Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Joel X Eleanor
Joel and Eleanor are on a mission to bring color, drama and fun to the world. We come from drab, colorless backgrounds – a world of beige carpets, mouldy windows and concrete apartment blocks. We’re surrounded by music scenes that are obsessed with looking and sounding bored, sad, spiritless. We’ve been bullied for wearing matching band t-shirts, we’ve been sneered at for hoping for the best. But we make our lives liveable by making music that’s the polar opposite of where we come from. We want to touch the lives of others just like us.
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
Eleanor: I grew up in a creative family, so music and literature were a big part of my childhood and I remember singing together at Christmas and my great auntie teaching me Hungarian folk songs. But if I have to name a ‘first’ I clearly remember dancing and singing along to a 90s Europop cassette and telling my parents that I want to be a singer. I must’ve been 4-5 years old.
Joel: My dad was the only one in my family who liked music. He would play those compilation Now That’s What I Call CDs back when we were living in Mozambique.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
Eleanor: I’ve been singing from a young age, but then in primary school I also discovered I was quite good at writing poetry, and it eventually dawned on me that lyrics are poetry! Or at least I think they should be. So making music was just the natural next step. As a teenager I also auditioned for a band that already had their songs ready, and I didn’t feel comfortable simply learning other people’s work. I wanted to sing my own songs. So yeah, must’ve been 13 when that became clear to me, that I didn’t just want to perform, I needed to create the songs too.
Joel: It started when I learned the guitar when I was 11. Almost everyone I knew at school could play the guitar but no one was creative. I was the one bringing people together to play original songs at school concerts. I also encouraged my friends to write lyrics. The first song I ever wrote was called The Girlfriend Blues – my friend had never sung or written anything before and he was quite nervous, so I told him to write lyrics about how his girlfriend broke up with him, and then I played a guitar solo.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
We’ve been writing and performing music together since 2019. From 2022 to 2025, we received a small cult following in the London underground music scene as the rock band ‘Sweet Anna’, and we are now targeting a broader audience as the pop/rock duo called Joel X Eleanor. Our first single as a duo, ‘How Long’, was released on 17 September 2025. This is our current bio:
“Joel and Eleanor are on a mission to bring color, drama and fun to the world. We come from drab, colorless backgrounds – a world of beige carpets, mouldy windows and concrete apartment blocks. We’re surrounded by music scenes that are obsessed with looking and sounding bored, sad, spiritless. We’ve been bullied for wearing matching band t-shirts, we’ve been sneered at for hoping for the best. But we make our lives liveable by making music that’s the polar opposite of where we come from. We want to touch the lives of others just like us.”
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
Hall and Oates meet Foo Fighters. Alt rock disguised as pop.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
Joel: Learning how to record and produce our own music was a game-changer because it means we don’t have to rely on other people for the essential tasks involved in making music, and we don’t get delayed unnecessarily. And for auxiliary tasks like photoshoots, we learned that reliability beats skill (our photographer has both, but you know what I mean!)
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
Joel: Our Scarlett audio interface, Ableton (basic version comes for free with the Scarlett) and Da Vinci Resolve for content creation. And of course my Fender Jazzmaster guitar, Höffner bass guitar and Guild acoustic guitar!
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
We really like these bands from London called Poltergeist and Devices. We shared the stage with them a lot in our previous band Sweet Anna.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
We experienced a lot of hopelessness, not being able to fit in, being bullied. And we were able to cope with that by imagining that something better is out there. Because of that, we only make music that feels uplifting – even if the themes are dark or sad.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
Hope, motivation, vitality. If they’re in a depressed stupor, we want to help spur them to action.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
Joel: Put my faith in Eleanor’s vision.
Eleanor: Music has taught me that in order to make a song the best it can be you have to put aside your embarrassment and you have to let yourself be vulnerable. Making music is not a solitary activity – showing that first draft to Joel is still quite nerve-wracking! But by the time the song makes it in front of an audience, I already know it’s perfect.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Eleanor: Sziget because it’s the biggest one in Hungary and we’d love to play in my home country! And then there’s Coachella – we love the desert so it would be the perfect backdrop to a concert! And finally Rock In Roma – you just can’t beat that name. And Marilyn Manson is performing there in 2026!
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Eleanor: I want to collaborate with Till Lindemann (from Rammstein) because his deep dramatic vocal style would complement me really well. I want a duet with him! If you know anyone who knows him, please tell him and let’s get the ball rolling!
Joel: I want to collaborate with Tom Verlaine (from Television) because he’s written the strangest guitar riffs I’ve ever heard which still sound good enough to hang a song onto. Whenever I need inspiration I tune in to his music.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/71MWkMKazYJkoTnoMY7v0P
Apple Music: music.apple.com/ca/artist/joel-x-eleanor/1836750324
Amazon Music: music.amazon.co.uk/artists/B0FPBKT71P/joel-x-eleanor
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joelxeleanor
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@joelxeleanor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joelxeleanor/
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
Joel: Our goal is to release at least 8 singles in 2026. We’re ahead of schedule and it could be 12 singles – so maybe we’ll release some of them as one big EP!
We are going to attract a loyal fanbase from around the world, because we are prolific, consistent, and high quality.
Eleanor: Once the fanbase is established, we will tour the world!
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
Some people call themselves “different” but are really all the same. Joel X Eleanor are truly different – and people often have a visceral gut reaction when they look at us. We hope people will learn that we deserve to be loved and that it’s okay for them to embrace their own weirdness too.
