Eric Hilton

On June 28, 2024, prolific downtempo electronic producer Eric Hilton will release Out Of The Blur, his first full length album of ambient music.

Out Of The Blur is Hilton’s debut release for the emeraldwave by Green Hill label, a new imprint specializing in healing music. Eric Hilton’s masterful ability to combine disparate musical genres was well established as co-founder of the globally successful downtempo group Thievery Corporation. But for Out Of The Blur, a more reductive compositional approach was required.

“What you leave out in ambient music is as important as what you include,” says the producer. “I don’t have a background making ambient music, this is definitely a different kind of record for me. Ambient music is inherently ambiguous, transporting you to a place that isn’t really well
defined. But I think it’s the absence of answers, that formlessness, that makes this kind of music so emotionally impactful.”

Out Of The Blur has a familiar ambient calmness about it, but there are also moments that instill a sense of swelling hope. Softly percussive synthesizer rhythms shimmer between the speakers.

Weightless drones underpin reverberant spaces that shift in and out of focus, Out Of The Blur is that rare ambient record that rewards both passive and attentive listening.

The album was created during a time of deep personal loss and transition for the producer. “Something clicked for me during the pandemic, I felt that I had to be really sharp, so I got completely sober. Right after doing that, a really close friend and musical collaborator of mine died unexpectedly. It was shocking; I was crushed. The only way I knew how to cope with it was to make music. So Out Of The Blur was made in the wake of that – in grief, but also in clarity,” said Hilton. “I truly believe in the healing power of music. If people use this record as a sonic medication, I think it will make them centered, it will make them feel good.”