Coming from Belgium, Eda Hinkova got into the scene going to jump-up raves, but she always found herself looking at the DJs, thinking: “I want to be on that stage, too.” She was already singing on lo-fi hiphop, pop punk, and rock tunes, so why not drum & bass? Slowly but surely she started sending out demos to producers.
Producers started to respond, and she started building confidence. In 2024, she was invited by Synoxis, a Belgian DJ/ producer, to sing during her set at What-U-On-About?!, a rave concept in Leuven. This quickly got followed up by another invitation to perform at Club Vismarkt that summer in front of thousands of people. With collaborations with Atmos, YUSSI, Eskei83, DRZ, and more under her belt, she’s well on her way to become the next big vocalist.
We had a chat with her about how she got into the scene, and how she found her voice.
Hi, Eda! When did you first fall in love with the bass scene?
In my teenage years, I used SoundCloud a lot, scrolling around, looking for new music. I stumbled upon a track by Mutated Forms, and I ended up loving it! It gave me this peaceful feeling. A few years later after that, I met some friends and they liked going to jump up parties. That’s when it all really started. I ended up joining them a few times, and I found myself looking at DJs thinking, I want to be right there. So, I started to make a plan. During that time, I used to sing a lot, mostly to lo-fi hip-hop, but I decided to start singing to drum & bass as well. It took me a while to build up my confidence, but after a while I started sending out my demos to DJs and producers. The first ever producer I sent a vocal to was Basstripper, who is now my boyfriend!
From sending out the first demo to now, how have you evolved since then?
When I look back at when I started, I was really shy and that was holding me back. I believe that, as an artist, you need to see yourself as a star. You need to know that you’re good. You need to see your own worth and you need to know that people also can see it in you. When I first started, I was watching my own videos and thinking, I don’t like my voice, is this good? etc… That’s not how you become a star! Thinking back to my first time singing, I was super shy, I didn’t really have control of my voice. I realised I had to start working on myself, and through healing came confidence.
What really helped me was just to keep going. I believe that, if you really want something, the universe will help you. I put that intention out there and noticed that the universe kept giving me opportunities. I kept grabbing those opportunities, worked through my shyness, and felt myself getting better and more confident. I also addressed my childhood trauma, forgave people in my past, forgave my parents for maybe being a bit too strict at times, and forgave myself and my fear of failure. Putting these feelings on paper, and expressing them through singing really helped me process all of it. I started seeing a change. Even though all of this helped me massively, there was one thing that really led to a breakthrough: ecstatic dance. It’s a form of dancing where you let go of everything. You’re not allowed to talk to each other, and this results in you having to confront your feelings. In doing that, it awoke this “superstar” energy within me again. Ever since I was young, I liked dancing, and singing. Somewhere along the way, I lost it, but I’m so glad I found myself again. I love being on stage and bringing the happy energy.
Bringing the energy is so important! Now, you were talking about how you process a lot of your feelings by writing and singing about them. Does that mean that all of your lyrics are very personal?
When I write, I improvise a lot. Sometimes there’s one word of gibberish, but then that word leads to another one, and ends up creating a sentence that paints the entire picture. My songs are personal, yes, because people can feel when there’s emotion in a song, and I can use it to express myself. People can tell when you’re being honest and transparent in a song, and that way they can get to know you more.
Absolutely! Let’s talk about your favourite drum & bass related memories… What have been the highlights of your career so far?
The first time Synoxis, an artist friend of mine, invited me to sing at one of her gigs in Leuven is one of my favourite experiences so far. Shout out to her. She’s such a good friend, and she has such a good heart. She has helped me so much in my journey, and she deserves the world. A second highlight I’d like to mention is working on a release with YUSSI, an Australian producer. It was a release that did very well in the charts, and I loved seeing those numbers go up, to be honest. Realising that people are listening to a song with my voice on it, my lyrics “I just wanna see you shine”… It felt like a full-circle moment, because I felt that, with that song, I was shining as well. I would also like to mention my release with Eskei83, ‘More of You’. I wrote this song about being with someone who didn’t show their full self to me. When I hear the song now, and when other people hear it, I feel like they get that message and they start showing more of themselves. Another crazy moment was when I was singing at Sunblast festival in Tenerife. There were so many people, it was super warm, and I sang ‘Shine’, the song with YUSSI. On the drop, everyone was jumping. I couldn’t believe it, it was amazing.
You must have felt so powerful, singing your own song and seeing everyone go crazy and looking up to you. Who do you look up to?
