Edinburgh-Based Singer/Songwriter Eve Simpson Releases Moving Ode to Self-Discovery ‘All Her Strange’
South Shields-born and Edinburgh-based singer/songwriter Eve Simpson is back with her latest single, “All Her Strange,” an ode to self-discovery and self-acceptance out now. The track, featured on her upcoming EP by the same name, is a mellow ballad, acoustic guitar perfectly melding with light piano and Simpson’s soothing, folk-inspired vocals. Fiddle swoops in during the first pre-chorus, along with drums for a well-rounded sound that manages to capture the confessional intimacy of inspirations Joni Mitchell and Laura Marling. With lyrics that call to meadows, rain, and Edinburgh by name, Simpson poetically muses, “Maybe I want children / But I think I’m too young / Only realized my youth when I turned 21.”
Written during the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020 upon her return to South Shields from university and a new life in Edinburgh, “All Her Strange” is one of Simpson’s most personal tracks yet. “It is a track about embracing my differences, quirks, and weirdness and surrendering to who I am and my own imperfections,” she shares. “It is about acknowledging wrong-doings, but refusing to change those parts of yourself that are fundamentally who you are.”
Simpson balances her storytelling and inspiration between the two worlds she inhabits: Edinburgh and South Shields. She describes the EP as, “a coming-of-age exploration of love, growth, misogyny, grief, and heartbreak.” Within this realm, she transports the listener through her time at university in Scotland, navigating the trials and tribulations of a frightening and beautiful period of life. The Youth Music NextGen Fund was awarded to Simpson to support the making of this EP, with prestigious partners like TikTok, People’s Postcode Lottery and Turtle Bay.
This self-discovery is touched upon not just lyrically but sonically, the pull of her Geordie roots evident in references and accent, and the sounds of the Celtic region found in the regional fiddle. Recording of the EP was split between Blank Studios in Newcastle and Haquin Music Studios in Leith. Keys and strings in this track specifically were recorded in Leith, and the rest was tracked in Newcastle.
Simpson’s past accolades include touring with Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, performing along Beth Nielsen Chapman, Kathryn Tickell, and The Lake Poets, and scoring the North East segment of a FOCAL International award-winning film. Simpson has been featured on BBC Introducing, BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio Scotland (Iain Anderson), Cambridge Radio, and the SoundCloud editorial Hot UK Pop. Past praise has come from Lock Magazine, SNACK Mag, NARC, Listen to Discover, Rough Online, Mystic Sons, among many other press tastemakers.
Recently, she has performed her latest tracks (which have amassed 25K streams) at venues such as Edinburgh Hogmanay, Celtic Connections, Sofar Sounds (Glasgow, Edinburgh), Sneaky Pete’s Edinburgh Fringe Showcase, and Virgin Media Hotels. Simpson’s highly-anticipated EP tour is set for spring.
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