With her third studio album, The Darkening Green, due in early March, the soul of British R&B ELIZA talks motherhood, evolution and William Blake.

ELIZA has taken the scenic route to finding her flow. Once upon a time, she was Eliza Doolittle, an early 2010s pop star signed to a major label with mainstream success, crossover collaborators and artistic compromises. But some eight years ago, the North London-native decided it wasn’t the path for her – she went independent and rebranded herself, dropping the Doolittle and placing capitalised emphasis on her first name. 

It’s a bold, admirable career leap that has paid dividends for the 37-year-old. Transitioning from her previously popular, if emotionally vacant, pop core, as ELIZA, her sonic focus lies in damp, desirable neo-soul and left-field, searching R&B. Both of her prior records, 2018’s A Real Romantic and 2022’s A Sky Without Stars, are mature, majestic oeuvres – a surefire showcase of the craft, class and distinctive perception she obtains. 

Since her last album, life has changed drastically for ELIZA. She’s a mum now to baby Rex, and hence has a whole new set of expectations of what she wants to achieve from her career. This fresh outlook, combined with years of experience in the industry, has led to the creation of The Darkening Green, a third full-length, due on 4th March.

The album is set to be ELIZA’s most human, affecting and potent work yet; teasing single “Cheddar”, out now, feels the perfect entry point. Written and produced alongside Finlay ‘Phairo’ Robinson and EMIL (Loyle Carner, Sampha), the track is brimming with soulful nuance and artistic expression, the second offering from the forthcoming record following November’s “Anyone Else”.

Looking ahead at the new year and new album, and back at her atypical rise to the top of UK R&B, ELIZA talks motherhood, mushrooms, and William Blake.

Listen to “Cheddar”…

Read the exclusive interview…

How do you reflect on your 2025? What did you get up to?

I spent lots of time with my baby Rex in his first and second years. Also got back to the studio and have been doing more writing and recording. The project that I’m releasing now was written before Rex was born, so it was also good to finally release “Anyone Else”, which is one of the songs from it.

You’ve been around for nearly a decade now. How do you reflect on your career, your artistry and your growth?

With a feeling of gratitude. I feel very lucky to get to experiment, create and make music for a job.  I believe everyone on Earth is born to create and so many people aren’t given the circumstances to do so.  So I am one of the lucky ones. I try to remember that every day. Looking back, I’ve had a unique career where I was much more involved in the pop industry at the beginning, and that taught me so much about my craft and about the business/industry side of things. I’ve learnt that a good career can be a symptom of great music and authenticity. My experience taught me that I don’t like to compromise the truth, wonder and magic for anything.  

Congratulations on your forthcoming new album, The Darkening Green! How are you feeling about the release?

So excited, I’m desperate to share it. As I said, it will have been written for 2 years on release day. So these thoughts and feelings have been in me and bursting to escape to further reaches than my studio!

Talk us through the story behind the LP title? How does it portray the deeper themes across the album?

The Darkening Green, I found these words written in a William Blake poem. They mean something else to him I think but for me, it conjured up images of the world we are living in now. We are eradicating the green and the concrete is taking over. This needs to be reversed. The album is sprinkled with my observations on the world and how I feel these and other aligning darknesses are affecting us in a global way, local way and a deeply personal way. The city wound, the distraction traps, yearning for softness, jolting out of a zombie-like existence into cosmic memory and punk spirit and the force of our undeniable need to celebrate and party are themes that are explored in songs on this record.  

It’s your third album as ELIZA and a first in three years – how have you changed and developed as a human and as a musician in the years since A Sky Without Stars? What did you learn from those two prior projects that you’ve taken into this body of work? 

I hadn’t quite become a mum when this album was finished but I was pregnant when making it, that must’ve rubbed off a touch. With a Sky Without Stars, it was the “tricky second album” where I had my perfection hat on and every sound was scrutinised to within an inch of its life. I’m so proud of the dedication we gave it but with this album, I was much more free and easy breezy which created a good flow; there were no sticky “where do we go from here” moments.  

What was the most challenging thing about making this record?

With the song “Cheddar”, I had to sit with painful and difficult emotions when writing it.  I sat for days and days making sure I dug deeply enough to excavate a relationship of many years, one I thought was a friendship and turned out to be an illusion on many levels.  

Describe your new album as an emotion, a colour, and a dish.

Love.

It yearns to be green, but it’s sadly grey.

Mushroom 148,000 ways.

You’ve just shared “Cheddar”, the second single from the forthcoming LP. What’s the story behind this track? Why did you feel it was suitable as an introduction to the wider album?

I’ve already explained a little about the song previously, but timing-wise, it seems we’re living through an age where people are disconnected and opposing each other all over the place. It’s important to protect yourself from the harm of people who may hurt you, but I’m choosing to try and do that with a feeling of forgiveness, love, reflection and understanding. I also just think it’s a bit of a jam, and I love its parallel strength and vulnerability. 

You worked with Phairo and EMIL on this tune – what drew you to those musicians in particular? What do you look for in a collaborator?

Emil and I began the song, and Phairo joined us to enhance it. I’m sure I am drawn to their undeniable talents, but what always draws me to people generally is their spirit. They are both kind, huge-hearted, interesting and interesting people with whom I can totally be myself, be deep and meaningful with, and even more importantly, lots of fun.  

In 2026, what are you most excited for? What are you most afraid of?

Obviously delighted to share more music, but even more to watch my son growing and becoming a proper little person. I’m most afraid of seeing more torture and suffering in the world, especially for the children. It must stop. Children need to dream and only dream. We all do.  

Words – Ben Tibbits