Here’s the gorgeous new single from British/Greek singer-songwriter and producer Eleni Drake. ‘Half Alive’ is performed live in the woods for this stripped back version of the song, which focuses our attention on Drake’s heartfelt delivery and heart-aching, emotive words: “Feeling half alive in the back of your car // Where you swore that I was evil.” Directed by Henry Croston, the video captures a magical musical moment as Drake’s vulnerable, distinctive voice flows, seemingly effortlessly, along beautiful melodic currents. Drake’s guitar work is subtle and elegant, supported in this live recording by Sean Rogan on guitar and Chris Rabbitts on bass.
It’s a song about the uncertainty and confusion of relationships, written at a crucial point in her own life. She explains: “It’s about the conflict between missing someone, yearning to be alone, and ultimately realising they are not right for you and understanding a situation is far more manipulative and disappointing upon reflection.”
The single features on Drake’s new album, “CHUCK”, which we can expect on 31st October 2025. Written against the backdrop of a relationship ending, the songs explore the conflict between love and pain, how they interact and co-exist and how we can grow despite, or because of, this very human truth. Drake says of the new record: “This album is me acknowledging that all things must come to an end, and embracing this truth without resistance. Some souls cross our paths for only a fleeting moment, and in those moments, we can find joy, respect, and gratitude. Life itself is a gift, and so too are the memories we carry with us, etched into the fabric of our being. ‘Chuck’ — a word we use to discard, to relinquish without thought, as if life itself is something to be cast aside with ease. Do we, too, move through life with such carelessness? Do we give too much of ourselves, or not enough? Are we truly doing our best, or merely surviving, grasping at whatever means we have to endure? I guess I wrote it in a phase of my life, where I was questioning all these things.” Immerse yourself in this fragile, tuneful song – beautiful stuff.
