Rock legend Ray Davies was so blown away by the talent of Dorset musician Charlotte Eve that he offered her his backing for the release of her new single. Joanna Davis finds out more.

A SINGER songwriter has wowed Sir Ray Davies with her heart-rending music.

Charlotte Eve, 39, of Uplyme, near Lyme Regis, was invited by the former frontman of The Kinks to record her new single One Love at his famous Konk Studios in London.

Waterloo Sunset hitmaker Sir Ray said Charlotte's track was 'beautiful'. He first encountered her music on a week-long residential songwriting retreat in Devon. Mum-of-one Charlotte caught Sir Ray's attention with her songwriting prowess.

She said: "It was quite a privilege to go and record at those studios.

"I spent a week living at the song writing retreat and we were set different challenges of writing songs with Ray. He's one of the best songwriters in the world and it was an honour to be on a course with him. He wasn't intimidating at all and was very quiet and unassuming.

"It gave me the confidence to record and perform the song. Before that I was writing songs for other people. But Ray saying he liked my work and that my voice was unique gave me a lot of confidence.

"I haven't performed for a long time but Ray has given me the confidence to do it again. I think it would be a waste if I wasn't singing my own songs. It's a great feeling to be releasing One Love."

Charlotte recorded One Love, a ballad about the instability of romantic love, on the grand piano at Sir Ray's Konk studios, using the same microphone Adele used to record there.

The top notch gear at the studio meant every nuance in Charlotte’s voice was recorded.

Charlotte recorded the music video for One Love at the Victorian Rectory at Monkton Wyld Court, near Charmouth.

She said: "I knew the rectory because I run cob house building courses there with my partner Kate.

"The rectory is beautiful and I wanted the video to be really simple and classic, because it's a simple song and it's a very honest song and I loved the clean white surrounds."

One Love features a cello weaving around the piano and soaring vocals as Charlotte describes the universal fear of your lover being tempted to stray. The chorus pleads ‘don’t ever taste, don’t ever try, another love’.

Charlotte counts classical music as a major influence, particularly Mozart, and compares her style of music to Joni Mitchell, Marianne Faithful and Carole King and current acts such as Florence and the Machine and Adele.

"I've written hundreds of songs over the years," she said.

"I made an album about 12 years ago which I released and I've written quite a few poppy tracks. My favourites are the ones that are completely stripped back. I don't think you get many people writing well structured ballads now, just a really simple beautiful ballad."

Originally from Somerset and now living in Uplyme after spending many years in Norfolk, Charlotte wants to perform her songs in the Dorset area at any venue which has a grand piano.

She said: "I moved here about a year and a half ago. In Norfolk I was living on the edge of the broads and I could look out over the water.

"But where I'm living now I have treated myself to a grand piano and I can look out over a green valley towards the sea and play it. It's very idyllic."

Charlotte has previously experienced success recording TV soundtracks. Her song The Devil was used for the BBC3 drama In The Flesh. Her music will also be used in a future project being filmed in Dorset.

Outside of music, one of Charlotte's greatest achievements was building her own award-winning sustainable cob house with her partner and sculptor Kate Edwards. Using mud dug from the garden on the edge of a lake in Norfolk, they did the entire build themselves – even the thatch, which they did with reeds from the surrounding marshland.

Charlotte and Kate now deliver pioneering earth building courses to people from around the world at their home, which they share with their five-year-old son Wilf. Charlotte is passionate about sustainable living and has even stood for the Green Party.

But now the focus for Charlotte is very much on the music.

"I'm looking for inspiration for songs all the time," she said. "Sometimes the songwriting just happens. I can go to the piano and can occasionally write something in two minutes. That's sometimes how the best songs come about."

*One Love by Charlotte Eve is available to buy now on iTunes. Charlotte is keen to hear from any venues with a grand piano where she can perform and can be contacted at charlotteevemusic@hotmail.co.uk For more information on Charlotte's music, see charlotteevemusic.com