Emmy the Great
Emmy the Great | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Emma-Lee Moss |
Born | Hong Kong |
Origin | London,England |
Genres | |
Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
Years active | 2006–2023 |
Labels | Drowned in Sound,Fear and Records,Moshi Moshi,Close Harbour,Bella Union |
Members |
|
Past members | Dani Markham[2] |
Website | www |
Emma-Lee Moss(born 4 November 1983),[3]known by her stage nameEmmy the Great,is an English singer-songwriter. She has released four studio albums,First Love,Virtue,Second LoveandApril / nguyệt âm.She sings in English and in Chinese.[4]
Early life and education
[edit]Moss was born inHong Kongto an English father and a Chinese mother. Interested in music from a young age, she used to go by train to her nearestTower Recordsshop so that she could buy the only non-Chinese music they had and, as a result, she developed a liking for bands such asWeezer,The Smashing Pumpkins,andThe Lemonheads.[5]A British citizen through her father, she moved with her family to London at the age of 11.[6]
Career
[edit]Her first credited appearance was as a singer on theLightspeed ChampionalbumFalling Off the Lavender Bridge.[7] Her first recordings under the nameEmmy the Greatcame in 2006, when she released a series of free demos over the internet while studying contemporary music at theUniversity of Westminster[8]
Moss began writing her debut album,First Love,in "dilapidated studios" owned byThe Earliesin ruralLancashire[9]and was released in February 2009. It spawned the singles "We Almost Had A Baby" and "First Love".The album was received with generally positive reviews, whileThe New York Timescompiled their list of "Best Albums of the Year 2009" and rankedFirst Loveat No. 7.[10]
Her second album,Virtue,was released on 13 June 2011. The album's lead single "Iris"was released as a digital download on 29 April 2011. Speaking of the album's recording process, Moss said that," It's been a very strange few months, and I can’t wait to make a record of them ".[11]Both albums are released on Emmy's own label, Close Harbour Records. After signing to the British labelBella Union,her third albumSecond Lovewas released in 2016.[12]
Collaborations
[edit]Moss has collaborated with several other artists, most notablyDev HynesandFatboy Slim(the latter as part of theBrighton Port Authorityproject). She has also worked withalternative rockbandAsh[13]on an acoustic studio re-recording of the single"D" – "Tracers"and also performed with them on theirA-Z tour.Moss recorded a cover of Ash's song"Burn Baby Burn"which was the B-side to her single "First Love".[14]Moss and Ash singerTim Wheelercollaborated on a Christmas album,This Is Christmas,in 2011. In 2013, she announced on her Facebook page that she had contributed vocals and lyrics to Gabriel Bruce's debut album.[15]
In 2011, Moss performed with Elizabeth Sankey ofSummer Campas a "super duo" singing "I've Never Had Sex" at the London Word Festival in 2011.[16]Later that year, a portrait of Emmy the Great painted by British artistJoe Simpsonwas exhibited around the UK including a solo exhibition atThe Royal Albert Hall.[17]On 31 October 2012, Moss teamed up withKate Nashon Halloween in a re-enactment of theBuffy the Vampire Slayermusical episode (Once More with Feeling) with herself asWillow.[18]
In 2013, Moss recorded original songs for the soundtrack for Sony Pictures'Austenland,which appeared in the film alongside an original score byIlan Eshkeri.In 2015, she wrote the end song forMystery Show,a podcast by the broadcasterStarlee Kine.[citation needed]
In 2017, she wrote original music forStrangers,a series by the filmmaker Mia Lidofsky,[19]as well as the original songs for comedianSara Pascoe's stage adaptation ofJane Austen'sPride and Prejudice.[20]
Other writing
[edit]Moss has written forThe Guardian,Vice Mediaand for music magazineThe Stool Pigeon.An article of hers, based on her time inOmahawithLightspeed Champion,is featured in theStool Pigeoncompilation bookGrace Under Pressure.[21]Her writing style has been praised as poetic.[22]
Personal life
[edit]During the writing of her second albumVirtue,Moss' atheist fiancé underwent a religious conversion and left her as a result, moving abroad to serve as a Christian missionary.[23]Her song "Trellick Tower" is thought to have been inspired by this.[24]She has since dated collaboratorAshfrontmanTim Wheeler.[25]
Discography
[edit]Studio albums
[edit]- First Love(Close Harbour, 2009)
- Virtue(Close Harbour, 2011)[26]
- Second Love(Bella Union, 2016)
- April / nguyệt âm(Bella Union, 2020)
Collaborative albums
[edit]- This is Christmas(Infectious, 2011) with Tim Wheeler[27]
- Austenland Original Movie Soundtrack(Madison Gate, 2011) with Ilan Eshkeri[28]
Live albums
[edit]- Acoustic Bonus CD – Live at 12 Bar, London(Rough Trade Shops, 2009)
EPs
[edit]- Take Me I'm Freeself release(2006)
- My Bad(Moshi Moshi,2008)
- Chris Moss EPInternet release(2007)
- Edward(Close Harbour, 2009)
- S(Bella Union, 2015)[29]
- Tái lai đích ái(Plumeria, 2018)[30]
Singles
[edit]- "Secret Circus/ The Hypnotist's Son" (Drowned in Sound,2007)
- "Gabriel"7 "(Moshi Moshi, 2007)
- "We Almost Had A Baby" (Close Harbour, 2008)
- "First Love"(Close Harbour, 2009)
- "A Woman, A Woman, A Century of Sleep"complimentary download(2011)
- "Iris"(Close Harbour, 2011)
- "Paper Forest (In the Afterglow of Rapture)"(Close Harbour, 2011)
- "God of Loneliness" (Close Harbour, 2012)
- "Swimming Pool" (Bella Union, 2014)
Music videos
[edit]- "Gabriel" 7 "(Moshi Moshi, 2007)
- "The Easter Parade" (2007)
- "We Almost Had a Baby" (2008)
- "First Love" (2009)
- "MIA" (2009)
- "Iris" (2011)
- "Paper Forest" (2011)
- "God of Loneliness" (2012)
- "Zombie Christmas" (2012)
- "Swimming Pool" (2014)
- "Algorithm" (2016)
- "Constantly (English version)" (2016)
- "Constantly (Chinese version)" (2016)
References
[edit]- ^Williams, Laura."Review: Emmy the Great at Bristol Fleece (11/10/11)".247 Magazine.Archivedfrom the original on 6 January 2012.Retrieved6 July2017.
