The 6 songs on Healingbow document the second phase of musical development for Eden. After the release of the Gateway To The Mysteries album in 1990, Ross Healy left the group. On that album Pieter Bourke and Sean Bowley had already begun to shift their musical vision into new areas through the use of exotic instruments and freeform song structures. Over the next two years they further developed and refined their ethereal pagan indo-arabic sound. Sean's electric guitars were replaced by the lute and harp, whilst Pieter contrasted the hammered dulcimer and ethnic percussion alongside his electronic textures and rhythms. Eden was doing its own thing and following a unique vision.

Bowley says that, ‘completely by nature we were sailing further away from the local music industry and performing less in the beer barns we had previously shared with other bands. We were running our own mini creative renaissance and were too deeply absorbed in our creative dream to notice much else.’ The two musicians had a working method whereby they would write and arrange songs individually and then present them to the other for additional contributions. ‘In a way there was always two distinct threads to Eden's material’, Bourke recalls, ‘but there were also songs where our two styles converged to great effect.’ The opening track Our Scent Rides The Breeze is a case in point, where Bourke's cinematic atmospheres, tight drums and measured arrangement are contrasted with Bowley's vocals and psychedelic guitar tones. Melancholia is another favourite of Pieter’s. ‘Sean wrote a great lyric and melody which complemented my instrumental composition perfectly.’

Eden's live shows during this period reflected their move toward a more symphonic and cinematic sound. Live string players were added, including Brian Westbrook on cello. Bourke and Westbrook would eventually go on to form the dub reggage project Secret Masters in 1999. Tad O'Biegley was also brought in on bass guitar. Visual artist Miles Van Dorssen created film loops and slide shows which he manually projected over the band, adding another sensory dimension to each Eden performance.

One of the local musicians who saw Eden perform during this period was David Thrussell, whose electronic industrial band Snog had just released their first album, Lies Inc. Thrussell approached Pieter Bourke and Sean Bowley with the idea of remixing some Eden songs, however the idea of a remix was not met enthusiastically. Bourke and Thrussell did get together to add some additional sampled drums to the tracks Healingbow and Melancholia.

Recording sessions for the Healingbow ep took place with engineer Adam Calaitzis at Toyland Studios between April and June 1993. The ep was released on the American independent darkwave label Projekt Records. After promoting the release Pieter Bourke and Sean Bowley parted ways, with Bowley continuing to record and perform under the name Eden whilst Bourke established new collabrative partnerships with David Thrussell and then Lisa Gerrard.

‘Our musical paths were diverging significantly, and there wasn't enough common musical ground to bridge the gap anymore’, recalls Bourke. ‘Sean was rekindling his love of psychedelic guitar based pop whilst I continued exploring the cinematic electronic world-music themes I'd been developing since the formation of Eden in 1988. It was the right time to allow each other the space to pursue these areas individually. The musical comradery I shared with Sean had a massive impact on my creative life and is something I look back on now with great respect. Parting ways was the end of a very significant chapter for both of us, but one that ultimately led to greater creative freedom and exciting new collaborations.’