Meet the Sunderland musicians who record in a garage and get global airplay

Made up of friends Paul Russell from Mill Hill and Mel Bell from Hetton, Eurasianeyes formed four years ago and have struck a chord with fans of the genre.

Fresh from the release of single Hope, the pair have been asked to open a gig for Republica as part of a two-day festival hosted in Market Harborough, in Leicestershire.

Paul said: “We formed the band in 2012 but have been friends since 1991, and have always written music on and off over that time.

“We describe our sound as synth pop along the lines of Ultravox, although that’s just our influence, we don’t mimic anyone.

“It’s a genre which has a bit of an underground scene. We did some instrumental videos for YouTube and people really liked it. We started adding vocals and people really liked it, and it all went from there.”

The pair, who named their band after a song in the film Nine and a Half Weeks, released their first EP, Silent Cries in 2013, with a second EP, Crisis, following in 2014.

Over the years they’ve received airplay in Australia and America and are used as the introductory tune for a radio station in Israel.

Paul added: “We’ve done a few live performances and have even played a synth festival in Lille, France. Harborough FM, who are organising the festival in Market Harborough, play a lot of our music which is how the support slot for Republica came about. We’re really looking forward to it.”

The duo’s latest single which, like their other music, is available to buy on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify, was mixed by Grammy award-winning mix engineer Steve Hardy and mastered by Andy VanDette, who’s worked with the likes of Prince, after they recorded it in Paul’s garage.

Paul said: “We tend to get together at weekends. We write separately and then bring ideas together where we record them in my home studio. We are very proud of what we have achieved as we have no management or investors.”

•For more on Eurasianeyes visit www.eurasianeyes.co.uk