My biggest inspiration is Basstripper. I see how he works. He’s very dedicated to always work on himself, and he’s always growing. As a vocalist, Emily Makis and A Little Sound really inspire me, Youphoria as well. I have followed their journeys and saw where they started, it’s beautiful to see them grow. Synoxis, who I’ve mentioned before, is another big inspiration of mine. She’s so positive, and she has this energy that’s extremely motivating. IMANU is another artist I really look up to, he’s an amazing DJ with a really unique and catchy sound. All of these people are really hard workers, all doing their own thing, and I think that’s something that you need in this industry as well. You need that passion and you need that dedication to just go for it.
The vocalists that you named walked two different paths: A Little Sound also DJs during her sets, and Emily Makis only sings. How do you see the role of a vocalist on a drum & bass stage?
As an artist, you have to do what you want. For me, I also want to be seen as Eda Hinkova, the performer. I want people to know me for me, my music, and who I am. I’ve been working on a project, and as of recently, I can be booked as a singer with a DJ, and I’m also able to get booked as a band. I love live music and it’s not something that’s done a lot in the drum & bass scene. I see it happen more often than, let’s say, ten years ago, but the more live music the better. I already have some concerts planned in Antwerp, on April 2, and Ghent, on April 3. In the future, I’d love to perform at a rave with my band as well, but that’s something that rarely happens. For now, I’d like to keep experimenting and growing with my band, while also still performing with my DJ, and who knows where we’ll end up!
It’s good to keep experimenting!
Yes! I love this scene, and to see how hard it’s growing is amazing to see. We’ve got poppy D&B, jazzy, blues… All of the flavours. There’s so much emotion in it. We love our drum & bass, we love the fact that it is “our” unique thing, the genre that connects us and gives us community. But at the same time, it’s amazing that so many new people are starting to love it as well, so that we can connect even more.
Let’s look at the future… What are you working on at the moment?
My latest track, a collaboration with Corrupted Mind, just came out! It’s a drum & bass/ jungle tune. I loved working with him, because he is a very talented producer. The song is called ‘Boss of Me’, and it’s about me becoming my own boss. I wrote this song two years ago, and I don’t feel like it’s a coincidence that it’s coming out now. I feel like I really am owning myself more, I’m the boss of my own light and shadows, just like in the artwork. I’m becoming the “boss of me”. Then, on April 3 I’ve got a song coming out with SubDocta, I’m very excited for that one. It’s called ‘Can’t Let You Go’ and it’s about seeing the light in someone and that being the reason why you keep hanging on to them. I’m very excited about these two songs because I have always wanted to release jungle and dubstep and now I’m finally doing that!
How was it to write music for such different genres?
I always work the same. I’ve started writing on lo-fi hip-hop, I wrote on rock, pop punk… I wrote on all kinds of music. I tend to go with what the music is making me feel, and then the lyrics start flowing naturally. ‘Boss of Me’ gave me this euphoric feeling, because the track really pulls you in, and then you get a vocal that you don’t even expect. It gave me this amazing feeling and I bet other people will feel it too. It already got some really good feedback from a few big people in the scene, so that’s nice. ‘Can’t Let You Go’ also gave me a euphoric feeling, but in a different way. It reminds me of a breakthrough and it’s emotional… I guess you’ll just have to listen to the song and tell me how you feel about it.
You’re talking about ticking off all of these goals on your bucketlist, that’s amazing. What other goals are on that list?
I would like to release consistently, and at one point I want to start releasing my own songs. I’m doing a lot of features at the moment, but I would also like some solo releases. Now I sing on songs from producers, or producers give me instrumentals and everything on it, but if I release my own song, then the instrumental is really what I created. I don’t know how to produce and I don’t necessarily want to learn that, but I do want to have more say in the creative process. I’ve got some artists I really want to work with. I really look up to Andromedik, USED, and of course Basstripper. They’re all amazing artists, their sounds align with what I want to make. I’d also like to work with other big artists like Rudimental, Wilkinson, Hybrid Minds, Pola & Bryson… There are so many on my list, and I’d like to play at Rampage, Liquicity, DnB AllStars… and it would be especially amazing to be able to perform at those festivals with my live band. Lots of goals.
Putting it out there in the universe, start manifesting now! Any final thoughts?
All it takes is believing in yourself and working really hard. When you do, you will start seeing the changes. That’s how I got where I am. And don’t be afraid to ask for help! Don’t envy, but be inspired. I used to envy and be jealous, but when I started seeing what I could learn from other people without that jealousy, that’s when I started to grow.
