Jacob Alon: Fife folk singer shortlisted for Mercury Prize on reclaiming power and their 'very honest' music
‘My home life was quite hard, school life was quite hard but music gave me a voice I never really had before.’
Jacob Alon has received national praise for their “other-worldly and raw” folk music, all compiled within their debut album.
The singer-songwriter, who is half-Scottish and half-Irish, has been shortlisted for the Mercury Prize for their album In Limerence.
But, unlike the singer’s 11 shortlistees, Alon is the only Scot to make the list.
Alon, who identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, spent most of their childhood in the Dalgety Bay area and attended Donibristle Primary School, then later Inverkeithing High School.
Growing up in Fife and raised by a young single mother, Alon first became interested in music when they saw someone in their primary school class playing the piano and then realised they had an old piano at home themselves.
Alon, 25, said: “As out of tune as it was, I was determined that my mum would show me how to play a song.
“That was the first time I was really excited about music. When I was about 15, I started writing my own songs just to make me and my friends laugh and also to reclaim power for various reasons.
“My home life was quite hard, school life was quite hard, but music gave me a voice I never really had before.”
They said: “I remember a family member telling me, as a child, I’d be a poor fool to ever become a musician. And it stuck with me.”
Instead of immediately going down the music route, Alon enrolled to study theoretical physics and medicine at the University of Edinburgh, though they eventually dropped out.
Make sure you keep up to date with news from across Scotland by signing up to our free newsletter here.
“I thought I wanted to save the world somehow, to help people,” Alon said. “But I think I really just wanted love and respect from my family.
“When I finally got it, I fell into a deep depression. That’s when I realised I can’t keep living to please other people.”
After Covid, Alon tried to move to London to start a music career before doing a stint of travelling around Europe in a van and then returning home to work in a series of queer nightclubs. They also became a regular at Edinburgh’s lauded folk clubs.
In this time, Alon found what they describe as their “chosen family” within the local queer scene.
“We hold each other up and I owe so much to them,” they said.
At the time, Alon was working in a small coffee shop, gigging any time and place people would have them. Within months, Alon gained a manager and signed to Island Records.
When asked to describe their music in a few words, Alon said: “It definitely falls into the world of folk for now. Spooky, alternative, gay folk.
“I’d describe it as very bare and very honest.”
Debut album In Limerence explores world of ‘fantasy and unrequited love’
The latest recognition Alon has received is for their album that came out this year titled In Limerence. The album was recorded in London and produced by Dan Carey.
“The album explores the world of dreams, the world of fantasy and unrequited love and a desperate longing to the point of near insanity,” the Fife musician explained.
“Limerence to me is this word I’ve found that encapsulates a feeling I’ve felt so much in my life. It’s this kind of impossible longing for a version of a person that you’ve created in your head that they could never possibly live up to.
“It’s condemning your heart to only longing fantasy and never a chance at real love or real connection, which I think is almost like a self-protection thing. I think it’s a very queer experience as well, but it’s also wider than that.”
Jacob Alon only Scot featured on Mercury Prize shortlist
First held in 1992 as an alternative to the BRITs, the Mercury Prize recognises the best new British and Irish music across a range of genres.
The Fife musician has been nominated alongside acts such as Pulp, CMAT, Sam Fender and Fontaines D.C. Alon’s record is one of only two debuts up for the 2025 award, alongside Hamstrings and Hurricanes by Welsh jazz musician Joe Webb.
“This nomination feels bigger than me,” Alon said.
“I feel like I’m standing on all the shoulders of my community and chosen family that’s supported me and that have showed me how to find and believe in my true voice.”
Alon looked back on what they described as a “terrible time” when they were a child where many teachers and family members “tried their best to knock me back”.
“People care now and that’s really important to me,” Alon said. “I don’t feel as alone anymore as I have felt for so long. That’s the biggest prize of all.”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.