An award-winning artist from Auckland, New Zealand, Eden Iris has been described as “a writer working in a new space”.
After moving to Los Angeles to explore a bigger musical landscape, she ironically teamed up with fellow Kiwi artist Jess Harlen, who co-produced all the songs on her new EP Demons (except for “22” produced by Bruce Lynch).
Eden recorded and performed nearly all of the instruments on the EP herself at her home studio, including guitar, banjo, auto-harp, and piano. Her unique voice combines confessional-style lyrics with pop sensibility, exploring themes of innocence, temptation, and depression. Three of the songs on the EP were loosely inspired by characters from HBO’s Game of Thrones series, while other songs were inspired by more personal demons.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Eden about Demons, motivations, challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I am from Auckland, New Zealand. At my roots, I’m a folk artist. I grew up listening to Kate Bush, rock n roll, pop music, and Icelandic folk music. I love using synthesizers with more acoustic elements, keeping everything pretty organic. Or we can just say indie-folk!
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
I was given a beautiful homemade electric guitar when I was 12 years old, and when I started to play, for some reason there was no going back! I knew I wanted to be a musician then. Of course, back then I had no idea how much hard work it would take! I started out wanting to be a guitarist but I soon discovered songwriting, and was really drawn to the whole cathartic process of storytelling. I think at the end of the day, having a meaningful connection to the songs I write and an urge to share them with others is what motivates me to keep showing up. It’s a wonderful feeling to hear other people experiencing something you created – it’s indescribable really.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
The Demons EP definitely explores some darker themes, which is new for me. Most of the songs drew inspiration from characters off HBO’s Game of Throne’s series. That was a new process which evoked some cool imagery to work with. It was also the first time I engineered and produced a record in my home, so I learnt a lot through that experience. The whole project was a collaboration with fellow kiwi artist Jess Harlen which was really cool. I just wanted to make a project I was proud of and share some interesting stories.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
It’s a cliche but it’s true, it can be hard to make money as a songwriter! I think another big challenge is standing out, and getting noticed when there are so many other people trying to do a similar thing to you. It’s awesome how many people are going for their dreams though, but man, there is a lot of us!
The best part of this age we are in is having such great access to technology for engineering and producing music. I’ve been able to set up a home studio and that has been such a game changer for the way I make records. It’s also amazing to be in such direct contact with your fans on social media.
What was the last song you listened to?
“Falling Water” by Maggie Rogers.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
Vinyl! I don’t own any in this country.. but I have some back in New Zealand!
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I like how you can make you own playlists on Spotify. That’s a cool feature. I like Soundcloud also because you can put material up that doesn’t need to be as polished, such as demos that people wouldn’t otherwise hear.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
To hear about new gigs and releases, FB and Instagram. And to hear more music: Spotify and Bandcamp.
Anything else before we sign off?
Thanks for doing the feature Joshua!
Also you can expect a new EP from me mid 2019… will keep you posted, I’m really excited about this one.
