Eternal Self and Cardiac have found a creative balance that goes beyond exchanging ideas in the studio. With Pale Osaka, producers Tom Gatley and Laurie Johnson are giving their partnership an identity of its own, bringing together melodic instincts, rhythmic energy, and a shared love of electronic music.
Photo Credit: Eternal Self and Cardiac – AI-generated composite; source imagery provided by artist representation
After working together on ‘Yours’ and ‘Clear,’ featuring Ellenjnelle, the two producers recognized that their collaborations had developed a character worth exploring further. Their new project, Pale Osaka, builds on that connection, with ‘Feel It’ arriving through Tukan Dance.
For Tom, whose work as Eternal Self draws on progressive house, techno, and melodic electronic music, creativity often begins with a sound or an unexpected moment of inspiration. Laurie, performing as Cardiac, brings experience from live bands and electronic production, with particular attention to drums, dynamics, and the energy of a record.
Despite working from different parts of the world, the pair have found common ground in everything from childhood memories of Eiffel 65 to their belief that originality matters more than following trends.
In this conversation with Electronic Groove, Eternal Self and Cardiac discuss the origins of Pale Osaka, their creative differences, the influence of nostalgia, the changing music industry, and why working together has opened new possibilities for both artists.
EG: Hi Tom, hi Laurie. Great to have you with us. Where are you both today, and what does life look like around you as we start this conversation?
Tom (Eternal Self): We’re currently on opposite sides of the world. I am back in Taiwan, where I first started the Eternal Self journey.
Laurie (Cardiac): And I’m in sunny Wales, recovering from three solid weeks of gigging by hiding myself away in a very dark studio.
EG: Collaborations sometimes remain collaborations, while others eventually demand an identity of their own. When did you realize that what was happening between you belonged in a separate world?
Tom: We’ve only released two collaborations, ‘Yours’ and ‘Clear’ (ft. Ellenjnelle), but this next one sounded too defining in my ears not to call it its own thing. We both have goals as artists individually, but deciding to give a name to our collaborations felt right, as they seem to go pretty smoothly, which I find can be a rare thing.
EG: What do you each bring out in the other creatively that you rarely access when working alone?
Tom: Laurie brings a lot of energy to my more melodic-leaning work, which he’s also really good at. I like to say he’s mastered the science behind “what makes a banger.”
Laurie: Cheers, Tom. I generally tend to handle the drum programming and dynamics. We’ve just found that the combination of the two sounds fantastic, which is one of the reasons we’ve decided to combine forces.
EG: Nostalgia can be a powerful creative force, but it can also become imitation very quickly. How do you draw from another era while still making something that feels connected to the present?
Tom: I guess we’re both very inspired by music we loved growing up. For me, it was Eiffel 65’s first album on repeat for pretty much most of my childhood. Aside from that, I try to spend more time as a creator than a consumer, so that keeps the music fresh to me.
Laurie: Weirdly enough, ‘Blue’ by Eiffel 65 was the first single I owned on cassette too (showing my age there). I’ve always tried to capture that feeling of my childhood, but using the benefits of cleaner production techniques of today, like granular synthesis, for example.
“We’ve just found that the combination of the two sounds fantastic, which is one of the reasons we’ve decided to combine forces”
EG: Laurie, moving between a live band and electronic production gives you two very different relationships with music. What has playing with other musicians taught you that still affects the decisions you make in the studio?
Laurie: One of the main things being in bands has taught me is to value other people’s input. A lot of electronic producers lock themselves away as solo artists, and that’s great for some. But I find having an extra pair of ears, someone to add new ideas, is one of the strongest tools any musician or producer can utilize.
EG: Tom, with ‘Before’, what did you discover about your own creative instincts that perhaps you had not fully recognized in your previous work?
Tom: I want to lean more into organic sounds with synths. I tend to get lost crafting parameters in Ableton, but using synthesis freed my instincts again to just see where the sounds take me, rather than where I take the music.
