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There’s never a guarantee of what will emerge during an interview – that’s partly why it’s so interesting to be able to talk to all sorts of artists. And even if I’ve interviewed an artist before, there’s always something new to discover.
In the case of Jean Elliot, a multi-genre artist from the Hawkesbury region of New South Wales, north of Sydney – which inspired ‘Devil’s Wilderness Theme’ on her EP, Butcher, Lover, Runner – we discovered that we had a strong interest in common: ancient history. Elliot is studying it at university, and I studied it for years. So you’ll hear us digress a little on that subject in this interview … Except I don’t believe it actually is a digression, given the epic, high-stakes nature of storytelling in ancient texts and the way that has influenced Elliot as a songwriter and artist generally.
Butcher, Lover, Runner opens with a country-influenced track, ‘Hole in Her Head’, and Elliot then takes us into a song cycle that includes moments of rapture, such as third track ‘Beneath Your Sun’, and bittersweet reflection, as on the closing track, ‘Highwayman’, crossing genres as she goes.
‘I never really think about genre when I’m writing,’ she says. ‘The idea pops into my head fully formed and we just try our best to translate it into something tangible.’
The landscape Elliot grew up in and around, and still lives in, has shaped the stories she wants to tell and how she tells them. It’s a place I’m familiar with – many Sydneysiders are, as we travel through it to the Central Coast or Newcastle – and a breathtaking part of the world. It’s little wonder that it inspires Elliot, and also that she respects it.
‘I’m contributing to a canon of thousands and thousands of years of storytelling about this place,’ she says. ‘I have to do so in an honest and loving way.’
Elliot has been studying philosophy and archaeology, along with ancient history, which all points to a fundamental interest in the intersection of storytelling and the questions about life and how to live it than many of us consider. She has honoured that lineage with her EP, and it was so interesting to learn about what contributed to its making and where she’s going next with her music. There’s also a great story about the building that appears on the cover of the EP – you’ll have to listen/watch to find out what it is!
Jean Elliot on Bandcamp
Listen to Butcher, Lover, Runner on Apple Music
Listen to Butcher, Lover, Runner on YouTube
