Eneko Lane’s (UK) performance of his original song “The Strange Things” brought a fresh take to the traditional folk music genre, making use of technology to become a one-man band by layering his vocals and guitar accompaniment. This new-meets-old approach proved to be a winning combinations, earning Eneko Best Performance in our Song Writing Competition!
Below, we talk to Eneko about the meaning behind his song, his connection to Celtic and folk music, and which songwriters are inspiring him the most right now.
Our Guest Judge Magou Samb said about your performance: “Eneko assumes the role of a bard, telling his listeners a story.” Where did the inspiration for this particular story come from, and what draws you to this bard-like type of song writing?
I’ve grown up surrounded by Celtic and folk music and it’s something I’ve always loved, and am most comfortable playing. In terms of inspiration for this particular song and it’s bard-like style, I just had a moment where the faint hint of an idea to have some strange things living under a bridge in constant philosophical thought popped into my head, and I wrote the song around it, quite like writing a poem, adding the melody at the end. I find that method of songwriting always leads me to tell a story, as opposed to starting with a melody and matching words to it, which normally ends up more emotionally based with much less narrative.
Magou also noted that your song “perfectly captures the stylistic elements of Celtic and English folk music in both its lyrics and music.” How did you discover your passion for this style, and how did you go about studying and learning it?
Celtic and folk music are my favourite genres and I have been listening to that sort of music my whole life, first hearing it through my parents who play in an Irish band. I started playing the violin when I was around seven or eight years old, and then roughly three years ago I became far more interested in it and began taking music far more seriously, starting up on tenor banjo, mandolin and the tenor guitar (a guitar with four strings tuned in fifths, like a violin) along with some other instruments, with lessons at the Irish Centre in London. Singing is my latest musical hobby, I started this time last year and absolutely love it! I’ve only started with songwriting recently but really enjoy it, and hope to take it a lot further.
You not only wrote your own music and lyrics, but you also layered your own vocals and guitar accompaniment. What was the process of performing this piece, and how did you edit it together into the final video?
For performing the piece, I came up with a melody and prepared the first guitar backing, which I recorded on the app Acapella. I then created the second guitar part through noodling about playing over the top of the first guitar, and recorded that too. After that I actually ended up changing the melody to suit my singing range better, and recorded the main vocals. I decided on the backing vocal harmony lastly through humming over the music until it sounded right. Other than making sure nothing was too loud or too quiet and a tiny amount of panning, I barely edited it any further.
Which songwriter inspires you the most right now?
At this moment in time, my songwriting is most inspired by The Oh Hellos and Andy Irvine, although they are by no means my only influences.
