At the ripe age of 14-years-old, Billie Eilish has already caused quite a stir. The L.A.-based homeschooled singer’s debut track “Ocean Eyes” made major waves throughout the blogosphere (and beyond!) after she uploaded it for personal use, initially unaware of its mounting play count. Billie’s gentle voice glides over unhurried, minimalist beats and lush synths, reminiscent of ocean waves on a dreary grey day. Her brother had originally produced the track for his band before asking her to lend her vocals.
Including remixes from Astronomyy and Blackbear, the song has racked up nearly 22 million plays on Spotify alone, easily marking Eilish as one of 2016’s most prominent breakout artists. Renowned DJ Zane Lowe described her as “absolutely incredible,” as well as “an amazing new talent,” giving her industry cred on top of her established online buzz.
Premiering today on i-D is the second music video for “Ocean Eyes”, wherein Eilish performs a contemporary dance that she’d written the song for in the first place. Eilish had the following to say about the new release:
“Like music, dance has always been my passion; a way to express how I feel. We originally recorded ‘Ocean Eyes’ for a dance recital to be choreographed by my teacher, Fred. We produced it with a tempo and arrangement that would fit lyrical and contemporary dance, thinking through every moment. When we put it on Soundcloud to share with him, we were shocked and really excited that so many people ended up finding and sharing it. I ended up being injured and wasn’t able to dance for a long time, so after all that has happened with our music this year, it is especially exciting to be able to do this video.”
Press play on the new video:
Credits
Text Mathias Rosenzweig
Photography Jack McKain