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Tuesday 4 August 2009

Interview with Emmy The Great

Poets I read growing up, my ex-boyfriend, being in love, whatever CD I’ve become obsessed with before I write a song, my guitarist Euan.”


Whilst this may read like the neurotic hit list of a scorned lover, it is, in fact, the recipe of influences that make for the goose-bump provoking Folk tales of Emma Lee Moss, or Emmy The Great, as she is better known.


With a new EP, ‘Edward’, out later this month, her inspirations will no doubt once again be laid bare to listeners and prevail in the way that makes Emmy so endearing and easy to relate to. But what can fans expect from the twenty-five year old’s latest release?


It’s actually old tracks, so if they are fans, they probably know them. It’s supposed to be an addendum to the album so it won’t particularly differ. We recorded them because they were requested a lot on tour and I suddenly realised they’d never been recorded.”


And having received positive press reviews for her debut album “First Love”, which Emmy released on her own label, Close Harbour, Emmy’s feet appear to have remained firmly fixed to the floor of realism. Something which is refreshing in someone who has achieved so much:


“I got into music mainly by accident and mainly by chasing boys in bands. The record label happened quite naturally. At first no one wanted to put out our music, and then by the time they did, we had a pretty good system of our own.


“I’m purposefully not very aware of what other people think of the album, just cause I learned a long time ago it will never be exactly what I wanted, but the feeling I get when I speak to people or when we play shows is that it’s gone better than I could have hoped. So I’m happy.”


Not just content with her own record label and a critically acclaimed release, Emmy The Great has also collaborated with the likes of Lightspeed Champion and Fatboy Slim:


Writing songs with anyone is worthwhile, especially if you’re used to working on your own, because they remind you not to get stuck in a particular method. I’ve really benefited from all the collaborations I’ve done.”


Typically ambitious, Emmy has also dabbled in music journalism, demonstrating her innate magnetism to the partnership of music and writing. Having written for Drowned in Sound and The Stool Pigeon, she isn’t necessary ready to focus on just one career path for the time being, (which, based on her incredible song-writing ability, stirs up a slight panic for our job safety here at Noize!):


“I still think I will be a writer of some sort alongside this, the journalism is part of it. It started out as music, but now I’m branching out a bit, but it’s all on the side as I really enjoy making music right now.”


And Emmy’s writing will be further exemplified with the release of her new EP on 10th August, which will come with a copy of her short story “The Wet and Windy Moors”.


For someone who seems to have the sort of enviable talent that makes them effortlessly brilliant at whatever they put their hand to, Emmy has the world at her fingertips. Luckily for us, she will be sticking to music and continuing to produce enchanting Folk for a while to come yet.

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