Words by Marley Heltai

Photography by Maya @mayaeleonorasilva

“Because it’s my Instinct to Create”: In Conversation with EQ

Ever since their formation in 2024, Argentinian electronic duo EQ have been building momentum far beyond their home scene. What began as a creative project born out of their bedrooms in Buenos Aires has quickly grown into an international venture, taking Estratosfera and Qiri all over the world, from Europe to Australia. Their collaborative approach, resistance to genre boundaries and shared desire to “play with expectations” distinguish them within a new wave of electronic artists.

As close friends, Estratosfera and Qiri bring more than simply two distinct creative instincts to EQ: their relationship informs the way they experiment, challenge each other’s ideas and build a shared sonic world. The energy of their live shows reflects the project’s underlying spirit — playful, uninhibited and deeply felt. Now, EQ are preparing to bring that passion to North America for the first time. With New York and Los Angeles both name-checked in their track “7’ Mix, ” the tour offers a full-circle moment, while a Halloween-night performance in Brooklyn promises a fitting setting for a duo whose work thrives on subverting expectations.

Very concretely, why do you do what you do?

Q: Because it’s my instinct to create. I cannot help it.

E: I feel the same way. It would be physically painful to live a life without making art.

Tell us about your upbringing and the first moment you felt a calling—when it became clear that you had a vision and would follow it.

E: Ever since I can remember, I’ve always loved music. Naturally, I started learning piano at 5 and then other instruments, until I wrote my first song in piano class. After that, I simply never stopped, and it evolved into all the different types of music I love.

Q: I’ve always been a creative person, and music has always been my medium, even though there aren’t any professional artists in my family. My grandfather taught me how to play his organ, and we used to sing and play together. Growing older, I was always looking for a place to put my ideas, but things started to become clearer as time went on and Laura and I became closer. Us making music and keeping this project alive became a comfortable space, and it was fun but also challenging, so it kept calling my attention the most.

Is there a part of yourself that only really exists through EQ?

Q: I like to be me and feel free in any place I inhabit, so I feel like every part of myself comes with me to work with EQ. But I definitely feel like the “party-girl” trope comes out especially when working with Laura, just because we are also good friends and like to have fun. Parties can also be very extreme sonically, and I also feel pulled towards elements of that.

E: I feel this way too. When living inside the EQ world, I definitely focus my attention on certain themes that we touch—not like a character, but an EQ-filtered version of my day-to-day self.

You’ve spent the last year moving between very different scenes and cities. Has touring and engaging with different audiences changed your understanding of how your music is perceived and interacted with?

E: Yes, in a way, it’s been crazy to tour so many places with just a debut EP out, and it’s endearing to think we made that music in our bedrooms. We got to see our “bedroom-club” experiment actually be played at clubs and venues, and that makes you see things differently, either emotionally or in technical things like the mix of a song.

Q: I feel like we have matured emotionally, physically, and also musically, and feel the need to challenge ourselves with our music when we’re onstage. We also feel this way towards our audience. We feel the support and appreciate it, and it has enabled us to become more free in our expression. We like to play with expectations and challenge our crowds from time to time.

You’re about to take EQ to North America for the first time. What are you most curious to encounter there—not just musically, but culturally or personally?

E: I’m curious in general because North American culture is so different from our Latin American culture. But I’m excited to meet the audiences that have followed us since the literal start of the project.

Q: I have a lot of online friends from the US—some of them I’ve known for a long time now, or became friends with through our music—and I can’t wait to finally meet them and perform for them.

When you arrive somewhere new, what do you notice first? Are you looking at the clubs, the people, the architecture, the way people dress, the way they move or interact with one another?

E: The first thing I look up is all the cultural points on Google Maps. If I have a free day, there’s nothing better than walking all day and being drenched in historical lore.

 

Q: It’s always a shock to see how people greet each other when meeting. In Argentina, we have a warm way of greeting with just one kiss on the cheek, and sometimes, before saying hi to anybody, I have to stop myself and analyze how people come up to me first.

Is there a city you’re particularly excited to play on this tour? Are there places you’re visiting that you already feel have some connection to the world you’ve built with EQ?

EQ: We are excited to visit New York and play on Halloween night. Also excited for Los Angeles—both cities are mentioned in our song “7” Mix, so we feel like performing that song in those cities will be a very special moment.

