Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe.
From listening to Irish electro-indie artist EDEN, you’d never guess he was the latest protegée of the team behind Justin Bieber. But in some ways, he weirdly fits the bill – he’s a young, talented male artist with a striking look and a fast-growing online following. EDEN, formerly known as The Eden Project, is 20-year-old classically-trained musician Jonathon Ng (or Jonathon Lei Ming as he is also sometimes known), who was raised in Dublin and Hong Kong. He caught the attention of the music industry when he moved from dubstep and drum and bass to a more alternative sound with 2015 EP End Credits, like a gloomier Bastille. He’s also known for his dark and brooding cover of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean. His songs soon built up millions of plays on Spotify and Soundcloud, which led to a sold out Spring 2016 tour, and he’s now promoting his next EP with a series of single releases. The first of these new songs, titled Sex, attracted praise from Lorde, befitting EDEN’s edgy, introverted style.