Emma Louise . .
PASSION
REKINDLED
WORDS: SAM DAVIS / IMAGES: SUPPLIED
E
mma Louise is only as happy as
her songs let her be. “If I haven’t
written a good one in a few weeks,
it can be real doom and gloom,” the
Cairns songstress says earnestly down a
crackly phone line.
“I guess I only feel as good as the next song
that I write. Cairns musician, Terry Doyle
once told me that - and it’s so true.” It’s a
startling confession for someone who says
she stopped playing music for a year and
contemplated a career in fashion instead.
Combining a rare flair for songwriting with
inspired musical arrangements, Emma
Louise’s sophomore offering, Supercry, is
a synth-heavy affair accompanied by often
hauntingly sombre melodies. The album’s
lead single, ‘Talk, Baby Talk’, opens with
hypnotic vocal percussion before a gentle
crescendo leads into its refrain. ‘But all I
want to do baby is just talk all night…’
The pre-chorus samples noises Emma
Louise captured while touring the world.
“I had recorded trains in Japan and put
that in there,” she says. “That was such
an exciting song - when it came together
with the synths and samples. With
Supercry, I was sort of experimenting.”
The experimentation hasn’t stopped
either. Emma Louise started composing
a new song after hearing the sound her
phone makes when a text message is
sending. “It sort of mimics a heartbeat,”
she says.
But the song is still only as good as
its foundations. “I like playing with
sounds but I think my heart is truly in
songwriting,” she says. “I always try to
bring the emotion and feel of the song out.
Even the artwork, everything has to be a
reflection of that. “I still love raw music.
I’ll definitely do that again. And I want to
do a super-stripped back album. Music in
its rawest form is something I love.”
Emma Louise returned home in September
to perform to an adoring crowd at the Tanks
Arts Centre, where songs from her new
album were gratefully received.
“It’s my favourite venue in Australia,” she
says. “It’s so beautiful. And I know I’m a
bit biased. I’m so lucky growing up as a
performer to have played there.
Oct|Nov 2016 |
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