Edwin Raphael - I Know A Garden
Favourite Library
Released on March 20th, 2026
Decades ago in Kerala, India, a young boy would spend summers at his grandmother’s forest home. Growing up, this young boy would study classical guitar in Dubai before trying his hand at the keys. As an adult, this young boy became Edwin Raphael, and he explores those past summers in his most recent release, I Know A Garden.
Sound-wise, this album is an indie-pop masterpiece, ranging from more upbeat tracks like “First Time On Earth”, to more mellow acoustic-like tracks, such as “It Will All Pass Anyways”. Regardless of if the song takes an analog or digital approach, the tracks all have this underlying trance-like ambience, giving the entire album the feeling of being in a dream and exploring an old memory.
My personal favourite track is “Ballroom of my Memory”, which I would consider the thematic climax of the album. It’s a power-pop song featuring Edwin Raphael’s whispery vocals, bubbly synths, and a memorable melody. If you read deep into the lyrics, it shows a heartbreaking story of how we rush through the good times and come to long for them as we age.
“Deep down, it’s a rush / Swimming in the summer / It was all in your hands”
Several music videos were released to accompany the album, including the “Hymn for a Dragonfly”, which intercuts scenes of Raphael exploring his past along with children playing and enjoying their youth. He described it by saying,
“It’s me and my sisters running barefoot around the house and through the forest, embracing a carefree childhood, one where the days seemed endless. I wanted the video to feel like a memory: soft around the edges and hard to hold still.”
Exploring youth can be a somber journey, and Raphael captures this both in the sound of his music and the music videos that were made for them. “It’s A Shame You Swim So Well” gives off an unsettling vibe as Raphael sings by water, his clothes soaked. This sounds romantic, but Raphael uses it to capture a vulnerability that conveys grief and loss.
Being classically trained, Raphael felt a sense of placelessness as he grew older. This void was filled as he moved to Montreal in the pursuit of a business degree. It was then where he found himself immersed and entangled with the indie bedroom pop scene that the city is famous for.
For those who enjoy a melancholy, bitter-sweet exploration of youth, give this album a listen. It’s almost like a coming-of-age story told backwards, where we begin in the present and dream up the past as the story continues. It will bring a tear to your eye and have you gliding around the room to the tunes which I would describe as that of a heartbreaking lullaby.
