A Quick Chat With Eimhin

Indie-folk rock artist Eimhin makes his return with his delicate new single ‘She Met My Eyes’. As just the second release, the Gold Coast-based expat is building upon his gorgeous sound and poetic lyricism with this heartbreaking and tender number. We caught up with him to find out more about this stunning track, his other passions like photography and future plans.


Can you tell us what this track means to you and what you want people to take away from it?

The song is about the liminal period in a relationship when you’re still in denial that things are falling apart. Instead of facing the truth you find yourself placating each other, you still say 'I love you' but it doesn’t feel the same in your heart. You’re still planning for the future, but that future is no longer a reality, at least not with one another.

 

I wrote this song with a friend about 10 years ago. The band had more of an ambient-pop-rock-sort-of-vibe but we had this one song: ‘She Met My Eyes‘ that came together differently. I was studying music at uni and we had access to these little rooms decked out with recording equipment. I threw this track down one night and it ended up being one of my favourite songs from that time. We released it as a secret track after 2 mins of silence at the end of the EP like we were the Beatles or something! A friend from uni, Lily, who plays in my band now, always loved the song. I came to love it so much more by seeing it through her eyes, it’s part of the reason why I wanted it to feature on this album at all. 

 

Who are some of your influences and why?

My main influences are people who are making honest to goodness authentic stuff. I’ve spent a lot of time identifying as a musician and an artist but I’ve never done anything that I’ve been really proud of. The last 12 months have seen me really throwing myself at making art and music and through that process, I’ve come into contact with some really talented creators. Those are the people that I'm influenced by the most, them and Elliott Smith!

 

What's the creative process for you, from writing through to recording?

I’m generally taken by a feeling. I know it sounds kinda corny but that's really the only way I know how to write a decent song. If I try too hard then it always comes out bad… ok not bad exactly, but lacking something. Some of the songs on the album are really old, they’ve been incubating for a little while now. I guess part of the process is taking the time to really be sure of a feeling, or to revisit an old one, like I have with She Met My Eyes.  

 

When it comes to the recording side of things I really just lean on my producer to find the magic moments. I’ve got a great relationship with a really talented producer named George Carpenter. I bring a loose song + concept to him and he gets me to play it all sorts of different ways to see how it feels. Sometimes we change things, sometimes we don't, but we always try to fit the Mellotron in somewhere!

 

What do you think makes a great song?

For me a good song is an honest one. I think this is a feeling that even people not exactly tapped into the musical world can get too. If you tell me in the chorus that you really love someone and I don't feel that in the songwriting or in the music, then I won’t believe you. God, writing that down feels really harsh… but it's true right? There are a million catchy tunes out there about absolutely nothing, they have their place too, I guess. For me a great song is one that feels real, one that feels alive. 

 

If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?

I keep encountering this question and I don't know how I feel about it just yet. I am a very solitary songwriter so I haven't quite figured out what it looks like to collaborate. Not that I’m totally closed off to the idea, I’m just a little sensitive I guess! I’ve just got a lot of feelings that I need to get out, maybe I’ll think about collabs for the second album. 

 

When not working on music, what other creative outlet/s do you have?

I am also a gig photographer on the side. I’ve had an interest in photography that’s evolved kinda in tandem with my music career in the last couple of years. It’s called Mouse House and it's mainly pics that I’ve taken at gigs. I’m pretty friendly with the staff at most of my local venues so I’ve been lucky to get media pit access for some pretty big acts. Go have a look if you want!

 

Who are some local bands we should check out?

The coolest bands happening on the Gold Coast right now are: Geniie Boy, Buttered and Zoiid. If you want something for your heart then you’ll have to listen to: Karl S Williams, Beckah Amani or JB Paterson.

 

Winter or summer and why?

Winter, obvs. I love living on the Gold Coast but goddamn I am not suited to being in direct sunlight. I’m like a glass of milk out there!

 

What else do you have planned for the year?

I have a whole album's worth of songs in the chamber at the moment that I am planning on releasing over the coming months. The plan is to stay the course and see if I can affect some people with my songwriting enough that they get on board and support the project. It’s just Lily and I driving the live show at the moment so it would be great to build a bigger band too, I think I’m going to add some strings players to the project, and maybe some more singers. Who knows!



'She Met My Eyes' Single Launch

Friday, Nov 18 - Dust Temple, Gold Coast (Yugambeh)

Supported by Emily Grace Taylor

Tickets

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