INTERVIEW:
is the superb After Eden. I think I first connected with her music when She’s a Church was released in 2019. 2020’s Outlaw was another remarkable single. In 2024, she put out Hello, and appeared alongside Echoes and Sam Supplier. Now, the incredible Forgive Me is out. With Echoes and Mark Eteson alongside her, this might be one of her best releases. An artist I hope produces more material and we see perform live, as she is a tremendous talent. Go and follow her on Instagram. I have been asking After Eden about Forgive Me and working alongside Eteson and Echoes. I also asked about her upbringing and whether music was a bit part. She also reveals whether more new music will come out this year. I wondered how motherhood has affected and influenced her career and outlook. Forgive Me is a tremendous track that everyone should hear! It has been a huge pleasure chatting with…
THE tremendous After Eden.
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I have known about your music for many years now, and I am so excited that you have a new single out! Do you recall what drew you into music, and how your early material compares to what you are producing now?
I think I’ve always being pulled towards music in some capacity, but I only really believed it was something I was good at in my early twenties. I went travelling and found myself in L.A. writing songs with the godfather of drum samples, Steven Slate. It was so fun writing lyrics for the first time and finding my love of words. Then back in England, I started working with Andy Love, who is an incredible song writer and he really understood my voice and showed me what I could do with it. He gave me the courage to believe in myself.
My sound has changed over the years, but the bones of it remain the same. It’s still my story being told.
Can you remember when music came into your life? Was it something that spoke to you from an early age?
It lived in the walls, I think. In small things. My dad has a beautiful winding music box, and I always loved the hymns at school.
And then on a Sunday, the radio was up loud. Queen, Enya, Dire Straits shaking the house a little. I was always listening for what sat beneath it all. I think the truth of a lyric has a way of staying with you.
How did you come to work with the label, Anjunabeats? Were you always aware of them and how did that relationship start?
Home Is Here was my first step into that world. And I came to it without much sense of its scale, so only afterwards did I realise what I’d stepped into. It’s felt a bit like finding a hidden current in the sea and just letting it carry you. They’ve been so supportive and are such a great label.
“Some collaborations really need work to build, but this one kind of found itself”
Forgive Me is your new single. What is the story behind that song, and how did it come to life?
Forgive Me is a fable of hope. We are all sinners and all make mistakes; hurt people we love or feel like we have failed somehow. It’s ultimately about the grace we withhold, and the grace we need. Forgive easily and we can all win.
You are collaborating with Echoes and Mark Eteson. What was it like working with them in the studio and how did this hook-up happen? Have you all known each other for a while?
There’s a natural rhythm I have with Echoes that’s easy and unforced, and trust me it’s not always that way in writing sessions, so it’s a really special experience getting in the studio together; they are such talented guys and so fun. Mark came into that space through Dougal (one half of Echoes) and it’s like he’d always been part of it.
Some collaborations really need work to build, but this one kind of found itself.
Forgive Me has the sound of a summer anthem. A true banger! Is this a song that you hope get festival crowds, club-goers and everyone else united and uplifted?
If it finds people and resonates then that’s enough. There’s something sacred in that kind of shared joy in a festival setting, but it can be equally as special at home. I love that I can be connected to someone the other side of the world just by listening to the same song.
“Hold fast to what feels honest to you”
Will there be more new music in 2026? What were your plans for the rest of this year?
Yes. I am working on so many things, so many exciting projects to come.
Summer is coming up. Might we see After Eden perform live and bring Forgive Me to the stage?
I would love to! Performing and connecting to the audience is the best part!
You are a mother and incredible artist too. How do these facets and aspects of your life influence and feed into your music and career?
I love being a mummy! It’s my favourite chapter in life so far and changes the lens entirely. You begin to see the world with a different kind of tenderness and protective force, and those things find their way into the writing, whether you invite it in or not, it always takes hold.
I have been following your work for a while and know how hard you have worked. What would you say to any new artists who are taking their first steps?
Hold fast to what feels honest to you. They’ll be lots of opinions of what you should do and what music you should create, but do what makes you happy. Let yourself love it, even when it’s uncertain.
And keep one eye on the fine print; it’s always worth a lawyer!
Finally, you can choose a song from any artist you like and I will play it here. What shall we go with?
Well I have to say, Forgive Me. My newest release with Mark Eteson and Echoes on Anjuna Beats. I want to get it to as many ears as possible and take every opportunity to share it”.