With her heartfelt, jazz-inflected songwriting and vocals, it sounds like British singer-songwriter Eloise could have come from a different musical age. Her initial breakthrough, though, was made in a thoroughly modern way.
Bred on a diet of Jamiroquai (“my favourite band”), John Legend, Corinne Bailey-Rae, Erroll Garner and Billy Joel, Eloise’s moment came when, in 2017, her cover of Bruno Major’s Second Time started gaining traction on Instagram. Major subsequently invited her to perform it with him, which led to a stint in his band and the pair recording together.
Eloise’s debut EP, This Thing Called Living, arrived in 2019, and was followed by another, Somewhere In-Between, in 2021. Drunk On A Flight, her exquisite debut album, arrived in 2023, and now we have My Man & Me, her second full-length LP.
Whether she’s singing about love, heartbreak or anything in between, Eloise’s songs are never less than engaging, and have a level of sophistication that’s all too rare in modern pop music. As we discovered, though, her musical approach isn’t always conventional...
We read that you’re a self-taught guitar player. How did you teach yourself to play, and how would you describe your playing style?
“The way that I taught myself guitar was… well, first of all, I didn't want to learn guitar. I was always a piano player, and I just ran out of places that had pianos because they're just impractical instruments. It's impractical for that to be the only instrument that you play.
“So, eventually, it was out of necessity: I had to learn how to play the guitar. My cousin would teach me little songs and things when I'd see him. He's a fantastic guitar player. But really, I just learned by watching people on YouTube. I would freeze the screen and then copy where their hands were. I'd learn two chords in a week, and then I'd learn how to use them in different ways.
“There's a video of Joe Pass explaining how to play a chord sequence that he loves, and he puts it so simply. So I don't know any of the chord names, I don't know any of that, nothing technical about me. Therefore I would describe my guitar playing style as nothing technical. It's technically bad, actually, but it feels correct.”
Could you describe your songwriting and recording process? Do you tend to record demos at home before going into the studio?
“I don't really have a songwriting process. I just kind of will have an idea, and then the closest thing I have to a process is making sure that if I am ever in a place where there is a guitar, when an idea comes to me, or I have my phone with me, I must tend to it, because it tends to leave like a dream sometimes – you know when you're trying to explain a dream to someone that you had last night, and you literally can watch it disappear into the abyss? That's what it's like with songs, unless you grab them when they're hanging above your head.
“In terms of recording, I don't know how to record anything, so I just make voice memos, and I don't write any lyrics down, because I've always had this rule, which is if it's a good song and you have got your feelings right, you will remember it the next day.
“So I don't have any lyrics written down on my phone. I just make voice memos and then take them to the person producing my music, and then we give the songs clothes.”
We love the vocal harmonies on your records. How closely involved are you in the vocal production process? Also, who are the singers that inspired you?
“I'm very, very close to the whole process of recording vocal harmonies. That's kind of my department. I don't know anything really about production. I mean, I've learned a lot, but really, where I come through is singing and playing, and with harmonies, that's sort of my favourite bit to do, because it's very, very instinctive.
“I did a lot of choir stuff when I was younger, but also, just being in school musicals and stuff, that's such close jazz harmony a lot of the time, if you're doing shows like Guys and Dolls and stuff.
“So my ear has really developed, and I learned a lot from Bruno Major when we recorded together. He uses a lot of close ‘hmmm’ harmonies as textural rather than, like, attention seeking, and so I've sort of carried that on, and I love doing them.”
We saw on Instagram that at one point during the production process you were recording into a vocal mic and a phone at the same time. What was going on there?
“I mean, look, I'm technologically challenged, but I believe it was to sort of create a very natural slap back, because it was recording the same take. I was kind of like doing a double, but it would have a different texture and a different quality about it, and we could maybe put an effect on it without having to try and endlessly recreate a double exactly like the original.
“But you know, Slim [Gabriel], who produced the record and did it, will probably tell me off, because I probably got all of that information wrong.”
We saw you singing backing vocals for Billie Eilish for an Amazon live session a couple of years ago. How did that come about and what was the experience like? Did it change the way you approach your own music making and performances in any way?
“The Billie Eilish Amazon Live Session came about because Finneas [Eilish’s brother, co-writer and producer] messaged me on Instagram, and he was sort of asking if by any chance I was free to come and help out. It was sort of a bit vague, and I just knew that I wanted to be part of it, because they're both really so incredibly talented and it was just always going to be a wonderful experience. I was going to be in LA anyway, so we absolutely said yes to that, because that was a heavenly request.
“The experience was so positive, because actually I haven't sung backing vocals for someone in forever, and I really find satisfaction in blending vocals and not being the front of, you know, everyone's attention. I think there's just something really, really nice about locking into a different side, and as I said previously, I love harmonies, so getting to just do the harmonies was a joy.
“I'm not incredibly disciplined as a singer – I definitely do things that probably aren't helpful for my voice or whatever and I've only just started thinking about doing vocal warm-ups. So I was watching Billie show up, warmed up, looking after her voice and looking after herself, and I was really inspired by that, because I think she was still having a nice time and doing that, and I've always thought that it comes at a sacrifice, which it does somewhat, but I think overall I was so impressed by her professionalism. And then the result was she was like the best singer ever.”
You attended the BRIT School which, obviously, has a great track record of producing hugely successful female singer-songwriters (Olivia Dean, Adele, Amy Winehouse and Raye, for example). Do you feel extra pressure because of this – particularly when you’re compared to them – or do they serve as an inspiration to you?
“I don't actually feel a lot of pressure coming from the BRIT School. I think that I just feel pride – I feel proud to be coming up in that sort of line-up. Every single one of them is so talented, it makes me so pleased to, you know, to even be put in the same sentence as such amazingly talented, clever, funny, unique British women. That is just inspiring, and pressure is not even in the same conversation. I just do not feel any pressure. I just am so honoured and proud to be from that school and proud to be, hopefully, you know, making my own little difference in that neck of the woods as well, but of course I'm inspired by them. They are incredibly talented. They're such good writers, and it's incredible to see that this is where pop music is going. It's really, really reassuring.”
What’s next for you after the album launch? Do you plan to tour?
“I plan on having a long nap, but after the nap, I'm sure we will be doing some touring. I think it's just being rooted now, but that is the hope. I just want to be on the road. I think really what I do best is perform live, and I connect with the audiences, and I think that it's a really important thing. I think it's a really important thing now more than ever. It’s kind of like the music industry's version of touching grass – going and seeing a real person in front of you with not very many gimmicks, and it's just live entertainment, live music, live connection. And so I'm in a desperate rush to be on tour again.”
Eloise’s new album, My Man & Me is out now.
