to them. A lot of those songs have stuck with me my entire life. Especially “Littleroot Town” from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald. I think songs like that are so powerful because they convey such strong feelings without saying anything.

How do you feel being part of Surf Gang has impacted your artistry over time? Being a part of Surf Gang is the most important thing that has ever happened to me in music. My artistry has grown not only because of meeting and working with the people that have been a part of Surf Gang, but also working with people that I was only able to meet because of Surf Gang. It has opened my world to so many people and places in so many different ways, it is difficult to describe how big of an impact it has had on my life. Surf Gang basically is my life.

You’ve also worked with a plethora of other artists. What draws you to collaboration? I don’t work with people over the internet often, if at all. Most of the people that I work with are friends that I have met in real life. The people I enjoy collaborating with the most, I feel we almost have a telepathic connection where before I can finish telling them my idea they are already making it.

Can you talk about the making of Can’t Stop Wasting Time, and what that record means to you? Cant Stop Wasting Time is really a collection of songs that I made between 2020-2022. I was thinking for a long time about making a project, moving into focusing more on making music as a solo artist rather than as a producer. It was a dark time in my life, I think the music is reflective of that. That project is really beautiful to me because to me it is me trying to figure out who I am both as a person and an artist.

That Project released in 2023, and you’ve released quite a few singles since then. Can you allude to anything about what’s next for you? My debut album is coming out in the beginning of 2026. All of my plans with music got delayed this year because I was in the hospital for a long time after my car accident. I'm excited that things are finally moving again.

Where should listeners be when they first hit play on your LN-CC Store Mix? Mentally, Trance Party. This mix is not exactly the same but it's similar to the setlist I played at Trance Party which was probably the highlight of 2025 for me. Shoutout to Evian and everybody on the Trance Party team.excited for what’s next.