The Eden Project | Bipolar Paradise

Background

The Eden Project, who recently switched his alias to EDEN, is easily recognizable for his blend of pop/rock vocals and innovative EDM.  Because of his recent name change, information on him is short, and two tracks from "Bipolar Paradise" (there are five) are the oldest songs up on his SoundCloud, even though the complete discography, which you can download here, he offered before the switch says otherwise.  Supposedly, he received a laptop from Puppet, another electronic musician whom The Eden Project has two collaborations with on Monstercat, which he used to begin producing music.  A year later, he was making enough money from his music to buy his own laptop, and ever since he's been a huge staple in the electronic music community.  In addition to producing his own songs to sing on, he's been featured by the likes of Puppet, Crystal Skies, Reaktion, and more.  "Bipolar Paradise" is one of his later releases, and one where his sound is more refined.

Review

Listen to "Bipolar Paradise"

The Eden Project has used his unique vocal talent to craft a perfect blend of an indie electronic style and alternative popish vocals.  While his production is definitely a work of art and a new, fresh take on the downtempo lo-fi electronic music scene that seems to be gaining ground, his vocals are the real star of all his works.  The Eden Project has massive talent; his voice is clean, articulate, and can sing grace notes and turns with perfect precision.  There's no one to compare his vocal style to, as it's uniquely his own and hard to imitate.  "Bipolar Paradise" starts off strong with a chello melody from "drowning.," the opening track.  It starts off with the filtered vocals that The Eden Project knows and loves, and the dark, depressing song builds to a downtempo, wobbly chorus.  After a short break with a huge wall of block chord sound, we get another verse and chorus, which then builds to a huge electro breakdown which also serves as an outro.  "Fumes" is next, which almost sounds like an Imagine Dragons alternative rock track with hints of electronic hiding between the staff.  Either way, "Fumes" is an upbeat track with a catchy vocal line and a tasty sawtooth breakdown.  With "Jupiter," "Bipolar Paradise" winds back down to the melancholy, dark sound that he's known for.  With some filtered strings and a memorable build into the chorus, we get a minimalistic breakdown which returns to the chorus after some more strings.  The chorus is a melodic mish-mash of multiple lo-fi, cluttered sounds and, with The Eden Project's vocals soaring on top, make "Jupiter" a fantastic track.  As an interlude of sorts, "Soul" breaks up the release as a short purely acoustic track.  It's not particularly unique in any way, but it does serve to break the relentless torrent of dark, heavy music, and it's just a peaceful song.  "Man Down," the last track on the record, almost feels like a continuation of "Soul" at first, but slowly the acoustic intro makes way for a big, offbeat chorus/drop.  It's probably my least favorite off the release, but that's just because every other song is so fantastic; it's no fault of the song itself.  It returns to the acoustic sound to end the song, and the release.

The Eden Project's vocal talent is what makes this record what it is.  Without it, it'd still be a fantastic post-EDM piece that's more creative than an everyday "club banger," and one hundred percent more artistic.  His vocals, however, and as usual, take "Bipolar Paradise" to new heights.  From the slow, dark tones of "drowning.," through the upbeat alternative feel of "Fumes," and to the slow, acoustic sound of "Soul," "Bipolar Paradise really has something for everyone, and the vocal work is way too catchy to be passed up.  8/10.

Notable Remixes

Fumes (Murtagh Remix)

It's technically a bootleg, and not a remix, but that slight technicality doesn't stop Murtagh's remix from being quite good.  It's got a controversial record, but his interesting take is definitely more than "a bit strange," as one YouTube comment describes it.  His remix has great variation, from the heavy drop in the beginning and to the verse.  After a slightly long pause, there's a mostly instrumental, almost neuro chorus, into a melodic, plucky outro.

Fumes (Murtagh Remix) (Arcien Bootleg)

In an interesting take, Arcien remixes what's already been remixed, although the original remix is so close to the original at times that Arcien's bootleg almost just feels like a remix of the original.  Arcien's take is just a melodic drum and bass take on the original remix that overall just feels more coherent than Murtagh's remix.  It's short, but it feels just perfect.  In the end, the drum and bass fix is just what the song needed.