After ten months of dating long distance between Los Angeles, California and Perth, Australia, electronic producers/artists Pauline Herr and TWERL finally met. And when they did, their chemistry ignited more than just love. Together, they made the Distance EP–a shimmering, intimate, sonic dreamscape detailing the highs and lows of long distance dating.

Years in the making, their relationship began as friends when they connected online through the EDM community. Longtime fans of each other’s music, they both admit now to harboring deeper feelings from the start.

“I always had a crush on him but didn't realize he had a crush on me,” says Pauline. “It took us four years to realize we both had crushes on each other.”

“It’s hard as a musician to approach another musician and not cross a line. There’s a boundary there,” says TWERL. “I could never do that, so it was actually her who kind of made the first move.”

“I don't normally don’t that,” laughs Pauline.

Eager to see each other having made their mutual intentions clear, they had to wait ten long months due to COVID restrictions with TWERL living in Australia at the time. “We couldn't see each other, because in Australia we were locked in. They wouldn't let us leave,” he says. “So we had to do long distance for ten months. Then we met for the first time in December.”

When TWERL eventually made it to Los Angeles, he and Pauline spent three months together and subsequently began writing what would become the Distance EP. Processing their time apart, TWERL and Pauline’s three-track EP finds its magic in the synergy of their togetherness. TWERL’s heavier electronic palette married to Pauline’s dreamier dance world creates a uniquely balanced musical home for their story.

“The EP has its own sound,” says Pauline. “It’s a separate thing from both of us. The EP is its own world, which is cool.”

“We got quite experimental with it,” adds TWERL. “Doing this together, we were able to make stuff we don't normally make.”

Working in tandem producing and writing the EP together, TWERL and Pauline’s musical partnership is a testament to the strength of their relationship. Pushing each other creatively, while learning to co-create with patience and grace both in-person and while finishing the songs remotely, the Distance EP offered both a fortifying shared purpose and catharsis.

“I’d get a little sassy if someone was backseat producing,'' laughs Pauline when asked about collaborating with a romantic partner. “I have a trigger when people tell me what to do when I'm producing as a woman in the industry. I’ve had enough people make sly remarks, so I automatically think it's coming from a bad place.”

“It wasn't, though, just for the record,” TWERL asserts lovingly. “That was the only hiccup. Other than that, it was great fun. The lyrics obviously hit home because we were in the middle of long distance, not knowing when we were going to see each other again. And so it was all quite emotional.”

Evoking the arc of anticipation and yearning to be together, the euphoria and intensity of the eventual reunion, and the dread of the inevitable re-separation, the three tracks–”Wherever You Go,” “Addicted,” and “Stay With Me,”–tell a relatable story. Made all the more common in the digital age on the heels of a pandemic, the narrative struck a chord with audiences. “A lot of people resonated with the music,” says TWERL.

Ahead of releasing the EP via electronic indie label Bitbird on August 25, TWERL and Pauline sold the three tracks as 1/1 and collection NFTs on Catalog and Sound over the summer.

Generating approximately 10 ETH, their NFT earnings helped fund the EP campaign, freeing TWERL and Pauline from having to recoup an advanced label budget and providing more creative freedom for future projects (including ASTRO, a web3-native project that is mostly under wraps for now). “There is such a high level of toxicity in the music industry right now, and web3 is truely changing the game for artists. We finally have the control and value we deserve,” wrote TWERL in the description of their inaugural Sound drop. “I had completely lost my drive for making music due to these issues, but web3 has brought back the spark.”

More like fireworks, the EP’s opening song, “Wherever You Go,” finds the antidote to frustration–whether with the music industry or with the inevitable difficulties of long distance dating. The infectious track dances in the dichotomy of longing and love, creating a sweet escape where both feelings can exist. “I wrote it in the vocal booth about him leaving, as if he was already gone,” says Pauline. “I showed it to him, and we both got a little emotional.” Capturing the feeling of yearning for a lover, and the desperation to be reunited after too many nights apart, Pauline’s pitched up vocals touch a delicate balance of sweet sadness. Her lyrics, “And I can’t sleep at night without you by my side, there’s nothing left for me here…I’ll go wherever you go,” poignantly describe missing someone in the way that feels unbearable, while the soundscape makes room for the giddy anticipation of looking forward to seeing them again.

“Addicted,” the EP’s first single and second track, is a love letter oozing with vulnerability. Pauline’s manipulated vocals pull the listener close as a steady bass builds to a lush, synth laden chorus. Addicting melodies mirror the sentiment of feening for a lover–professing the desire to go all in with someone. “I want to be in your arms till I die,” sings Pauline. “Will you be my ride or die?”

“Stay With Me,” concludes the EP with a final protest of the distance. Pleaful vocals and sharp production turns express the raw heartache of looming physical separation. Pauline says she wrote and recorded what would become the final vocals while TWERL was out shopping for her birthday. The direct honesty in her lyrics speaks for itself. “I know that you’re everything I wanted, and now I'm scared to let you…Why won’t you stay with me?…Stay with me.” Repetition of the line, “Stay with me,” in the chorus echoes off the catacombs of her soul’s unfiltered desire. A wish, filled with the angst and hunger that only the truest ones hold, that has since manifested into reality.

Released on Catalog, the 1/1 NFT auction helped fund a trip for TWERL and Pauline to see each other in New Zealand (originally planned for Japan but rerouted due to travel restrictions). And later, the week Distance was released on August 25, TWERL permanently relocated to Los Angeles to live with Pauline. “It’s funny because our EP comes out this week and then the long distance is over,” says Pauline when speaking over zoom the week prior to the EP’s release, and to TWERL’s arrival. “It’s perfect timing,” TWERL smiles.