MICHAEL EDEN has only ever needed a microphone & his amazing voice to stop a room dead in its tracks. He first came to the attention of promoters singing Joni Mitchell's 'Blue' a cappella from a dancing pole above the bar of a well-known Sheffield haunt & often leaves the stage during 'On You Softly', heavy-breathing to the audience through his phone mic.
Michael's first gig was a solo set at the acoustic night of the Radio 2 Live Music week in Sheffield. Contrary from the start, Michael didn't play acoustic: this was the start of the sombre, reflective sound he was to become associated with early on – delayed guitars, real-time loops, and a propensity for drones & atmospheres. These songs were spooky ballads.
The sparseness of these songs left room for Michael’s haunting & acrobatic voice – comparisons were attempted initially ("Tim Buckley at his most experimental" was one) but 'unique' was more appropriate.
The spooky ballads are now collected in Michael's first album Second Skin, (& 2003's On You Softly EP). 'On You Softly' is possibly the ultimate spooky ballad; a confessional conversation with an ex-lover's answer phone: 'Fallout' is the tale of a man caught in a permanent loop in the middle of a snowstorm.
After showcasing at London's Barfly and supporting Elbow at the Leadmill, Michael found himself in similar loop as a result of a serious back injury in 2003;
"It was terrible – I'd gone from a pattern of writing, recording & gigging to nothing in a day. I couldn't move: every day was the same as yesterday loped round. I spent so much time staring at one square foot of carpet that it sent me a bit mental"
Enforced rest and hospitalization is dangerous to the over-active imagination and Michael found himself privately succumbing to a brasher alter ego, and began writing another sound, determined to fight his way back out. These songs were wrong'n'roll…
By the end of 2003 Michael was walking again & talking about his new band – skewed beats, chunky riffs, snakebite lyrics, and "hooks all sizes". 'She' is the big single – an honest love song with glorious vocals & hope throughout, 'Load' is a driving chunk of prescription-altered rock about anti-depressants.
Within a month he slammed straight into a schizophrenic tour with Mercury Rev's Adam Snyder involving evening rock'n'roll dates with the band (including a weird London show hijacked by The Raveonettes!) and lunchtime solo gigs in cafes & student unions playing spooky ballads.
Bigger gigs came as he supported Skin (ex-Skunk Anansie) at her first-ever solo gig, and the now infamous phone mic even went on tour by itself! (borrowed by Spiritualized for their recent shows), everything looking up again…
Michael has spent the early part of 2005 writing for the album Lacewing (he’s in the studio as we speak) as a foil to Second Skin. A 5-song EP version is available on a limited run at gigs. ‘Lacewing’ is the story of fallen angels on Friday night & ‘Ward 57’, a live favourite, introduces us to his co-interns in an imaginary psychiatric ward… everyone needs someone to hold on to…

www.michaeleden.com