Singer-songwriter Eleri Ward loves the magic of the unknown. She basks in the empty parts of her mind and inspiration strikes.
Right before her debut album “Internal Rituals” was released, Ward was sitting at a grand piano in her parents’ living room in Burr Ridge, Illinois. The buzzing cicadas and cloudy August skies ignited her brain; chord progressions formed on their own and lyrics flowed. Many thoughts raced through her mind about how people might perceive the vulnerable album release and potentially misunderstand her.
“The questioning and the doubt of it was hitting me in this weirdly calm way. That I think is pretty prevalent in the instrumentation and world of this song,” said Ward.
Negative emotions rose in her head, which is an unfamiliar feeling for her. As someone whose inner monologue is mostly positive, doubt and questioning can be daunting. But Ward pushed through the emotion instead of shoving it down. She investigated the question that was racking her brain — Will I be the sun?
Fast forward seven months to her newest single, “Will I Be The Sun” released March 20. The lightly produced piano ballad begs an important question that Ward poses and answers within the three minutes of the song.
“Truly the only way out is through,” said Ward, “we start with, ‘Will I Be the Sun,’ and we end with ‘maybe I’m the sun?’ And I wouldn’t have gotten to that if I didn’t ask the question in the first place.”
“Will I Be The Sun” is the first standalone single she has released since her 2024 single, “Moss.” After a huge release of her album in 2025, she needed something that could stand as its own message.
“I am so fascinated by that breath that life has. It has this inhale, exhale to it,” said Ward. “And this feels a little bit like an inhale … after this huge exhale of my debut album, this feels like, what comes after that exhale? Am I breathing in now?”
Soft and ethereal vocals carry most of the weight of this track. Ward’s usual synth expression takes a backseat this time around and lets the lyrics and melody speak for themselves. A simple voice memo of just her vocals, her parents’ grand piano and natural sound does not sound much different than the final product.
Stepping back from typically being a maximalist producer on this track felt different for her, but also a new and enlightening experience. The floaty backing vocals and quiet synths lift the song up just enough, but do not overpower the message. The build in the final half of the song is so masterfully subtle, you do not even realize it is happening until it ends.
Her songwriting process is unlike that of most artists. She lets silence overcome her while meditating or sitting in the quiet, and waits for an idea to come to her. The unknown is where she seeks questions and conversations, as well as finding answers. Ideas and stories are usually not something that she seeks out to make music; rather, she sees herself as a vessel to convey a certain message.
As a musical artist, she does not listen to music as much as one would think. She still has her favorite artists and pieces of music, but by not constantly listening to music, it enriches her creative process. Silence inspires her and makes her create something brand new.
“As I’ve gotten older and the more I get in touch with myself, I just find there’s a purity in isolating myself from other people’s ideas,” said Ward.
Ward is a Berklee and Boston Conservatory alumnus, and lived in Boston for a few years during the pandemic. In February, she returned to Berklee for the first time in 10 years and performed an intimate set at Cafe 939. Her time in Boston was utterly transformative for her, and coming back to Boston to perform made her realize how much she had changed.
She performed “Will I Be the Sun” for the second time live in Boston, and described the exposing feeling of sharing something brand new with a captive audience. The audience is so focused on listening to the song that oftentimes their faces do not convey much emotion, giving Ward an inaccurate read on their reactions to the new song.
“All of this new energy that I was bringing to this place that has held so many versions of myself was very profound for me,” said Ward.
As people change and go through different phases of life, music can reveal new and different emotions after some time away from it. Ward expressed how her relationship and emotions that rise with “Will I Be the Sun” have changed many times since she wrote it. She hopes that every time someone listens, they will encounter something new.
“There are just like all of these different colors in the painting of the song, and whatever color is kind of sticking out to the listener … and I think it’s just whatever it is that day, is what it’s meant to be,” said Ward.
Ward is currently working on her second album, which is sonically a huge shift from her previous work. She is branching out from her previous perplexing record, “Internal Rituals,” into something more empowering and declarative. However, her newest single is certainly not a sign of where her music is going next.
This single was a question that she needed to work through and discover more about herself. Being honest about emotions and moving through different stages of life fuels her for more opportunities and ideas.
Being in between varying projects with very different messages can be challenging and can bring some apprehension about the future and where life is headed. “Will I Be the Sun” effortlessly explores the uneasy but fascinating feeling of not knowing what comes next.
“I carry all of these energies within me from past releases and all of those stories still remain true,” said Ward. “But there’s always another one that cycles in and then you go, ‘Who am I?’ I don’t totally know right now. And I think that’s worth sharing.”
