Live Review: PREMIERE: Ed Wells comes 'Home' on debut EP

London-via-Sydney artist ED WELLS first burst onto the scene in 2019 with the release of his debut single, '1983'. Intertwining RnB inspirations with soulful vocals, '1983' is a slinky affair featuring Abby Bella May, and positioned Wells as an act worth keeping an eye on. Now, he's back and hitting the ground running in 2020 with the release of his debut EP, Home, premiering on Purple Sneakers today.

Across five tracks, Home is a richly textured, vibrant body of work that hones in on Ed's wide ranging influences while also highlighting his versatility as an artist. From the twinkling opener, 'GMT' to the sparse, hypnotic 'Interlude', the forlorn title track or the uplifting closing track, 'Atlas Love', each song lives in its own world while co-existing together through Wells' intimate songwriting approach, and producer Luke Gerber's production expertise.

Having spent a lot of time in different parts of the world, the idea of "home" for Wells is vastly different to those who might not have experienced their formative years with an international move in the middle of it. Home has existed for Ed in the Northern beaches of Sydney, Hong Kong and now London, so its this continual shape-shifting of what "home" is that provides such a different perspective. Because of this, his songs speak to his individual experiences and ideas of "home", but he's managed to keep his music entirely universal as well. We're all looking for home, we all need to come home at times, and we all have our own meaning for what that is, and its this that the Home EP explores so well.

Ed Wells said to Purple Sneakers of his release, “The whole process of writing and releasing ‘Home’ has been a really special experience. I think particularly the influence behind the title track and Atlas Love (and to the same extent GMT) came at really formative times in my life, so when it came to planning and assembling the EP I felt like these songs belonged together. For me they all seem to capture a snapshot of different moments over the last few years and I’m excited to share them. They’re definitely some of the most personal songs I’ve ever written.”

With this EP, Ed Wells kicks off 2020 in style. Having already laid down some key groundwork in 2019, it'll be exciting to see what else this year has in store for him as an emerging artist. Until then however, Home is more than enough for us.

Words by Emma Jones

Image: Supplied