LISTEN / SHARE “MOONSTRUCK” FT. DIYA BRITTO HERE
BUY / STREAM “MOONSTRUCK” FT. DIYA BRITTO HERE
NEW ALBUM, I KNOW A GARDEN ALBUM, OUT NOW
BUY / STREAM I KNOW A GARDEN HERE
PRAISE FOR I KNOW A GARDEN
“There's a particular way light particles interact that Montreal-based folk singer-songwriter Edwin Raphael captures in his thoughtfully expansive, globe-trotting soundscapes. "Mosaic in the Sun" and "A Sunbeam Lent to Us Briefly," arrive with the breathless wonder of language's inability to articulate the emotional heft of a momentary prism falling upon the scene just so.”
- Exclaim!, Most Anticipated Albums of 2026
“...it’s indie folk with enough orchestral weight to fill a room. These are songs built for distance and open windows.” - Montreal Rocks
“Buzzing drones meet uplifting guitar melodies as Edwin Raphael’s imaginative narrative unravels on First Time on Earth. The ebbs and flows from bursts of energy to pulled-back introspective moments. Life brings with it more questions than answers, but it’s seeking beauty in the mundane, in the wonder of small miracles, that we find meaning."
CBC Music, 'Songs You Need To Hear'
LISTEN TO EDWIN RAPHAEL TALK ABOUT I KNOW A GARDEN ON CBC Q WITH TOM POWER HERE
Photo Credit : Vijay Sarathy // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Earlier this year, Edwin Raphael released the new LP, I Know A Garden, a collection of songs that Exclaim! listed as one of their Most Anticipated Albums of 2026. Today, the celebrated songwriter reveals the new single “Moonstruck” featuring Diya Britto, a song about being born in a body you never asked for. ‘Did I hit the wrong colour?’ A simple question, but beneath it lies the complex experience of being born brown in a world that often signals you were never the default.
“Moonstruck” is “about missed opportunities and the irony of knowing what you want only after it passes,” explains Raphael. “But it’s also about the strange comfort that comes from surrender, how feeling lost can sometimes make you feel whole. But at its core is a quiet existential ache, echoed in the line ‘Did I hit the wrong colour?’ It's not just about love or fate, it’s about wondering if the body you were born into made the journey harder before you even began. That kind of knowing lives in your bones.”
LISTEN / SHARE “MOONSTRUCK” FT. DIYA BRITTO HERE
BUY / STREAM “MOONSTRUCK” FT. DIYA BRITTO HERE
MORE ABOUT EDWIN RAPHAEL
With roots in Kerala, India, Raphael studied classical guitar before deciding on the keys. As he developed an affinity for John Mayer and Ben Howard, he felt at odds with a distinct sense of “placelessness”. It wasn’t until he moved to Montreal to pursue a business degree that he felt a sense of stability, and became deeply entangled with the city’s indie bedroom pop scene.
His debut EP Ocean’s Walk (2015) paired stirring, melancholic instrumentals with a fierce self-reckoning. It would set the stage for a string of releases that would dive deeper into the psyche; like confronting the aftershocks following a significant heartbreak, or relearning your emotional baseline as you mature. Subsequent releases, Cold Nights (2017), Will You Think of Me Later? (2019), and its follow up Staring at Ceilings (2021), reveal an artist devoted to sharpening his ability to translate his experiences into ubiquitous statements.
WATCH / SHARE “FIRST TIME ON EARTH” (MUSIC VIDEO) HERE
WATCH / SHARE “HYMN FOR A DRAGONFLY” HERE
The 2024 re-release of Will You Think of Me Later? has amassed 115 million streams on Spotify. Edwin has performed over 70 shows across 14 countries since 2023, sharing the stage alongside Palace, Hollow Coves, Noah Kahan, and more. He heads out on tour throughout Quebec beginning March 27 and a U.K. and European tour commences May 14 All dates are below.
