When I was 8 I joined a club soccer team that already had 3 Ethan’s on it. The team called me Healy (my last name) and it stuck for good. 

I spent the first 20 years of life in Memphis steeping in a rich musical history of classic rock, soul, and southern rap. My mom was in the church choir too, so hymns were always bouncing around the house. I picked up the guitar in college and life began to harmonize with me. Music was a hobby and an outlet for me while I was getting my doctorate, but it eventually started to gain traction. I graduated and went on my first tour and took on music full time! 

Music has always helped me bookmark moments, and my relationship with songwriting is no different. Quite often I look at songs like little memory museums–and it’s up to me to honestly and creatively relay what I see and feel. 2D embodies that approach: the lyrics are drenched in sensory information, and the music is expansive and emotive. “2D” became a way for me to process the past and inhabit the present. 

Look at God!

Me and all my friends in Memphis shout “look at God” when something happens that you just have to stop and marvel at, whether lucky or catastrophic. It feels like a sense of relief or euphoria from realizing you’re not in control. Over time the phrase has taken on new shapes and meanings for me.

I hit a breaking point in life last year, and I started to strip life down to the studs and rebuild things through a new lens. Through this lens I began to see myself in everything, and I saw everything and everyone in myself—this realization provided a glimmer of peace and self-acceptance that I didn’t know I needed.

The gradient of the EP depicts this journey from guarded to free; from fighting life to surrendering to it.

It sounds like a breakup album because I think I was separating from an old version of myself. I’m grateful for the confidence and brutal honesty this music pulled out of me. These days “look at God” feels more like a mantra or a mental gravity. It’s a reminder for when I’m feeling lost to simply look around me being found.

I’m so thankful this season of life was encapsulated into these songs.

Listen close and you might hear yourself.

New Chapter

Lately I’ve found that responsibility and passion go hand-in-hand. After stepping away from the major label world, I feel this sense of control like a faint deja vu. It’s like I’ve reconnected with my creative process, and I’m finally making music for myself again. 

I’ve never felt more invigorated to share my work and the process behind it. One of the main reasons I make music is to connect, whether with fans or collaborators. Having agency over my art gives me flexibility to explore new formats like Sound to offer more direct relationships with fans and collaborators.

This project symbolizes new life for me. I began this cycle with the intention of letting go and finding the confidence to speak my truth. Having reached the end and closed the loop, all I’m left with is gratitude. I’m just really fortunate to have the ability to learn myself through my work. 

The EP’s second single, “Famous Last Words (feat. Cautious Clay)” will be released July 21, and ‘Look at God’ comes out August 18.