Fans of Beabadoobee and girl in red, prepare yourself as we’ve got a new favourite for you and she goes by the name Eden Rain. Hailing from London, the singer-songwriter is making her debut today with intimate single “Wake Up, You’re Stuck”. Leading us into a dreamy kaleidoscope of crackling analogue-style touches and piano-led melodies, the singer’s wistful vocals crackle the track into life. Influenced by the poetic lyricism of Kae Tempest, Rain’s debut single draws together the idea of pivotal moments of our lives and fight or flight decisions.

“For me, this song is the feeling of being eaten alive from the inside out,” says Eden. “I wrote it after waking up from a nightmare when I had fallen asleep with Planet Earth on in the background. To me the song feels like a fight or flight situation: do I stay being eaten alive or attempt to save myself from all the things I’m running from?”

Giving us a glimpse into her world on her IG, Rain brings together her love of art and fashion with Shirley-esque artwork and mind-bending doodles. With her love of art inspiring her self-directed accompanying video, we caught up with the artist/singer talking her debut single, growing up in Leeds and her love for Planet Earth.

Check out the interview below…

Hey Eden, how’s lockdown been? Do you think it’s affected your creativity in any way?
Lockdown has been a confusing time creatively – not much gossip happening to fuel my songwriting. But, all my music is quite introspective so I’ve been able to churn up a lot of feelings and throw that into the music. I’ve spent a lot of time drawing – and making really crap clay art and being on my own. I think time and space to myself are really important things for me when I’m writing.

What was your earliest memory of music?
My earliest memory is driving to my grandparents on a Sunday and exclusively listening to “Nothing Compares 2 U” on the way there and Desert Island Discs on the way back. My parents taught me everything I love about music, my dad would make compilation CDs with everything from classic Ska tunes to The Beatles and as a baby, my mum would sing “Eden Rain” to the tune of “Purple Rain” as a lullaby.

Do you think growing up in Leeds has impacted your sound in any way?
I love Leeds –  I think anybody’s hometown and upbringing has an effect on their sound…I’m just not sure what effect yet. I was travelling backwards and forwards from Leeds to London on the coach for such a long time, but now I’m in London permanently I feel like I only just left Leeds. A lot of what I’ve written recently has been about acclimatising to London life. I miss Leeds a lot –  definitely get emotional thinking about the chip shop I love and the Casino I’d get tea and coffee from after a night out.

Congratulations on your debut single “Wake Up, You’re Stuck”, what was inspiration behind the single? What was the production process like?
The inspiration came from falling asleep watching Planet Earth and having a nightmare that I was being eaten alive. To me the song feels like a flight or fight situation, do I stay being eaten alive or attempt to save myself from all the things I’m running from. I love dreaming and sleeping and I feel that dreams are the minds way of working through whatever real-life situations you have going on. The production process was a dream. I made the song with Tim Kellett and the song came together really seamlessly. The music we make together is fuelled by cups of tea and tunnocks wafers – that’s the true secret to the production process.

You’ve also released a video alongside the single, what was it like filming during this difficult time?
I filmed it during first lockdown isolating in Leeds with my family. Was a very unplanned process, I think I mainly just wanted something to do and an excuse to get out of the house. I got my sister to hold the camcorder while I stuck my head out a window driving down some country roads and I just went with my gut/ trial and error when making and animating it. I’d never made anything like this before or done any animation so I mostly just guessed how I was meant to do things. Watching it back really takes me back to the mindset I was in when I made it –  holed up in my room and drawing birds frame by frame, and I like that about it.

Your IG is filled with gorgeous artwork, what made you get into it and what’s the inspiration behind it?
My art started off and still is – doodles and random thoughts. I was very annoying and used to draw on everything at school and all over my friends’ books and papers. I just couldn’t keep my hand still when it had a pen in it. A lot of the songs also start off as doodles or little notes that I’ve found in my notebook. The music I make is me way overthinking and the drawings I make are mostly me underthinking. Its just observations or feelings simplified. My housemate saw a dirty stain on the window the other day and said it looked like a possum and that I should draw it. So I did.

Who do you pull your musical inspirations from? Who would you love to work with in the future?
Everywhere. I heard the bin man whistling the other day and I was like ‘Oh tune!’ Sometimes, it feels like every song I ever listened to floods in when I try to write. I joke that the inspirations come from Barbra Streisand to Sufjan Stevens to Drake – I would love a dream collab with all three.

What are you most excited for? What can we expect from you next?
For the music to be out in the world! For live shows to happen! For whatever comes next…