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The long-standing collaboration between Eli Escobar and critically acclaimed singer and songwriter Nomi Ruiz has been years in the making. The two Puerto Rican New York native’s first collab in 2011 ‘Desire’, on Stretch Armstrong's Plant Music, was an electrifying club cut turned torch song. They’ve since featured on various releases like their 2013 cover of Boy George's ‘Somebody to Love Me’ on Nervous Records and ‘Shadow Dancer’ in 2015 as part of Nomi’s Jessica 6 electro-pop outfit, so it was only natural for the duo to launch an official joint project.
While working on the ‘Love Louder’ LP the duo were faced with the loss a friend and one third of Eli’s legendary party Night People, James Dewitt aka DJ BluJemz. James, Eli, and Nomi have always shared a deep love for their hometown and have done their best to keep the culture alive by participating in the constant shift of its cultural landscape. In 2023, Escobar opened his club in Brooklyn, Gabriela, named after another friend who passed during the pandemic. Gabriela Mejia was known for curating the original subMercer making it home to local underground DJ elite with an adjacent subMercer Record label. The two had once discussed opening a place together so naming the venue after her Eli says, “This was my way of bringing her along in the best way I could.”
‘Love Louder,’ while laced with dancefloor gems like the howling house track ‘Heathens’ and nostalgic ode to freestyle ‘Full Fantasy,’ takes a surprising emotional turn as it seems to call for pause and presence in a fleeting world. The album opens with the pulsing piano driven title track ‘Love Louder’ where Ruiz borrows lyrics from the late Donny Hathaway singing, “tomorrow may never come, tomorrow is only made for some.” ‘Love Louder’ is Eli & Nomi’s attempt at honouring their hometown while grieving its past and imminent changes. On ‘Go Be Gone’ Nomi sings directly to her mourning and coming to terms with no longer being able to hold on to a world that is constantly changing.
‘Love Louder’ is Eli & Nomi’s love letter to a world that will leave you behind and a way of honouring the people and places they refuse to forget. “We deeply care about the landscape of our city. This was 100% purely to add something great to New York, because we care about the city that much” says Eli. What will always keep Eli, Nomi and the friends they’ve lost along the way connected is their love for the city that made them who they are and brought them closer together through music and nightlife.
