Eli Carvajal : ‘Maiden Name’
Released last week, Maiden Name is Eli Carvajal’s second album, and that’s not all. This is the second album he’s produced completely himself. But that’s not to say you can tell –the production is immaculate, carrying with it mesmerizing arrangements of layered violins, harmonies and ethereal echoes, coupled with a certain tenderness that lends a distinctly personal feel to the whole listening experience. Just listen to the fast-paced twangs of Snowdrops or the longing whispers of Fort Heaven to understand what we mean.
Having moved to Bristol Temple Meads after needing some air from the Big Smoke, Eli found himself inspired by the sounds of trains coming and going – something you can trace throughout the album as the soundscapes of (snowblue) and (seamills) guide you through the inner workings of Eli’s mind.
Maiden Name is NOT a break-up album, though it was written during the tail-ends of a six-year relationship. This doesn't mean it should nor can be reduced to such a simplistic framework. Eli’s host of eclectic inspirations, ranging from Marianne Faithfull’s unfiltered honesty to Warren Ellis’s atmospherics is extremely evident, yet the album manages to carry with it the distinct sounds of the artist’s own musical vocabulary he’s crafted himself.
The lyrics are almost like a Trojan Horse – on the first listen, they are romantic, filled with warmth and yearning. Yet, as you get down to the core they gain more meaning – listen closer, and the biting statements about love, heartbreak, existentialism and hope will rise to the surface, making you smile from their unfiltered honesty, with a bit of your heart wrenched out (gently). Spoiler alert from Northern Town: ‘we were strangers once, we’re staying strange.’ We’ll leave that there.
The first time I listened to this album, it was on a long train ride and it’s safe to say that it made me a) feel like the main character in a feature film b) question everything I know about love (not a reference to Dolly Alderton) and c) desperate to understand how Eli came to write this 14-track wonder. We caught up with the man himself for the second time (after having spent the most glorious afternoon with him last year) and delved into Maiden Name.
PHOTO BY TILLY PEARSON
LB: Hey Eli, congrats on the new album, it’s phenomenal! It’s so impressive that you recorded the whole thing by yourself from your bedroom – could you tell me about how you went about this?
ELI: Prior to the pandemic I wasn't trusting myself – instead, I’d reach out to producers and other musicians who I could trust to be professional. But what I was really doing was deferring responsibility. So, when the pandemic hit, the timing was right and I thought if no one else will do this with me now, then I guess I’ll do it myself. I also recorded my first album, Incubabies in the first lockdown which is all about my family, so Maiden Name is actually the second album I’ve recorded by myself.
What have you learnt since your last release?
A year in writing songs and recording songs doesn't feel that long to me. In terms of writing, I’m not sure I’ve learnt that much. The songs on this album are actually older than the ones on Incubabies. As a songwriter, you have things stored up for a while which you might then group together and release as one, allowing the songs a new lease of life. For me, it’s not so much about the song writing but the performance – I’ve learnt how to perform in a way that is truthful and honest. Before the pandemic I was gigging all the time; I’ve been gigging solidly since I was about 15. I was singing very loudly, doing a lot of movement, it was a lot. Going back to my bedroom, not singing to please anyone, I always ask myself: am I saying this truthfully? Is this coming from my heart?
How has lockdown affected your creative process and where have you found inspiration?
The pandemic has knocked me off what I’m used to. My creative mind loves to move, but the pandemic forced me to sit by myself and consider what was most dear to me – my family. Because of the pandemic and the danger hanging in the air, you find yourself feeling for people’s safety in a time where everything you’re used to is being shifted. That’s why Incubabies is all about my family – writing it down felt urgent. And in this new album, I’m writing and singing about love; something that you want to be confident about but can’t be.
PHOTO BY TILLY PEARSON
You have such a poetic way of speaking, not to mention songwriting. Do you have any main textual or visual influences you seek inspiration from?
I feel like as you create and write, you grow. I’m 26 and have been writing since I was 14 – it’s a continuous flow of inspiration. What really inspires me are writers who say things in new ways and obviously the idea of ‘new’ changes through time. My dad keeps sending me all these romantic poetry books. I just read Tintern Abbey by Wordsworth and it’s that kind of feeling – he’s onto something, you can feel him becoming very excited and channeling his creative mind. I’ve also been listening to a lot of Adrianne Lenker because every time I listen to her it shows me something new about writing.
Maiden Name was recorded over a break-up but it’s NOT a break-up album as you said to me previously, because to pigeonhole it in such a way would be to reduce the album to something generic. How, then, would you describe it?
I write connection songs. I try to see into the heart of things and I try to see into the cogs of relationships, how I relate to people and how people relate to each other. I like presenting things clearly as they are, trying to present stories from the heart. Sometimes I do that, sometimes I get it wrong – I can’t get it right every time but that’s what I’m going for.
I know it’s like choosing children but can you single out a song on the album and tell us about it?
I have 14 children! The first track on the album called Isaac. The song lays out a vague and faded roadmap for what the album will explore and what the album’s trying to find in that song – it asks questions which I explore later on. The crucial lyric would be where I got the name of the album from: ‘something borrowed, something broken, something un-relayed, I’m going to find the missing letters in your maiden name.’ I think it’s just about the endless history of coming soul to soul or heart to heart with someone and sharing yourself with another human being and the mystery at the core of that – unexplained, something you can’t put your finger on, an impossible.
‘MAIDEN NAME’ ALBUM COVER
PHOTO BY LOUIS CHERNIAVSKY
TEXT BY C F SHERRATT