Eve Owen

At only 22, Eve Owen has already recorded and played live with The National, released her debut album and is getting her second record ready. The London native tells us about working with one of her favourite bands, what influences her - musically and otherwise - and what to expect from her new music.

When did you know you wanted to be a musician?

I dropped out of my A-levels due to mental health issues - my goal was to go to uni, I was thinking Geography or English. Even when recording the songs with Aaron, I never thought of it as a career, just something on the side I enjoyed, and then when the album came out I was sort of like "OK, this is a thing". I think I'd always knew I'd like to do it, but there's a lot of fear in actually saying that and going and doing it.

How did you become involved with Aaron Dessner and The National?

I did some demos with Guy Chambers in London, and Aaron heard those, then it was just sort of a natural thing of we'd keep working, we never really spelled it out.

Your album came out last May - how did you know when you had an album ready?

Me and Aaron recorded about 40 songs, so it was kind of a case of which ones worked well together, which ones worked in sort of introducing me, in a sense. He always talked about the fact that he didn't want me, in my debut album, to be boxed off to one genre, and I totally appreciated that because I love folk and I'd have really happily made a folk record! Going into the next album I feel I can draw from.

You've just released The Stripped Ink EP, which is a rerecording of three tracks from Don’t Let The Ink Dry - why did you decide to record these?

It was actually for the Apple sessions in lockdown - I did them at my friend's house, it was just three songs. I'd like to actually continue the project and do the whole album! The versions as you hear on the album sound so different to when I wrote them - that's almost how I feel about playing live by myself, it's so odd to hear the songs on the album then hear them as just a guitar and a voice. Recently I've started playing with two other people, and things are sort of melding into a real live version of the recordings of the songs.

What's your writing process like?

Usually I'll start with a feeling, and go to an instrument, and play a chord, and then sings whatever that feeling sounds like with that chord. I'd like to get into editing more, because my style is - and I didn't think about this until recently when I started writing with other people - but it's really stream of consciousness, it is very much just the exact feeling and trying to get it across as quickly and unedited as possible. But it is something I'm intrigued by for the next album, making conscious edits, finding ways to refine it but not taking out the honesty of it.

You’ve talked very openly about being autistic - do you feel this has had any bearing on your music?

Yes, massively. I was diagnosed very late, and I think I’ve only recently come to understand it, but it has a huge impact on my music, it’s a big part of it.

Do you have much planned so far for the next album?

I would like it to be maybe more experimental, probably more "wildness" to it. I'd also like to see where I can put my voice, because I feel the songs on the album are the kind of songs I'd naturally write for my own voice, but I would like to purposefully see what kind of characters and places my voice can stretch to.

You're back playing live now - where have you recently played and where do you have coming up?

I've just played End Of The Road and Dot To Dot festivals, and in Leeds I've played the Brudenell social club with Sunflower Thieves and Carpet, and then I played my first headline gig in London. Coming up in November to December I'm supporting Bess Atwell on tour all over the UK. Bess said if I only bring a few things I can go in the van with them, which is something I haven't experienced yet, so I'm really excited for that!

Which artists do you listen to, as a fan?

I love Taylor Swift, I'm a massive, massive Taylor Swift fan! Her stuff is such a motivation for me when I get in a funk. I was a die-hard, massive fan of The National before working with them, so getting to meet and work with them was kind of bizarre! I love everything about Thom Yorke's music - I'd like to work with him, but that's a far away dream! I was talking to my dad the other day about how, in his songwriting, Thom really distils an idea, whereas maybe I can overshare. His songwriting is so refined, which is something I want to go for on my second album.

What do you like to do when you aren't writing or performing?

I love photography. One of my favourite photographers is Francesca Woodman - she's not alive any more, but she did a lot of incredible self-portraits on medium format. Everything about her work feels like similar worlds to the worlds I write about. I think that's only clicked recently, like if I'm not feeling inspired musically there'll be something else that will inspire me, and then I'll want to make music!

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Words: Scott Bates

Photos: Katt Webster, taken at The Dog & Truck, E1.