You may recall Eemia’s SHY being our album of the day recently. If not, you should check it out because it’s a truly amazing EP from an extremely talented new artist who’s sure to become pop’s new “it” girl soon enough. With songs that meld together pop, soul and R&B for a sound that’s truly her own, we think she’ll have very wide appeal, a la Duffy and Adele, which should help her gain new fans much faster than we gain new readers! Seriously, though, her music is stunning and heartfelt and all that good stuff and we hope you’ll read this fun interview and listen to her songs via the Soundcloud players we’ve included…
Your SHY EP comes out on Sunday. Is it being released worldwide or just in England for now?
It’s worldwide… I think? Ha yeah It is worldwide I know people have been downloading from Singapore and New York which is always exciting 🙂
Are you releasing it independently or do you have a record deal? If you don’t have one yet, I’m sure you’ll get a deal soon because the EP is brilliant in every sense of the word.
Ahhh thank you that’s always good to hear!! It’s being release independently 🙂 not signed just yet …..
You moved to London at just 18. Was that scary? I found moving to Los Angeles intimidating and I was 29!
Wow LA!!! .. To be honest it was one of those times that you honestly just ‘jump’ I mean if I would have stopped and worried and thought about the fact I didn’t have any close friends or family down here etc and all those money worries then I probably would have starting panicking … Badly… But I just went for it, and never looked back.
https://soundcloud.com/eemia-1/shy
I understand you grew up in the small town of Clitheroe in the North-West of England. Do you miss your hometown? Also, what are the biggest differences between London and your hometown?
Yes that’s true, well I was born in Burnley and grew up in Rossandale (not sure you’ll know it) lots of fields, but Clitheroe Grammer School was the sixth form I went to where my love for writing developed.
I do miss it, very very much. My family is still there who I miss, it’s always nice to go home to a full fridge and good homemade meals cooked by the best! (Mum)
Your bio mentions that you wrote songs with various writers and producers. Anyone we might know of?
I had a great time writing with the talented Steve Booker, who wrote Duffy, Mercy… Think you might know that track ha, we wrote ‘The Moment’ together, it’s not on the EP though but I love it! He’s such a lovely guy too!
Did you write all of the songs on SHY by yourself or did you have collaborators?
Yes I did, just me 🙂 that’s why I think I’m so proud of the EP and excited for people to hear it! Danny Andrews produced the EP with me so it was fun bouncing ideas together and getting the tracks just how we wanted.
You did background vocals on Leona Lewis’ Glass Heart album. What was that like? Did you meet with her?
No unfortunately not, Fraser T Smith, was so good to work with, such an honest nice guy! It was lovely for him to think of me and ask me to do the backing vocals.
Have you done backing vocals on any albums by other artists?
No I haven’t….
Your song “Shy” reminds us of Toni Basil’s “Mickey.” Was that an inspiration when you were writing the song? The other song it reminds us of is “Girlfriend” by Avril Lavigne, which we know was inspired by “Mickey.”
Ha I love that you hear “Mickey” I loved Lolly when I was younger ha!!! Is it bad to say I had, ‘Big boys don’t cry’ on repeat…
To be honest I wrote the track as a ballad on my piano, and then it was when I was deciding to perform it live at gigs etc me and my guitarist, Simon Goudarzi, started to arrange it differently and then the track went from there, I took it to the studio and “Shy” was made 🙂
Your album is clearly influenced by different genres of music, especially pop, R&B and soul. What would you describe your music as if you could only choose one genre? I know it’s a generic question, but I am legitimately curious: who are your influences?
It’s so hard to categorise your own music. To me pop is popular music so I’ll always want my music to be Pop… But with an edge, I love heavy beats underneath beautiful melodies. I love Florence and the Machine and Imagine Dragons. I love feel good music that you can hear at a festival and it doesn’t matter if the audience is completely out of tune and can’t hold a note they can still sing along and belt out to the song like they can!!
I like emotive music, music with feeling. When I was about 13 I became obsessed with Tori Amos, I loved her stories in her songs I loved the depth in something like ‘Precious Things’ I also used to wind my sisters up listening to Enya far too loud ha!! I loved the way her songs made you feel, her melodies her harmonies. I just want my music to grab you and make you think of situations or moments in your life whether happy or sad! I want my music to be relatable!
https://soundcloud.com/eemia-1/flame
Have you done much playing live yet? If so, are you headlining your own club shows yet?
Yes! Absolutely! Performing live is what I love! It’s so much a part of what I do and hope to do for a long time, you get to see an honest reaction and it’s real.
Do you prefer working in the studio or performing live?
I think from above it’s performing live haha 🙂
“Boxed,” “Flame” and “Need To Learn” all seem to be at least partially be influenced by relationships that didn’t work out. Are these songs referring to heartache you’ve personally endured? If so, were they inspired by different relationships or were they all inspired by one particularly complicated relationship?
At the end of the day I have 3 sisters and a lot of feelings.. Girls are very emotional!
Which of the songs on the EP would you consider to be the best description of who you are right now?
I’m working on a lot of new material ATM so you’ll have to stay tuned!! I love the heavy hitters like ‘Here We Are’ and ‘Need to Learn’ but the suns out so I think ‘Shy’ is definitely the one.
Since I’ve already played Shy at least a dozen and a half times, I can’t help but wonder when we might hear a full-length album from you. Any plans for that yet?
I’ve got a lot of new material that I’m dying for you to hear so again you’ll just have to stay tuned 🙂
Are there any up and coming artists you think we should know about?
I watched Mo Evans at a gig @Apartment58 last month, Definitely want to see more of his music!!!
Now for a few fun/random questions:
What’s the most formal event you’ve ever attended, such as a charity or wedding or awards show?
At the end of last year I performed at the Made in Chelsea for Kids in Chelsea event at the St Luke’s Church. It was an amazing event for a great cause!
Who are your favorite actor and actress?
Ooo too many, I have to say Leo ❤️❤️ …. And actress, have you seen Beast of the Southern wild?? Quvenzhané Wallis, she blew me away!!! She was stunningly amazing. What a star! So cute!
Who is your favorite filmmaker?
I have to say I love Baz Luhrmann’s work is beautiful, his imagination takes a film somewhere else!
What’s your ideal night out?
Oooo I love gorgeous cocktails and good food!!! Definitely a foodie.
Have you ever done any modeling?
No
What’s your favorite book and why?
I read The Host by Stephenie Meyer last year and can’t read anything that tops it, I really really loved it. The ideas the story line her writing… loved it!! And I’m a soppy romantic so I always love a dramatic story with a happy ending 🙂
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