Edie Bens Interview

Few artists are creating music that can perfectly capture your soul like London-based Edie Bens. Tongue Tied received the opportunity to sit down with Edie to discuss everything related to her music, and we quickly learned just how long Bens has been working up towards her latest release “Therapist.”

“I make songs for the broken-hearted and nostalgic. I grew up in Swansea (South Wales) and I’m now based in London. I discovered I could sing in nursery class and apparently haven’t shut up since. I began performing my own songs fairly young at local pubs in Swansea and from then on knew I had to try and make it my real job.” - Edie Bens, for Tongue Tied Magazine

Edie shared that she was excited and relieved to have “Therapist” released to the world. “Therapist” holds a lyrical patchwork of memories of a failed relationship through soulful country-pop styling, creating a visceral and emotional experience for the listener. For Edie, creating “Therapist” became an emotional release.

“I wrote the song with my two best mates when we were living together. Neither of them were the biggest fan of the guy I’d just left. So we purged our emotions by writing a song about it. There was no intention in writing this song for it to be released so it was a very freeing writing process.” - Edie Bens, for Tongue Tied Magazine 

With such passion throughout the entirety of the track, it interested me to find out that Edie’s favorite lyrics are held at the very beginning of the song with “Take another drag of your cigarette / I should’ve know that you’d given in / another shot for the thrill of it / am I the only thing you’ll ever quit?”

The music video for “Therapist” holds onto the wistfulness of the track, featuring Edie on a nostalgic drive down what feels to be memory lane. I loved this artistic choice, as it allows the lyrics to speak for themselves while also showcasing a deeply relatable moment for many, and Edie reiterated the importance of the nostalgia for her.

“I grew up in my dad's cars screaming the lyrics of our favourite records. I can’t think of a better place to listen to music and I really wanted to honour that in the video.” - Edie Bens, for Tongue Tied Magazine

Another of Edie’s latest releases, “Had You Never Gone Away,” holds a heart-achingly beautiful tune with stunning lyricism. Edie explained the story actually came from her drummer’s dad, and the inspiration makes the track even more beautiful.

“I wrote that song when I was on tour in Manchester and we stayed with my drummer's dad. Long story short, we all had a couple of beers, and were just chatting, when it came up that Joe’s dad had written these beautiful poems about his late mother that had been published in the local paper. They were in the frame on the wall and after reading them I had an internal sob and felt so moved, I promised I’d write a song about them.” - Edie Bens, for Tongue Tied Magazine

Both “Therapist” and “Had You Never Gone Away” are from Edie’s forthcoming body of work, and Edie had the ability to share a bit about what listeners can expect from the project.

“Sonically, the songs all sit in that indie pop realm and are very bandy. I love a subtle country reference so you also have more slide guitars and harmonies coming your way. I wrote all of the songs around the same time so I feel like as a story they really do belong together. They’re mostly about how heartbreak isn’t always the worst thing in the world, except “Had You Never Gone Away.” That one is definitely sad. It should probably come with a warning.” - Edie Bens, for Tongue Tied Magazine

Since Bens is ever the busy music artist, I loved getting to hear what else Edie likes to do to relax and enjoy her free time. She mentioned a love of wild swimming, stating that she is often out and about hunting waterfalls and rivers. With winter on the horizon, however, she joked that she will likely be deep into a Netflix addiction soon enough. Edie’s current on repeat list is also robust, featuring some fantastic artists as well as some viral satire.

“I’ve been listening to Angel Olsen's new album, “Hymn to Say Goodbye” by Low Lying Sun, and “Dog Eat Dog” by Tommy Lefroy. Also that corn song on TikTok… if you know, you know. Factoid, there is actually a one hour loop of the corn song on YouTube” - Edie Bens, for Tongue Tied Magazine

With so much growth as an emerging artist, I was curious to learn what advice Edie wished she had been given when she was first starting out. Her best advice? “Enjoy it and trust your gut over everything.” 

We here at Tongue Tied could not agree with that advice more, and we have also fallen in love with Edie’s raw and beautiful lyricism. You can stream “Therapist” now on Spotify, and be sure to follow Edie Bens on Instagram and Twitter so you don’t miss a note of her burgeoning musical career!