London-based musician and producer ETAN has released her new electro-pop single 'Feels Like Running' accompanied by a collaboration visual with double Paralympian and GB sprinter Julie Rogers.
ETAN has always felt a sense of foreignness wherever she went, yet always made a conscious decision to belong, no matter where she may be, inspiring a unique feeling of universal relatability in her music. She was born in London to an artistic family, starting her musical training at the age of 5. When she was 9, she moved with her family from rainy, foggy London to the bubbly, sweaty city of Tel Aviv; the result - a well-mannered British girl with a sunny, Mediterranean vibe. ETAN’s globally inspired sounds led her to build a strong presence in the Tel-Aviv indie scene.
But in 2017, ETAN - a passionate believer in freedom of speech and equal rights for all, decided to return to London to pursue her solo career. Her lyrics carry deep messages, alongside beautiful melodies and ETAN’s unique voice and songwriting. She draws inspiration from musicians such as Bon Iver, Susanne Sundfore, St Vincent, and Bjork, as well as LCD Soundsystem, Hot Chip, Robyn, The Eurythmics, Georgia and more.
We had a chat with her on the new release as part of our Get To Know series...
Introduce yourself and tell us a bit about you!
"Hi, I'm ETAN. I'm a Singer-Songwriter and Producer from London. I like people, aliens and cats and I really love cooking tracks in my studio and food in my kitchen."
Where are you from and what’s your favourite thing about that place? "I'm from London, I was born here and grew up in the city till I was 9. My parents are from Tel-Aviv and they went back with me and my sister and that's where I spent most of my adult years. I've been back in London for a few years now, and I feel there's a 50-50 combination between my good English manners and my Mediterranean vibe. I think what I enjoy most about London is how diverse it is, and how you can always find new places and stories to discover. It's endless."
How would you sum up your sound in less than five words?
"You are not alone."
Do you have any early musical memories?
"I have many, I started training very early! My training was classical and that's what I mainly listened to as a child, so one memory that stands out is a moment I had with myself, dancing and singing in the bathroom into a bottle of shampoo, after listening to Kylie Minogue for the first time. My dad caught me and be both laughed so hard. I was about 7 years old."
Who would be your dream artist to collab with? "Georgia, Damon Albarn, Robyn, LCD Soundsystem, Bjork, Bon Iver, James Blake.... and the list goes on!"
What’s been your stand out moment so far?
"A group of women runners recovering from Cancer used my latest release, 'Feels Like Running', as their anthem while training to run 10k."
You’ve just released your new single ‘Feels Like Running’. Tell us a little about it!
"Yes! Feels Like Running was written as a love song for my leg. I almost died in a car accident a few years ago, and one of the things I had to deal with was a severe injury in my left leg. I was told I could never run again, and I was sad about it because I loved running, but I was also very busy rehabilitating myself and putting my life back together. At some point I felt a really good change in my body and I started running without noticing, first to the bus, and then just to release energy. Gradually, and with the help and support of all the people that help me handle my disability on a daily basis, I went back to running. The journey wasn't just physical, it was also a way for me to build back my relationship with my body. I feel like this song is a metaphor that allowed me to give myself a chance to love myself again."
Is there a concept behind the accompanying visuals?
"So the funny thing is I wrote this song during a walk in the park. When I finally had to sit down to write some lyrics, I saw I was just by the running track. It seemed really beautiful and vibrant on a sunny day... I thought it might be an interesting visual. And then I had this vision of a Blade Runner. I saw a race once in the Paralympic Games, and it literally seemed like these athletes might not have limbs, but they have wings. They were flying. So I started looking for a runner to star in my video, and I was absolutely thrilled to hear back from Double Paralympian Sprinter Julie Rogers. I wanted to show how a disability becomes a force. How you stop seeing it as a weakness, and see it as a force that can only bring you forward in life, if you trust the process and stop judging yourself, to give yourself an honest chance. We filmed the video in a running track in St.Albans, and it was a really inspiring day."
Do you have a favourite lyric from the track?
"I think it's the chorus: "Run beauty run, this is not a race. Run beauty run, I respect your pace. Run beauty run, you know it's your fate, Run beauty run, you are doing great"."
Finally, what do you have in store for the rest of 2021? "I have lots of music and visuals due to be released in the coming months! and some more music after that. I'm really hoping the world will start to heal and that I'll have a chance to play live in front of real people soon."
'Feels Like Running' is out now.
Listen HERE @etan_the_alien
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