“Nervous, excited and full of emotion” was the first thing Eben told us he was feeling when we spoke before the release of his newest EP Dandelions.
If you aren’t familiar with Eben, we suggest you listen ASAP because this artist is already making big moves.
With the EP locked in and complete, Eben wanted to accompany it with a project so unexpected and big for a rising artist like himself. He thought to himself, “What would an A-list, superstar artist do to turn heads?” and that was when the idea for the incredible Dandelions blockbuster emerged. Written, directed and edited by Evan Hara, and filmed guerilla-style over the course of three weeks along the West Coast, from Portland to California, the film exceeds expectations, proving Eben to be an upcoming force in this industry.
The five-track EP is brought to life by the 20-minute short film taking us on a journey through the phases of heartbreak. Inspired by a tough “love of your life type shit” breakup, Eben started the process of writing, but it wasn’t until the pandemic hit that the songs started coming to life “because life is life and things are busy. Time is moving forward, I would just shove everything down but it (quarantine) forced me to deal with things in my life.”
The film is one one the most stunning things we’ve seen from beginning to end. Each transition and visual tells the story of each track so perfectly. The production, editing and whole sequence were so advanced yet unexpected in the most astounding way.
Fans got a glimpse of the project with the Forrest Gump-inspired lead track “Jenny” about a cheating relationship with parallels to the iconic film.
The Atlantic Records artist has had so much success and growth since his 2018 debut EP finally to now, saying, “Each project I just want it to be a step above. I’m always trying to better myself with each project.” He continues saying, “This EP, I feel it shows the best of myself at the time that I was making that music. I always try and challenge myself to constantly keep growing and getting better. Not taking steps backwards and not being lazy.” Growing comes with revelations and for Eben, he realized he needed to handle his mental health, starting therapy for the first time. “It was something I knew I needed to do, but I was just scared and felt like I can’t take care of myself and need to handle these things on my own and then I went and it was literally the greatest thing in the world. Everyone should do therapy.” The start of therapy was when his music started to come into place perfectly with a new clear mindset.
Dandelions is Eben’s most personal piece of work yet saying, “I hope they are able to see a super personal side to me and also to show on a broader spectrum, people can take this project and put it to a specific situation in their life.” Wanting others listing “to be able to see there’s light at the end of the tunnel, you just gotta walk through that pain to become stronger come out the best ‘you,’ you can be at the end of it.”
The Dandelions film was something so new to Eben but at the same time felt so right. “I’ve never done anything like this before,” and while that may be true, we are happy he did because the film embodies each song perfectly and confirms the passionate and talented artist Eben is. There is nothing off limits when it comes to Eben’s creativity. A confirmation that Eben is here to stay and this is only the beginning of his journey.
You can watch the Dandelions film below!
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