British singer-songwriter Eleni Drake releases her new single ‘Rookie’, the latest taste of upcoming album Surf the Sun out May 19 via her own Vanilla Sky Recordings.

At the core of Surf the Sun is the ultimate discovery of freedom and empowerment. New single and album highlight ‘Rookie’, with its lazy Laurel Canyon swagger, seems built from that confidence. “I don’t know what this is, but it feels more like me / Living through the earth instead of coasting,” Drake sings.

“I was listening to so much of The Mamas & The Papas, Jefferson Airplane and Billy Swan when I wrote this tune,” she says. “I wanted the listener to experience the same sort of freedom I was feeling when I was writing this track, knowing I’m on the right path in life, and learning to trust whatever fate has in store for me.”

Speaking more on the inspiration behind new single ‘Rookie’, Eleni Drake said: “I wrote Rookie with a sense of openness and relief in mind. The song itself is actually about wanting to feel freedom, but also feeling like I had to stay because of relationships I had in and around my life, and once I gained the courage to make the decision to leave, a wave of liberation followed with it. I pulled inspiration from Billy Swan and Jefferson Airplane, with the song swimming in harmonies, but keeping the beat and structure of the song simple. When it came to the production, I wanted the song to have one guitar pretty much repeating throughout – something catchy but free flowing simultaneously.”