I had the pleasure of seeing you play at OXI in Berlin, and there was a palpable presence in the room. It was as if there was an unspoken conversation developing between artist and audience in real time. How does the crowd’s energy change what happens onstage for you?

Q: OXI was very special for us too. The crowd started a mosh pit to our song, and that really felt like it was reflecting our energy back to us. It often feels like that. When I’m onstage, I feel comfortable, but I also try to concentrate because it can feel like whatever you give to the crowd, they will give back to you in energy.

E: It was one of my favorite shows of the European tour. The room was packed and super energetic from the start to the end of the show; there were no dull moments from either part (us and the audience). This is the best type of show to have and give.

Do you think you perform differently when the audience already knows who EQ is versus when you’re playing for people encountering you for the first time?

E: Not really. I think the idea is to always show our true selves and vision without it mattering if the viewer is already a “fan” or not. There’s no reason to be shy or conservative; the whole point of a show and tour is to bring your project to life against all odds.

Q: First impressions are pretty strong, and I do think I perform a little bit differently if I’m performing in that city for the first time. Oftentimes, it’s also because maybe I don’t know many people there or don’t have friends close to me. If I have already performed in that city, I feel a bit more playful. It’s like,

“You guys know what is about to happen.”

 

What is something about the other person’s creative instinct that you trust completely, even when you don’t immediately understand where they’re going with it?

Q: We have differences all the time, but it’s actually really nice to see the first traces of an idea in somebody else’s brain. I trust Laura with researching a certain sonic palette or researching specific samples. Sound can be more abstract than image, so I feel like visually we understand each other better.

E: I really trust Cande’s way of reordering a song. When we open Ableton projects, I think she is always very proactive and is not afraid to make big changes to a demo, resulting in more palpable ideas. I like to see the process of her building something, and I like to see it until it’s a bit less abstract on the outside, so I can jump in on the production with her too.

What do you like to do most when you’re not producing or performing? Does that activity influence your music, or is it important precisely because it gives you a space to exist outside of creation?

E: Watching movies. Exploring obscure music picks online. Painting. And apart from consuming art, I like cooking, walking, and being outside to breathe and relax. Sometimes alone and sometimes with my friends. I think everything I do influences my music because I need these moments of exploration to gain strength and knowledge to write and even picture my life in sounds.

Q: I love doing yoga, and I am going back to doing more exercise in a holistic way. Just getting to know my body better and pushing my limits—for me, it’s another way to explore discipline. Time outside of music is important to me, and I take very serious care of that time for myself. I watch a lot of movies as well and spend most of my time catching up with my friends and family. I don’t like to be out of the loop when I come back from touring, and I still like to show up for my village.

You’ve spoken about wanting people to feel less ashamed in the club. Do you think there’s something about performing that has made you less self-conscious yourselves?

Q: We are both women, and our bodies change basically every day. Traveling so much also affects you physically. I’m not too worried about how my body looks daily. I put a lot of care into how I look, but I’m focused on how I can customize myself and what my body helps me achieve. I am very proud of the skill I was able to build.

E: I feel the same way. Performing has helped me to fight against society-induced self-consciousness. I think demanding physical space on a stage as a woman makes you feel very strong. As I grow up, I realize the superficial things I cared so much about are so stupid and unimportant to me now. Also, finding the style of fashion for our shows influenced my day-to-day style, and that is so fun.

What have you learned about each other since you started EQ that you could never have learned simply by being friends?

E: That’s a really good question. I think a lot of things. Sometimes people keep their deepest emotionalities to themselves and therapy (I include myself in this), or, well, don’t want to talk about it all the time, so music is a way to know more stories about the other. I feel grateful to be shared this by a close friend in the form of art.

Q: Being friends and also making music together makes our relationship much deeper. A lot of times, things don’t make sense when we are going through the motions of life or when talking about certain ideas until either of us sits down and pours her heart out in the music, and suddenly everything clicks into place. That feeling is very sweet and makes me come back to EQ.

Credits
Words by Marley Heltai @ch1ckenstar
Photographer by Maya @mayaeleonorasilva
Styling by Lena @lena_rea
Styling assistance by Hendrik @hendriknowak1
latex look: @heinousfelony
latex hat (black): @archivo.x_
all looks: @notanemonia
shoot location: @notanemonia

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