photography by Iman Haji
WELCOME TO EDIBLEHEAD
The jumping-out-of-your-skin, soulful electro, mind-bending, punk-house pop bliss of Ediblehead is the culmination of a transformative journey for two musicians, Robby Rockit, a critically acclaimed professional, and, Eva Zeva, a prodigiously talented newbie. The winding path to forming the duo Ediblehead helped both musicians connect to the wellspring of their creativity. Together, they welcome this unbridled era of pure and playful expression with their infectiously catchy debut album, Animal Lick Stick.
“When I look back, I realize everything I’ve done has prepared me for this new beginning,” Rockit says. “I believe this is the finest collection of music I've ever worked on. It's got it all, a full landscape of emotions, darkness as well as euphoria.” Eva adds: “I knew I wanted to be a singer since I was a little girl, and, on this album, I feel like I really came into my own as an artist.”
The story goes that Robby Rockit was formerly a founding member of the critically acclaimed space rock band West Indian Girl signed to tastemaking electronic and dance label Astralwerks (Primal Scream, Chemical Brothers, Hot Chip). During his tenure on the label, Rockit (then known as Robert James) sang and composed a lead vocal on the Chemical Brothers’ track, “Another World.” Eva Zeva was a lifelong singer who kept her vocal talents tucked behind a veil of shyness. The two met at a party West Indian Girl was playing.
Upon meeting, Rockit felt a karmic connection with Eva and pursued her. Soon the two found themselves rummaging through the ruins of West Indian Girl’s career, trying to finish an album Trent Reznor was initially slated to help produce. At the time, all West Indian Girl band members had fallen by the wayside, and it was up to Rockit and Eva to salvage the final release, Shangri La.
“There were a lot of dark clouds during that time,” Rockit remembers. “It felt like the end of an eight-year marriage for me. I had put in so much work into that band. But when Eva came into the studio, she had so many vocal ideas that slowly it started to feel like a new beginning.”
Once the duo finished the final West Indian Girl album, they officially began a fresh new chapter. The sweetly naive vibes the name Ediblehead evokes reflected these new feelings of positivity, awe, and purity of expression the duo were experiencing after moving on from the toxic finale of West Indian Girl.
Ediblehead represents almost creative innocence for the duo. “There is a childlike energy that informs what we do, it’s about letting go and having fun,” Eva confirms. Rockit chimes in: “It’s like a beat-oriented candy-colored rainbow with a message of self belief. If you let go of fear and doubt, all doors will open up.”
Genre descriptors like electro, dance-pop, and house fall short to capture the dance party and soul celebration bursting from Animal Lick Stick. “Hearts On Fire” is an outburst of emotional energy; the track conjures the catharsis of aimlessly driving around the streets to workout heavy feelings and realizations. “Release Me Now” is as joyfully transcendent as the name implies—it’s a thrust skyward from the dance floor. The ominously exuberant “Serial Killer,” featuring the newly discovered Maryland rapper “Sarkis,” balances out the anthemic vibes with some playful darkness. The album concludes with fizzy and uplifting new wavy “Wake Up.” The track is almost a manifesto for Ediblehead. Rockit affirms this by saying: “It’s about how we really are spiritual beings inside mortal bodies. There's more to our mortal life than meets the eye—magical things can happen.”
The album was engineered, produced, and mixed by Rockit at his home studio in Los Angeles with additional work done at Matt Sorum's (Guns and Roses, Velvet Revolver, The Cult) West Hollywood home studio with assistance by producer/engineer Francis O' Reilly. Rockit and Eva plan to bring the album to life with a full live band and a projection map team to make the performance a transporting experience for fans. The live band will feature Shanell Grey(vocals), Lolli Pop(vocals) and Adam Jadang (drums).
Looking back on the duo’s winding path to forming Ediblehead, Rockit says: "I feel like everything I've done and learned in the past has lead me to this moment. Now it's Ediblehead's time to shine.” Eva adds: “I sang my whole life, but I was always so afraid, I never knew it would turn into something until I met Rockit. Now, I feel so excited, like we’re on a rocket ship ready to blast off.”