Debut single from Ed Sykes and Friends

Born in India and raised in the UK from the age of five, singer-songwriter Naran Rathod grew up between weekend Bollywood matinees and the sounds of British radio, absorbing two very different cultural landscapes along the way. His music now brings together folk, soul and blues with a subtle jazz influence, creating warm, groove-driven songs that lean into observation and emotional detail. Working under the name Ed Sykes and Friends, Naran now introduces a project shaped by a lifetime of writing, listening and quietly collecting the stories playing out all around him.

There’s an unhurried quality to his songwriting and with comparisons to Chris Rea, Steely Dan and Van Morrison, Naran creates music where the components and concepts of a song have time to settle. His arrangements can be immersive and melodic, often lifted by bright backing vocals, but the writing remains at the centre of everything he seeks to share. The name Ed Sykes and Friends carries its own story; it’s a gentle pun on Naran’s other working life as an educational psychologist, a profession that’s required decades of listening closely to people.

That experience has inevitably shaped his creative perspective, with Naran focuings on the small details of ordinary existence, building songs from concrete images of everyday life, relationships and the natural world. His songs don’t appear to document entire lives so much as capture individual moments within them, from a glance or a change in atmosphere to the subtle shift in a relationship. His observational writing gives these moments room to breathe, trusting listeners to recognise something of themselves in the spaces between the words.

Now, with the brand new debut single titled “Always Be Mine,” Ed Sykes and Friends makes its official entrance. The first in a series of singles leading towards a debut album, the track showcases the project’s ability to pair musical warmth with emotional complexity. “Always Be Mine” lands as a bright and inviting pop rock jam, building with strummed acoustic guitar chords, soft sax leads and expressive vocals towards an uptempo outing brimming with engaging rhythm and instantly catchy melodic leads carrying poignant lyrical writing.

The saxophone-led groove provides the track with an easy rhythmic flow, while the soulful arrangement carries an enticing sonic aesthetic but beneath that lightness sits a much heavier story that frames the moment before a relationship ends, when one person is still reaching out while the other has already begun to pull away. Propelled by the patter of percussion and steady guitar backing, dancing sax leads flicker above the arrangement while Naran’s compelling vocal performance shines throughout, resulting in a charming musical moment that’s memorable and meaningful in equal measure.

“Always Be Mine” also feels significant because it represents the first music Naran has released after a lifetime spent writing and that patience is perhaps what makes the single so utterly captivating. With Ed Sykes and Friends, Naran Rathod opens a new chapter by turning his own creative philosophy into music and we can’t wait to see what this talented singer-songwriter has in store for the rest of 2026 and beyond.

Commenting on the single, he shares, “It’s a song you can hum without ever noticing what it’s really about. Underneath that easy melody, someone is holding on for dear life — reaching for a person they can already feel slipping away. I wanted the surface to feel light and the weight to sneak up on you.”

Listen to Always Be Mine below

More from Music

---

Editor Picks

---