Neu Get To Know… Eaves Wilder
With debut EP ‘Hookey’ now out in the world, get acquainted with the Secretly Canadian-signed 19-year-old.
Hello and welcome to DIY’s introducing feature, Get To Know… getting you a little bit closer to the buzziest new acts that have been catching our eye as of late, and working out what makes them tick.
Recently we’ve met viral star Mae Stephens, grunge-pop provocateur SPIDER, Malaysian-Irish producer and singer-songwriter yunè pinku, and next up is 19-year-old indie prodigy Eaves Wilder.
Last month, Eaves released debut EP ‘Hookey’ via Secretly Canadian, while next week she’ll be popping up at London’s Lexington for a special BBC Introducing show. Described as a release “basically about bunking off”, ‘Hookey”s bittersweet indie sensibilities recall the likes of beabadoobee or girl in red - who, ironically, are pretty hooky in their own very different way. As she states: “Through lyrics, production, or melody, my main thing is always adding as many hooks as possible - or how can I expect people to listen?”
Get to know Eaves a little better below…
Describe your music to us in the form of a Tinder bio.
Hyper-femme, fuzzy dream-rock.
What’s your earliest musical memory?
I was a Doctor Who obsessive, so Murray Gold who wrote the score was like Elvis to me for a while. Every Saturday I used to just freak out on a swing in my garden to the whole score and call it my circus, which I found some deeply haunting footage of recently.
Is there a visual world to what you’re trying to create? If so, how would you describe it?
I love music that builds worlds, that’s why I love Gorillaz. Riot Grrrl taught me the idea of reclaiming my girlhood. We all grow up really quickly, especially in London. I went to a music production college where there were only four of us girls on the course, and I realised I was dressing and acting masculine to be more respected, but I was still disrespected. So I gave up trying to do that and started leaning into the extreme opposite. Pink, lace, ribbons, stickers, toys - that’s the world I’m interested in at the moment.
Describe the vibe of one of your gigs in three words.
Joyful. Sweaty. Lispy.
What ‘Little Monsters’-style name would you give your fans?
Someone suggested Wildings to me - a plant growing somewhere they’re not supposed to in the wild either as a native or as an escape - which is really weird because if you read the lyrics for ‘Morning Rain’ and ‘Mother In Your Mind’, that’s literally what all my songs are about.
If you could revisit one decade / era / scene in music, where would you go?
Well, I’ve been reading loads of female musicians’ autobiographies recently - Debbie Harry, Miki Berenyi, Viv Albertine, Patti Smith, Carole King, Kim Gordon - and all of those scenes sound amazing but they literally all end up getting attacked so I don’t really want to go back in time to be honest. But, if I could be Paul McCartney in London in 1966, I would go to every gig in London ever, and then make McLennon a reality.
Musically or otherwise, what are you most looking forward to this year?
Festivals!!! I grew up on them, wishing I could play and we’re playing loads this summer!!! I also really wanna have some under-18 gigs because I write my lyrics for teenage girls and I haven’t been able to sing them to them yet. But mainly, I got a banjo for Christmas and I need to learn it in time for the summer so I can sit on a hay bale and jig.
Which track of yours should a first-time listener start with, and why?
To quote the Sound of Music, the beginning is the very best place to start! ‘Won’t You Be Happy’ is the song where I figured out how I sing and where I figured out what my sound was gonna be.
With Bob Vylan, St Vincent, girl in red, Lizzy McAlpine and more.