In Conversation With #207 - Eden J Howells
London-based alt-folk/rock singer, songwriter and artist Eden J Howells has just released their highly anticapted EP 'people watching'.
Naming Big Thief, Fontaines D.C and Marika Hackman as their main influences, Eden has an unwavering commitment to honesty and authenticity in their music. Their beautifully crafted new EP explores themes of queer love and loss, the trans experience, mental health, Neurodiversity (the ADHD & autistic experience, particularly being late-diagnosed), all with spiritual undertones.
‘living lonely’ is a gritty alt folk-rock reflection on depression, late autism diagnosis, and the disconnection that comes with both. It’s a raw, cathartic release born from isolation and frustration - heavier and more charged than anything they’ve released before - “I wrote it in the middle of the night in a Sainsbury’s car park in Burpham, near my hometown. I felt so much anger around my situation. I was stuck back in my hometown, and I didn’t know anyone. It felt like no one knew I was there, like I’d become invisible.”
Fresh from headlining the Lexington in London, they took a moment to talk to us about how the EP came together.
Photo Credit: Stefania Semini
Hey there Eden, how are you? So your EP is out now – how does it feel to have it out there?
Relieved honestly! And so proud. I’ve been working on this project for a long time, and a lot has gone into it. So much work behind the scenes, so many incredible people involved. It’s been such a journey, and I’ve learned so much. But yeah, most of all I’m just really proud of all the songs. I feel like they all represent something different for me, different journeys I’ve taken to get to where I am now.
It is called ‘people watching' – what is the meaning behind that?
So “people watching” is the title track of the EP, and the last track I released. I wrote that song during a really isolating period of my life, so in that sense the EP’s partly about the toxicity of comparing yourself to other. But in a larger sense, I kind of realised that all of the songs in the project are in some way or another about my relationship with others, about connection in some way. “berlin” is a bitter-sweet break up song, “everything you touch” is a through-and-through love song, “aphrodite” is kind of about my relationship with that all-encompassing love. And then there’s “living lonely”, “people watching” and “I am whatever you want me to be,” which aren’t perhaps as obviously about relationships and connection, but they’re all rooted in my relationship to others, what I yearn for, and how I think others see me. So “people watching” seemed like the perfect title to really tie all of that together.
Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories you are willing to share with us?
We recorded mainly at my producers house, in his home studio, but we spend two days in the studio laying down the drums and a few bass parts at 123 Studios in Peckham.
What are the key influences behind the EP?
Musically I’d say Big Thief, Marika Hackman, and Fontaines D.C. were all big influences. That mix of intimate folk sounds, but also a bit of rawness and grit from rock and post-punk that I love. Lyrically, I’m inspired by honesty more than anything. These songs explore a lot of kind of tough themes like trauma, loss, mental health and the late-diagnosed neurodivergent experience — things that don’t always get spoken about in a straightforward way. I just wanted the record to sound raw and human, like someone trying to figure life out in real time, because really that’s what it is.
If the EP could be a soundtrack to any film – which one and why?
I know it’s kind of cliche, but it kind of gives ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ energy. I think that film captures the feeling of being on the outside looking in, which is really what people watching is about. There’s that mix of loneliness and connection, darkness and joy. It’s also a story about chosen family, about finding people who see you for who you are, which is a huge part of my own journey and what inspired a lot of the EP. It’s tender, a bit messy, full of heart, and that’s what I hope my music feels like too.
Do you have a favourite lyric on the EP? If so, which one and why?
I actually really love the lyrics in “aphrodite.” It’s a song about loving someone so much that they seem otherworldly. The lyrics in the second verse go like this: “She’s the sun/ And I’m a poor man/ Watching her run rings round me,” and I feel like it’s such a random metaphor, but it really hits perfectly how I was feeling.
Now the EP is out there – what next for you?
Right now, I’m celebrating it, playing the songs live, connecting with people who’ve found themselves in it. And resting! But I’m also already writing again. I’m going away for a week in November to stay in a cabin in butt f*ck nowhere, and I can’t wait. I’m going to write, and walk, and talk to absolutely no one for a whole week haha. I’m excited to reconnect with myself after this crazy (and beautiful) period of sharing myself and my work. And then, all being well, I’ll have something else to share with you in the new year!
