Eliza Edens self-released her first full length album, Time Away From Time. This album is a blessing, a GIFT, to all of us in these hectic days. Nothing soothes my mind quite like listening to these songs. Most of the songs on this album were inspired by the question: “How do I make the days go by / With a fever dream but a mellow mind?” Eliza explores this question and the relationships between the natural world and the way we process emotions with calming guitars and relaxing, beautiful vocals.
Eliza considers herself a “rookie songwriter.” I have to say, she is an absolute natural. She has found that she needs to be completely alone, body and mind, in order to write. Her empathetic nature makes it difficult to write with others around. If she’s able to get into a completely present state, the words and lyrics come to her simultaneously. Her songs also strongly focus on the way the music and lyrics intertwine, like the words are another instrument, blurring together into one song. She’s working toward balance in life and the way she writes, “[the album has] mostly been about just me and nature, which is obviously not how the world is.” She hopes to expand into writing more about relationships and life in general.
Time Away From Time is very much a collaborative effort. Eliza tells us, “I think people tend to forget a lot of the time – especially when an artist’s project is under their own name – that records are always the result of a team effort, large or small. After the songs were written, the recording process of this album was very collaborative, and I am so proud of and indebted to Dexter Wolfe and Pat Keen who both stepped up to the plate and delivered some beautiful work on these songs – hearing and accentuating things in the production, arrangements, and harmonic progressions that I could not. Every single person hears a song differently, and the more trusted hands you get on shaping your music, the more depth it will have.”
She also gives credit to music auxiliary support that allows her and many other artists to cut their teeth in the scene. The places where she was able to (and actually WANTED to) write and perform her music. The open mics, coffee shops and DIY house venues were crucial to her growth as an artist. “I applaud anyone who performs in those kinds of situations with regularity and anyone who regularly hosts house concerts or DIY basement shows or random songwriters in a coffee shop. It's a labor of love.”
Eliza will be live-streaming on Youtube tonight at 7:30PM HERE to celebrate her album release. Listen to Time Away From Time below!
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