An amber glow backlights Swedish rock/pop singer-songwriter Eagle-Eye Cherry as we greet each other. I’m stationed in front of my laptop in the mid-morning shade of a relative’s apartment in New York City. Eagle-Eye sits in Stockholm with two guitars positioned on the floor behind him. Our conversation gets rolling with me, asking him the all-important question, “How are you?”

Rising Sun

“I’m pretty good,” he replies. “Kind of semi-busy. Released a new single recently and doing all of that stuff. Slowly but surely getting back to normal after a couple of years of nothingness.”

Released in April 2022, Rising Sun is Eagle-Eye’s current single. It’s a song swelling with hope and optimism, despite the lyrics hinting at loss. With its anthem feel, it’s a tune one can envision being performed in front of a large audience. Rising Sun will be on Eagle-Eye’s upcoming album titled, Back on Track, to be released on October 7, 2022. 

With the world hopefully on the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic, Eagle-Eye and his band plan to start the summer with live performances. “Doing some stuff in Sweden,” he adds. “And then doing a few festivals in Europe.”

Looking forward to reconnecting with live audiences, the band has plans to kick off a proper tour in February 2023. “When the pandemic first kicked in,” Eagle-Eye says. “I started wondering if what we do really has any meaning at all. But people are happy to hear music. You can sense that.”

Background

From a family of critically acclaimed artists, perhaps Eagle-Eye’s talents as a musician are encoded in his DNA. Heralded as one of the most influential musicians of the late twentieth century, his father was the American jazz trumpeter Don Cherry. Swedish interdisciplinary artist and designer Moki Cherry was Eagle-Eye’s mother. She made a name for herself, working in tapestry, fashion design, painting, music, and other disciplines. His sister Neneh Cherry and her youngest daughter Mabel have also garnered international success as singer-songwriters. Each member has carved lanes for themselves in different genres of music.

Remaining active in 2021, Eagle-Eye released the singles Down and Out and I Like It. I Like It and its accompanying video, directed by James Velasquez, have a classic 1970s vibe. Following the director’s vision, Eagle-Eye brainstormed with him to create the visuals. Which are simultaneously retro and timeless.

Smiling, Eagle-Eye says, “The song is about living with no consequences. And his video is about sitting in therapy…having to pay your dues. I liked that contrast. The party scenes and then the therapy scene.”

Lyrically, I Like It is about Eagle-Eye’s years living in Brooklyn, New York. “I was 18 years old, and life was a big party. The song is an homage to the good old days, of finding your independence.”

Born in Sweden, Eagle-Eye spent his formative years in the southern Swedish countryside and New York City. With classmates like Jennifer Aniston and Chaz Bono, his scholastic education included attending New York’s High School of Performing Arts. A school made famous by the 1980 American teen musical Fame.

“The choices weren’t great”

“Aren’t you the Clearasil guy?”

“I was in the drama department,” Eagle-Eye reveals. “I was really into acting. When I graduated, I started getting a lot of work as an actor. That was paying my rent.”

But there were challenges and limitations as an actor of color. “The choices weren’t great,” Eagle-Eye acknowledges. “A lot of my auditions were for drug dealers or whatever.”

Eventually booking a commercial for Clearasil, an American skin care and acne medication brand, Eagle-Eye experienced his first taste of prominence. With girls coming up to him and asking, ‘Aren’t you the Clearasil guy?’ “However,” he adds. “I wasn’t comfortable with public recognition for something I wasn’t proud of.”

During this time, Eagle-Eye began dating a Swedish girl whom he met at an acting audition. Coinciding with music gaining more importance in his life, he discovered he could sing while drumming for a few bands during high school. However, despite growing up playing the drums and piano, Eagle-Eye didn’t envision a career as a singer. 

“I started doing back-up vocals from behind the drums,” he remembers. “That’s where I started learning about harmonies. Then, when I started making money as an actor, I bought a sampler and a sequencer.” And Eagle-Eye’s interest in acting waned.

He continues. “Then I discovered songwriting. And my Swedish girlfriend started getting work in Stockholm. I started tagging along, meeting a lot of people. Seeing that musicians were doing some great stuff, I started feeling like maybe Stockholm is a better place for me.” Eventually signing with the independent label Diesel Music AB, Eagle-Eye began work on the album that would become his 1997 debut, Desireless.

“I’d been given the chance to make this album on my own, figuring out who I am musically,” he shares. “I didn’t really know what I was doing in the beginning.” This led to Eagle-Eye learning to play the acoustic guitar. Which cleared the path for him to discover who he was as a musician.

