Jeh Sea Wells

Jeh Sea Wells was essentially Jesse Welles’s early solo recording identity (before his full-band project Welles and before his later folk/solo era). He began under this moniker around 2012 (while still based in northwest Arkansas) and used it to self-release home-recorded albums, EPs, and singles. He began his career around 2012, releasing home-made recordings of his music … posting them on sites including SoundCloud and Bandcamp.

This period allowed him to develop his songwriting, experiment with recording, and build a local following in Arkansas. It also overlaps with his time in the band Dead Indian (formed in 2012) and precedes his move toward Nashville and the rebranding as Welles.

In short: Jeh Sea Wells = DIY solo phase; Arkansas roots; pre-major label push; richly prolific though less commercially visible.

Many of these releases were self-released, home-recorded, and may have limited distribution (Bandcamp, SoundCloud, YouTube).

The 2020 EPs (Non-Essential Business, Q2, Joe Dirt Cobain) appear to be later archive/DIY releases under the Jeh Sea Wells name even as Jesse was shifting aliases.

Some songs from this era (e.g., from Chaff) were later revised or re-recorded when Jesse moved into the Welles phase. For example, Chaff features two songs that would later be featured on Jesse’s ‘Red Trees and White Trashes’ album.

The name “Jeh Sea Wells” allowed Jesse to operate as a home-studio solo artist without the band identity or label pressure. The DIY “Jeh Sea Wells” era remains important because it established his songwriting voice, his Arkansas roots, and his home-recording aesthetic — all of which carry through into his later work even if the production style changes.