EDEN never intended to find fame - he just wanted to make music.

Something about the Irish musician's work, though, struck a chord; delicately composed electronics shot through with soulful songwriting, he found new space to call his own.

Millions upon millions of streams followed, with EDEN moving into the limelight, uncomfortably at first, then with more authority.

Debut album 'vertigo' is out now, a wonderfully whole document of unrestrained creativity, at times dark but always with a touch of the humane.

Clash spoke to EDEN about a few of the influences that went into the making of his debut full length...

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Bon Iver - '666 t'



I was on tour when '22, a million' was released. I think it was down to the tour photographer that I got into it - he kept playing '33 god' and the more I listened to it, the more I wanted to hear. I eventually got around to listening to the album cover to cover and fell in love with it. So much of it was relevant to things that were on my mind at the time and how I was feeling. I really related to his story of how he felt uninspired for a long time before creating the album.

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Sampha - 'Plastic 100ºC'



Sampha's album 'Process' was released at a really important time for me. I remember being in London with nothing to do and just walking around the city listening to it. His lyrical imagery is so beautiful, and he wrote songs in such a refreshing way to me - from softly played piano songs to the dark energy of songs like 'Blood On Me'. 'Plastic 100ºc' was a real stand out to me, and I am eternally jealous of the Neil Armstrong sample.

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Frank Ocean - 'Nights'



When 'Blonde' was released in 2016, I didn't want to listen to it. I had just gone through a long period of writers block and I was afraid that 'Blonde' would essentially be a better version of the ideas that I was working on. I finally caved while on tour and listened to it, and it was a really important moment for me.

This album along with '22, a million' really reminded me that people are still taking risks and just doing what they want. I am so thankful that that reassurance came to me when it did, that I would rather continue to make things that I am drawn to and that resonate with me regardless of outside pressures or expectations.

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Jon Hopkins - 'Abandon Window'



'Immunity' by Jon Hopkins along with 'Let It Bleed' by The Rolling Stones were the first two vinyls I ever bought. I fell in love with the atmosphere on 'Abandon Window; - the simplicity of it was its power.

It has a chord progression that I could listen to on loop for the rest of my life, blissfully gliding through the ambience of the production. This song really inspired me to look at the piano in a new way, as well as creating a mood in a song through production.

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Imogen Heap - 'You Know Where To Find Me'



I think this is the song that showed me the power of asymmetric song structures. The way that this song ebbs and flows is so moving. It just felt like even the structure of the music was expressive, almost like it was being played like the notes that create it - like the whole song was breathing.

One of my favourite moments in music is the final section. Out of an almost sinister and chaotic turn, comes this gorgeous section of just piano and voice. the way it fades to nothing is so heartbreaking - reminiscent of the second verse in 'Sing About Me, I'm Dying Of Thirst'.

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Catch EDEN at the following shows:

April

24 Dublin Olympia Theatre

25 Glasgow Oran Mor

27 Manchester O2 Ritz

28 Birmingham 02 Institute

30 London O2 Kentish Town Forum

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