FEATURE: Spotlight: Eve Owen — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

Eve Owen

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THE remarkable Eve Owen…

is an artist you might not have heard of but, not only has she contributed to The National’s I Am Easy to Find, she also comes highly recommended and praised by the band’s Aaron Dessner! With a rising social media fanbase, Owen is an artist who you will definitely want to check out! I have known about her music for a little bit but, as she has been played on BBC Radio 6 Music a fair bit lately, I have got more into her brilliant sound. I will talk about her debut album, Don’t Let the Ink Dry, in a bit. It is a sensational record that has picked up some incredible reviews – as I shall prove by quoting from one. I am keen to bring in a few sources of information to flesh out this feature but, before I carry on, here is some biographical information about the wonderful Eve Owen:

“Eve Owen is a London based singer-songwriter. While growing up in London, Eve first explored songwriting as a form of catharsis, adopting the stream-of-consciousness style that still informs her music today. “I usually start out playing whatever I feel, even if it sounds horrible, like just bashing the piano keys,” says Owen. “I follow that feeling and write down everything that comes to me in the moment, and I don’t really edit much afterward.”

With her graceful musicality honed in part by taking up violin at a young age, Owen started composing on guitar and piano at age 13, and later recorded a number of songs with esteemed producer Guy Chambers in his London studio. Although Owen names her ukulele-playing grandfather among her main influences—“He doesn’t care what anyone thinks, and just plays because he loves doing it, which is exactly what I aspire to”—she also notes that finding artists like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez at age 14 indelibly altered her musical path. “Everything took a turn for me at that point, because I’d never heard so much truth in lyrics before.”

Her debut single “She Says” produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner, and released by 37d03d Records, is an intimate portrait of loneliness and longing, nearly devastating in effect but infinitely softened by the warmth of Owen’s vocals, the unbreakable hope in her delivery. In addition to her work with Dessner on “She Says” Eve is also contributed lead vocals on The National’s song "Where Is Her Head" from their album, I Am Easy To Find”.

She Says is a particularly potent example of Owen’s talent. There are little shades of Fiona Apple in her voice, I think, but it would be unfair to compare Owen with anyone else. I love her voice, and how much emotion and beauty she conveys!

There are a lot of great singer-songwriters around at the moment, but I feel Owen is one of the very best; she has an amazing future ahead, and she has already made such an impression. Eve Owen is only twenty, and I cannot wait to see how her career blossoms over the years. I was eager to source from a great interview from The Line of Best Fit, where she was speaking in lockdown about her new album:

“You may already be familiar with Eve Owen’s delicate tones from her guest vocals on The National’s last record I Am Easy To Find, but you can get even more familiar with her through emotive debut Don’t Let The Ink Dry, released today.

The record has been a long time coming for the 20-year-old London-born Owen - some of the songs have been reverberating around her head since childhood: “This album for me is a collage of different material from over the years," she tells me. "Songs were never set in stone – themes branch out into different songs, and I just mix them together”.

Owen was only at the end of primary school when she first remembers using song-writing as catharsis. “Something had bothered me at school and it makes more sense in my brain to turn it into music. To be honest, I still can’t really do that when talking.” Even now, she describes song-writing as a very exciting and wholesome experience.

On this record, Owen has made a new imprint on folk music, taking its foundations and twisting it together with electronic elements. On album opener “Tudor”, which she says “encapsulates the whole album”, the song uses five notes with a very simple structure, which has then been produced into “a type of chant”. “You can sort of imagine dancing to it by a fire”, Owen says, “it’s got the instincts of a folk song, but the way it’s been translated is so new to me. I really am in love with that one.

Speaking from lockdown in North London, Owen displays a mix of childlike enthusiasm and wise-beyond-her-years insight when describing pretty much anything, and becoming friends with her favourite band is no exception. She describes Dessner has her mentor “before I even met him” due to her deep personal love of The National’s music: “I look up to their discography like the Bible”.

