Growing up in Melbourne, Australia during the '80s, Sean Bowley listened to '60s psychedelic rock and gradually grew interested in neo-psychedelics like Echo & the Bunnymen and other British indie bands. He formed All Things Unseen with three friends, but after that band broke up in 1989, Bowley began playing as Eden with Pieter Bourke (who later joined Dead Can Dance). Other bandmembers were gradually added, including bassist Steven Wattie, guitarist Chris Collins, dummer Raju Sharma and keyboard player Talie Helene.
Eden's first record, the EP Light Between Worlds, appeared on Nightshift Records in 1990. The band signed with Third Mind in 1992 and released Gateway to the Mysteries. Attention from the BBC's John Peel earned Eden a deal with American label Projekt, which signed them and released the Healingbow EP in 1993. Eden's second album Fire and Rain appeared in 1995, and the band recorded material for Midnight Sun in early 1996.