Florida artist eranine’s new single Bear Witness pairs a delicate, dreamlike sound with an account of trauma and lost innocence.
Distorted guitars, synths, bells, bass and drums move around a vocal that stays at the centre of the song, even as the arrangement grows heavier.
The first lines came after eranine played Lollapalooza in 2024. On the flight home from Chicago, they watched Priscilla and found its themes close to their own experience. They began writing as soon as they returned.
eranine says:
With some of my songs, I almost feel like I black out creatively. I won’t fully realize what I’ve written or what I’ve been trying to process until I listen back months later.
The contrast between the music’s softness and its subject gives Bear Witness its force. They say:
I want anyone who has experienced something similar to know that they aren’t alone. I’m no savior, but that’s what I do this for.
Fully independent, eranine has played Lollapalooza and Sick New World and toured with Slowdive. Bear Witness is the first glimpse of a larger body of work they have been developing; a music video and behind the scenes material are set to follow.