EG: Real places, memories, images, and everyday sounds can sometimes leave a stronger mark on music than other records do. How important is the world outside the studio to what each of you creates?
Tom: It’s all connected. Sometimes I’ll hear a car horn and a melody emerges around it. Electronic music can also be very cinematic, so it’s easy to connect it visually with the world around us or events in our lives.
Laurie: I find that certain scenes will set me in certain moods. I walk past an alleyway in a city; I hear dark and underground in my head. If I’m hiking up to a summit, when the land falls away beneath me, something euphoric springs to mind. And generally, I’ll go home and write something in that timbre immediately afterwards.
EG: When someone with a major platform connects with something you have made, what does that validation actually mean? Does it build confidence, create pressure, or simply make you want to get back to work?
Tom: It definitely helps me feel like I’m on the right path. It’s easy to feel a bit lost in the music world, like, is this actually going anywhere? That doesn’t mean giving up on pushing my work, but it’s more like, “Great, what’s the next step?” The key is to keep consistent for your own sake. I will say that you have to go out there and make connections yourself. If I hadn’t travelled to Amsterdam to see Don Diablo play and talk to his label manager, I don’t think my music would have ever reached him.
Laurie: It’s definitely a boost to your confidence as an artist. The one thing I always believe in is that, if your music can positively affect just one other person in life, whether that be a friend, family member, or complete stranger, then it’s been worth it.
But above all else, make sure you write music for yourself. Having had tracks played in the past by artists like Claude VonStroke and Mark Knight, I was just happy they related to what I enjoyed creating, rather than feeling pressure to follow it up with another one they might play.
EG: Electronic music is increasingly shaped by algorithms, short attention spans, and an enormous volume of new releases. What do you think younger artists risk losing if they become too focused on being noticed?
Tom: If you look at any of those things, you’ve lost your voice before you begin. Find what works for you musically and in terms of promotion. You want to share your music with the world, so find an authentic way to do that. And always try to make it from the heart.
Laurie: Never lose your creativity. And don’t be afraid to make something just because it’s not “cool” or “trending.” If we lose creativity, then music becomes sterile and artificial. Most of the classic tracks that are still played today are in circulation because they did something you hadn’t heard before. Embrace originality. Be different.
“Never lose your creativity. And don’t be afraid to make something just because it’s not cool or trending”
EG: What is something the two of you strongly disagree about musically, and has that disagreement ever led to a better record?
Tom: Probably one of us deciding the track could be a different genre. I think that collab fell by the wayside… BPM we can usually concede.
Laurie: I’m just saying it would have suited some more garage elements… Generally, we’re both pretty in sync with our ideas.
EG: If you could speak to yourselves at the beginning of your respective musical lives, what is one piece of advice you think those younger versions genuinely needed to hear?
Tom: One day, there will be people in your circle telling you AI music is inevitable, and your music will be irrelevant. Just keep making what you love and the fad will pass. In a similar way, big labels won’t gatekeep forever. You can carve your own path.
Laurie: Don’t be a snob. I spent the best part of my teens thinking anything other than blues or classic rock was the work of the devil (ironically enough). I missed out on so much good music because of it. Be open and willing to learn from all genres.
EG: Pale Osaka is only just beginning. Rather than telling us what is coming next, what do you hope this project gives you permission to explore that neither of you has fully explored before?
Tom: If a musician is a Power Ranger, then two combined have some kind of special ability. I’m excited to see the level of productions we can create with two minds instead of one.
Laurie: Just so long as I’m the Red Power Ranger. And it’s going to be exciting to see where we can both take the project, not just musically, but aesthetically too.
Pale Osaka’s ‘Feel It’ is out now on Tukan Dance.
Listen to Eternal Self & Cardiac: Yours | Clear
Follow Pale Osaka: Instagram
Follow Eternal Self: Spotify | SoundCloud | Instagram | Website
