Emmy The Great
We caught up with Emmy just before the release of her debut album.
Emmy The Great released her debut album 'First Love' a week or so ago (you might recognise it from the picture over there >). We caught up with her just before the release to talk about self-releasing (good), writing angsty songs (embarrassing), and what distinguishes her from other female singer/songwriters (not much, apparently).
Hello Emmy The Great! How are you today?
I'm fine t-o-d-a-y.
We read in an interview you did with The Times back in 2007 that the label you're currently releasing through, Coast Harbour, is your own. What are the advantages of releasing this way?
I think we just have complete control over every decision, which isn't always the best for sanity, but it's good in the end because there are things that I wanted to that would never have gotten past your average A&R, and shouldn't have because they were ridiculous.
Did you have any prior experience on the other side of a label before you started, the business side?
Well I don't do the business side now, so no. I've never had any prior experience.
So you haven't had any trouble with that, everything's been OK?
Laura does everything, my manager.
So your long-awaited debut album, 'First Love', is out next month. Sounds quite angst-y. Was it therapeutic to write?
Yeah, it was literally therapy to write. And sometimes when I listen back to the songs, I'm a bit embarrassed because I've really evened out, but at the time I had to write them because he wouldn't listen to me. So I had to write the songs.
To what extent do you care about your listeners when composing a song? Do you ever tear apart a song to suit radio or a live show, for example?
Literally never. I can't think about other people because I don't have the song writing skills. I'm not like a craftsman. I can only write something if I really, really feel it, and the only reason I want to write a song is because I want to express something or I want to work out a situation. I don't even want to play them to people.
What do you think distinguishes your music from other female singer/songwriters?
It depends on the song. I don't think it's particularly distinguishable.
You don't think it's unique?
Almost everybody sounds basically the same as each other. That's why you can't try and be anything certain, you can only be exactly yourself.
The tour you've got coming up is pretty extensive. Do you find singing such emotionally-charged music night after night tiring?
No, because I'm kind of over it now. Now they're just songs, and some nights it's a bit boring to play certain songs, but some nights when we're really feeling it, it's exciting. It's like they're new again.
Which do you think will be better — shows on the First Love tour preceding the album release or those that come after it's hit the shelves?
I think after, definitely. Because we played a couple of gigs in October, and we would play a song and they were like, "Yeah!" And then we'd realize that they didn't know what it was, while they were so familiar to us. And that's something else, I'd really like to hear people's reactions that aren't, you know, paid to have an opinion. Just genuine people who bought the album for no reason other than they just wanted to hear it.
And, finally, which new bands or artists do you think we should be keeping an eye on in 2009?
Micachu. The Invisible. And Los Campesinos — they are my favourite band.
Subscribe to the DIY News Feed
