Eva Popov
Genre:
Indie
Region:
Melbourne, VIC
Sounds Like:
Jolie Holland, Gillian Welch, smog
This delightful songstress carries with her a delightful treasure chest of charming, melodic, melancholic and mesmerising tunes that wind around you softly and whisper messages of loss, regret, love and hope.
Interview: 18 February 2008
Eva Popov is the winner of our Fuse Festival competition. The lovely lady will be flying to Adelaide to perform at the industry showcase, as well as attend all the events at the festival.
more about this competition »
Describe your music ...
... often acoustic with some beautiful string lines, lots of lyrics that delve into things, sometimes upbeat, sometimes a little mandolin, often simple, often melodic with some harmonies and a lot of heart.
What is your first musical memory?
Probably trying to sing harmonies in old Bulgarian at my Dad's church. Or singing to my Barbie tape when I was three, "I was born, born with a mic in my hands, singing and a doing a dance," and wishing more than anything else that I could grow up to be a singer. My sister giving me my first piano lesson when I was four. I spent most of my life thinking I couldn't be a singer because I played piano. I'm still convincing myself.
How did you find the recording process for your debut album?
A mixture of joy and struggle. I had the most wonderful team of musicians making it with me - Nick Huggins, Melisa Collins, Tom Heathcote, to name only a few, and because help always would come out of nowhere just as I began to think things were impossible. Struggle because there were lots of sleepless nights worrying about how I could bring a baby and an album into the world at the same time (fate kind of lumped them together unexpectedly and I made the album heavily pregnant and with a little one being pushed in the pram soon after she was born). In between that there were some beautiful nights recording at Nick's house by the sea, some singing in bedrooms, studios and a church.
What's the best thing about making music?
There's a freedom to explore any question you feel needs answering, it teaches you to listen to your gut, it takes a lot of faith and forces you to believe that things will come together, it brings you into contact with other people in a way words and conversations can't, it opens people up and when it works it feels really, really good.
And the worst?
The insecurity. Putting your heart out and asking people to listen can be tough at times. Especially when they don't.
What was the last album you bought? What made you buy it?
Lucie Thorne's Where Night Birds Call. She's quietly brilliant. Songs that are completely unpretentious, real, poetic, and bring the quiet of the country to my kitchen.
What have you got planned for the future?
The Fuse Music Festival in Adelaide, and taking my album to as much of Australia as I can. Then I'm going to figure out how to record the next album, I hope.
Australian music is …
As diverse as the population of this country. Just walk through any folk festival and you'll see so many people from all walks of life doing their thing.