“I’m jealous of people who can really enjoy fame… who can relish it. But I do think that no matter what, it’s hard to keep your feet on the ground.

Despite his entrance into the music arena, Eagle-Eye wasn’t interested in courting fame. “After my sister, Neneh had her massive hit with Buffalo Stance and Raw Like Sushi (the album), I’d seen her mega success and decided, ‘that’s not for me.’”

That being said, Save Tonight was his debut album’s first release and became a top ten hit in the United States and other countries. And with its accompanying black and white video, Eagle-Eye rose to world prominence.

“I was thinking of making a few albums, build something slowly but surely,” he says. “And then eventually having major success. Save Tonight kind of took off so fast. But when it happened, and I realized what was going on, I knew ‘you gotta go for it.’ Cause this doesn’t always happen.” Thus, Eagle-Eye settled into it and promoted Desireless through press interviews and touring.

When asked why he believes Save Tonight was such a breakout hit, Eagle-Eye takes a moment. “I think the simplicity is a big part of that song. When my girlfriend came home that day, I said, ‘I’ve written a new song. It’s kind of corny. But it’s got something.’ I didn’t realize there was a little more depth to it.”

Save Tonight is about someone you love having to leave you. The feeling of wanting that last night before someone goes away to be perfect. “Something a lot of people can relate to,” Eagle-Eye notes. “I think that’s key when you’re writing a song.”

He and the band weren’t ready for their first large-scale gigs. Fortunately, positive responses from their audiences helped them. “Where my live show went later, like album two and three,” Eagle-Eye reveals. “That’s what I would’ve like to have done when we busted it out.”

In the beginning, Eagle-Eye enjoyed riding the wave of fame. “It was fun to be recognized. But I love anonymity. A lot of songs, especially on my first couple of albums, were all about observing what’s going on.”

“After three albums and 6-7 years of touring, I said, ‘I have to take a break.’ And as the anonymity kicked in, I said, ‘Ooh. This is nice.’ I wasn’t really sure I was going to keep doing this.”

During his break, Eagle-Eye wondered if he could continue to be in the forefront. And contemplated ways he could work creatively behind the scenes. He pauses before going on.

“I’m jealous of people who can really enjoy fame… who can relish it. But I do think that no matter what, it’s hard to keep your feet on the ground. I think my parents somehow instilled something in me and my sister Neneh, a need to keep our feet on the ground.”

Eagle-Eye’s desire to remain balanced may be connected to him being Swedish. And by the Swedish expression Jantelagen or the law of Jante. Which basically means you’re no better than anyone else.

Still Having Fun

Are You Still Having Fun? was the first release from Eagle-Eye’s 2000 album Living in the Present Future. Like I Like It, the song is about partying and questions whether there’s still fun to be had. He explains. “That manic thing that you might miss something if you don’t go out. So you always have to go out. Because you might miss that one night that’s really fun.” Because of the lyrics and the song’s energy, Eagle-Eye enjoys playing it live.

For Long Way Around, the second single from Living in the Present Future, Neneh Cherry dueted with Eagle-Eye. Fusing their individual styles, it was the first time the siblings recorded together. 

Eagle-Eye tells me that Long Way Around wasn’t written as a duet. “I was in the studio in New York with Rick Rubin. When we started working on it, I suddenly heard Neneh’s voice there. And I asked Rick, ‘what do you think about Neneh singing it?’” This culminated in her flying from London to New York the following day to record the single. After its release, Neneh and Eagle-Eye performed it live for several European television shows. 

Writing mainly for himself, Eagle-Eye has written for a few artists. Swedish singer Titiyo, Neneh’s paternal half-sister, is one of them. Titiyo also duetted with Eagle-Eye on the song, Worried Eyes from his debut album.

With the loneliness that can come with writing solo, Eagle-Eye has begun working with other writers, relishing the idea of writing songs that other singers can perform. “I can melodically have a lot of fun writing for others.” 

There have been singles released from Eagle-Eye’s albums Sub Rosa (2003), Can’t Get Enough (2012), and Streets of You (2018). He’s also kept things going, touring in Europe and North and South America.

After over twenty-five years in the music industry, my talk with Eagle-Eye comes to a close with me asking him, “Are you still having fun?”

Laughing, he replies. “I am having fun. I love touring and having a bus. Because I grew up the way I did, it’s a second home for me. If I don’t get that, then I’m going to do something else. Because to me, that’s the only thing that makes sense.”

So, for his upcoming live performances, Eagle-Eye’s fans will experience the joy that spreads across his face when he talks about being on the road. They’ll hear his classic songs. And they’ll have opportunities to create fresh memories as they take in his new songs and productions.