Across her 10-track album The Water And The Trees (live), emerging singer-songwriter Eve Joné demonstrates a maturity that belies her 18 years.
The album was recorded in one day in a North Yorkshire studio, each track a single take with minimal overdubs, presented as Eve says “with all errors included free!” In truth, you’ll spot very few.
The composite parts evidence a hankering for warm, melodic folk-led indie-pop in the rich vein of Gregory Alan Isakov, or bands like The Lumineers, Lord Huron and Iron & Wine. The real shining light is her voice, evoking the early 70s revival era of singers like Joan Baez and Shelagh McDonald, as well as your more contemporary figureheads of the genre – names such as Bedouine, Aldous Harding and the Boygenius trio.
Above all, her songs convey raw experience. Eve describes the collection as “heartfelt and lyrically rich and not always comfortable – as that’s how life is.” When you learn of her childhood, which sounds challenging to say the least, you start to get an idea of where that viscerality stems from.
“When I was 11, I was ill with glandular fever and I just didn’t seem to recover properly afterwards. After some tests, I was diagnosed with M.E. which has been a struggle ever since. I stopped any kind of playing music for a while because I wasn’t well enough to do anything.
At high school, I was only in school part-time. I spent a lot of time in my bed feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. Listening to music was a low-energy activity I could do. I did it a lot. Sometimes I would play the same songs over and over. If I had energy, I’d sing along. My dad taught me some chords on guitar and one camping holiday in Wales I became obsessed with how to play Say You Won’t Let Go by James Arthur.”
But Eve’s first introduction to music came when she was aged just six. There was already a piano in the house, because her mum was learning to play. So Eve took some lessons herself, did a couple of grades and started performing in school assemblies. She began singing then too.
“I liked it, but I definitely wasn’t the best singer. It was scary but good to be on stage.”
A few years later, after a stint making up songs with her friend, Sophie, she had some more informal, non-grade lessons – “far less stressful” – and was soon writing her own compositions for piano and guitar. She now has more than 50 songs written and recorded in demo form on her phone.
One thing that stands out in her approach is a leaning towards direct, emotive narratives.
“I love stories. I’ve always liked acting them out or making them up with friends. I’ve had a long time dream of being an actor – maybe in TV or a film or on stage.”
Coincidentally (or maybe not), Eve is in her second year at CAPA College in Wakefield, where she is studying Drama for Stage and Screen.
Looking at Eve’s main musical influences, they tend to come from the archetypal singer-songwriter ecosystem, and as such are renowned for their storytelling and ability to connect emotionally with audiences.
“My absolute favourite music artist of all time is Noah Kahan. Ever since I first heard him, his music and lyrics have always massively resonated with me and some of my own experiences and feelings. I want to capture some of the same emotion in my music. Listening to Noah Kahan makes me really want to be a better guitar player.
I’m inspired by Taylor Swift too and her lyrics and style in albums like Folklore and Evermore which are performed beautifully and poetically. I listen to Maisie Peters, Mumford and Sons, Gregory Alan Isakov and am definitely inspired by all of them in different ways, whether it’s the production of their voice, the lyrics, harmonies or anything else. I hope that a little bit of these artists shines through in The Water and The Trees album and I hope in my future music.”
Eve’s next steps may be an expansion into more live performances. Having performed at open mic nights in the area, she now has an eye on playing full-set gigs at various local venues. And there’s more writing to come. She is still brimming with creativity.
“M.E. still limits how much I can do and I’m not in college full-time. I know I’m really lucky, but sometimes things are hard too. I write songs when something happens in my life, when I feel the urge, when I’m down and when I’m feeling good, when I have something to share or something to say.”
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