“They are my friends and they are my idols”, she says. There is a giddiness about her when she talks about them, evoking images of Owen as teenager lying in her bedroom in the middle of the night listening to their lyrics. It’s a beautiful story to hear, of a person relating to and being comforted by music she now gets to sing onstage: “I’m meeting them again in a whole different way”, she says”.

Make sure you listen to Don’t Let the Ink Dry, as it is one of this year’s best albums. In a way, the songs are like diary entries, or different sides of this extraordinary human and artist. I have listened to the album a few times, and songs like For Redemption and Blue Moon are truly stunning! Right through the album, one is moved by the incredible songwriting. I want to bring in a great review that was written about the album but, before then, there is a great feature from NME, where Owen explained more about the album:

“Your debut album ‘Don’t Let The Ink Dry’ – what’s that all about then?

“The songs are like a kept record of a lot of different phases I went through during my teenage years. As the album had no particular deadline, it meant that Aaron and I had the time and space to sieve through ideas and get to the core of what we wanted to create. The album is made up of the markings of my and Aaron’s friendship. I can hear my voice finding comfort and opening up more each time in the studio.

So perhaps over the span of three years, themes came and went because each time we recorded we were both in different places in our lives. The record deals with longing, loneliness, celebration, acceptance, freedom and chance.”

It must feel strange to be preparing to drop an album in to the middle of a global crisis?

“I had live shows planned, which have changed, but if I’m honest now seems like a really important time for art and its healing powers. I didn’t make this record not to say ‘I get it’ or ‘I know what you’re going through’, but to say ‘I will listen and try to understand’. Each and everyone’s pain and hurt occur and heal in different ways. I was in a quiet, dark place writing these songs and they helped me – so hopefully they will continue to do this for others during these quiet dark times.”

Would you say that the album has taken on new meaning or offers any newfound comfort during these trying times?

“Hopefully this album will help people feel whatever it is they need to feel. Going through intense waves of worry is scary. I hope this record brings some good company to all the isolated people”.

I will wrap things up soon. I implore people to follow her on social media and, when we can go out to see gigs again, catch her on the road. She is one of our brightest talents and, as I said, she is going to go a very long way! Don’t Let the Ink Dry is among this year’s best debut albums, and it is a record that seems to get stronger and more amazing the more you listen to.

CLASH were among many who were eager to praise Don’t Let the Ink Dry:

“It’s hard not to draw comparisons to Mazzy Star with ‘So Still For You.’ The guitar chords are similar to Star’s song with a similar name, ‘Fade Into You,’ but Owen’s voice is more fleeting, as she howls and shakes, reflecting on the lasting impact words can have on a relationship.

Owen showcases her range throughout the record, proving she’s truly a one to watch in the industry. The album might have roots in folk music, but that doesn't mean it lacks any colour or vibrancy. Soaring vocals take the lead in ‘Blue Moon,’ a grittier track with elements of classic rock as she introduces electric guitar, while songs like ‘Lover Not Today’ display twittering and bright vocals from the singer.

‘Don’t Let The Ink Dry’ is complex and rich in emotion, dazzling with every song. Owen’s talent was evident when she sang alongside The National, but her solo work is truly wonderful as she tells captivating stories through electro-folk music. Every song is a welcomed listen, with something for every mood. The singer-songwriter has mastered heartbreaking ballads like ‘For Redemption,’ but proved she can also create strong folk-pop tracks like ‘Mother.’

Eve Owen has only just started her journey, but there’s clearly a bright future ahead for the artist as her mature and accomplished album proves she’s indie music’s rising star”.

This year is a bit of an odd one for Eve Owen. Like quite a few artists, she has released an album whilst we are in lockdown and has not been able to tour it and promote in the manner she would have liked! I can imagine she will be busy gigging when that is a possibility, and I am going to try and go see her if she plays in London. Make sure you listen to the amazing Eve Owen and support…