E.M.M.A.

“If you like synthy candyflossy melodies and always wondered what a baroque ice cream van over bongos sounds like, you’re insane, but you might like track 9 on my album.” E.M.M.A. on Bowie, DiCaprio and her cat Janet.

Who are you?

I’m Emma, I’m 26 years old and I’ve been making tunes since I was 20. At present, living in London, and either spotted on the tube frowning at people’s armpits, in an office, or attending to my cat Janet.

What do you sound like?

Disney meets London in the 1960s, shoe-horned into a nearly funky beat. I try and think of my tunes as the theme to a 1960s TV show, in terms of how much I can squash in synth wise, and how long I can try and make it stick in people’s heads. Generally I’m trying to tread a line between simultaneously happy and sad music to confuse the shit out of people.

Why should we listen to you?

Weird, I’ve never thought of why people should listen to me. If you like synthy candyflossy melodies and always wondered what a baroque ice cream van over bongos sounds like, you’re insane, but you might like track 9 on my album.

What have you released so far? What else have you got coming out in the near future?

I released a 12″ for Wavey tones (‘Dream Phone’/’Rainbow Dust pt II’) back in February 2012, of songs that were two years old then, hence me just looking like I’ve appeared out of nowhere. I also released ‘Peridot’ on the Keysound compilation, which I like to think of as ‘Disney House’. My album has just dropped on Keysound (Blue Gardens LP), obvs.

What song sums you up? Why?

In life: Bowie, ‘Space Oddity’. He was inspired by the first images of planet Earth in the 1960s and space travel, I can’t imagine how inspiring that must have been then for an artist.

Out of my own catalogue, I think ‘Dream Phone’ was a real breakthrough for me. It was the first proper tune I made which seemed to sound like it had in my head originally.

What or who is your biggest influence and why?

Leonardo DiCaprio, I love that guy. We’ve grown up with him and I love how he approaches his work, he’s an absolute sincere genius of our times.

Where can we hear your music?

Blackdown and the Keysound fams have my tunes on rotation; you can also check me playing on the Kingsland Road, a night called Local on 7th September (Hysteria Bar, 578 Kingsland Road, with Slackk, Parris, Benjybars b2b Oracle. 8pm–2am, £3 on the door, free on Facebook).

Where will you be in five years’ time?

Hopefully in a lighthouse somewhere, with a typewriter, in the first stage of my reclusive years, like that lady from Abba. I will then make a comeback with a synth western album.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.

My dad accused Joe Budden (Def Jam rapper) of kidnapping me when I was 15. It was the days before I had a mobile and I’d gone AWOL in Moss Side. I don’t want to go in to any more details if that’s ok.

E.M.M.A.’s Blue Gardens is out now on Keysound Recordings. Find E.M.M.A. on SoundCloud, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.