- ^Bennett, Kim Taylor (14 April 2016)."Scrapbook: Emmy The Great Flips Through Her Old Photo Albums".
- ^"Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon 12 January 2017.Retrieved1 November2015.
{{cite web}}
:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^Emma-Lee Moss,Emmy the Great: 'It’s time to retire English as pop’s lingua franca',The Guardian, 30 May 2016.
- ^"Emmy the Great to release First Love".Music Remedy. 15 February 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 18 March 2012.Retrieved18 January2011.
- ^Adams, Sean (18 December 2009)."DiScover: Emmy the Great".DrownedinSound.com.Archived fromthe originalon 29 September 2013.Retrieved4 May2006.
- ^"Galaxy of the Lost by Lightspeed Champion - Songfacts".www.songfacts.com.
- ^Khan, Coco (12 June 2017)."How to crack the arts as a BME student".The Guardian– via www.theguardian.com.
- ^"Talking Shop: Emmy The Great".BBC. 10 February 2009.Retrieved11 March2016.
- ^Caramanica, Jon (18 December 2009)."Sumptuous Hip-Hop, Nashville Punk".NYtimes.com.Retrieved18 December2009.
- ^"Emmy The Great".PledgeMusic.Retrieved11 March2016.
- ^Mackay, Emily (13 March 2016)."Emmy the Great: Second Love review – a benchmark smashed".The Observer– via www.theguardian.com.
- ^"Emmy the Great's Blog: Ash are Amazing".Myspace.Retrieved11 March2016.
- ^"Emmy the Great defends BBC 6music".For Folk's Sake. 26 February 2010.Retrieved11 March2016.
- ^"Emmy The Great - Hello, I am so excited that Gabriel Bruce... - Facebook".Facebook.com.Retrieved11 March2016.
- ^"Emmy the Great and Summer Camp 'superduo' perform - video | NME".NME.2 May 2011.
- ^"Musician Portraits - Joe Simpson's paintings of rock stars".New Musical Express.14 October 2011.Retrieved11 March2016.
- ^"Kate Nash marks Halloween by recreatingBuffy The Vampire Slayer".New Musical Express.Retrieved16 August2013.
- ^"ABOUT".Emmy the Great.
- ^Treneman, Ann (21 September 2017)."Theatre review: Pride and Prejudice at the Nottingham Playhouse"– via www.thetimes.co.uk.
- ^"Grace Under Pressure Book".The Stool Pigeon Shop.Retrieved11 March2016.
- ^DeSantis, Harrison (18 June 2011)."Emmy the Great – Virtue".Culture And Technology Review Online.The Culture & Technology Review Online.Retrieved18 June2011.
- ^"Emmy the Great: The end of the affair | Music".The Guardian.Retrieved12 April2020.
- ^Simpson, Dave (7 June 2011)."Emmy the Great – review (Sheffield Cathedral)".The Guardian.Retrieved8 March2015.
- ^"Emmy The Great: The end of the affair".The Guardian.8 June 2011.Retrieved26 September2019.
- ^"NME News Emmy The Great to release second album 'Virtue' in June - NME.COM".Nme.com.11 April 2011.Retrieved11 March2016.
- ^"Tim Wheeler & Emmy The Great release 'This Is Christmas' today".Retrieved21 November2011.
- ^Everett, Cory (12 August 2013)."Review: 'Austenland' Starring Keri Russell, Bret McKenzie & Jennifer Coolidge".
- ^"EMMY THE GREAT has a new EP coming titled 'S'".Bellaunion.com.Retrieved11 March2016.
- ^"Tái lai đích ái EP Out Now".emmythegreat.com.26 February 2019.Retrieved22 June2019.
External links
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Official website
- Emmy the Greatdiscography atDiscogs
- Emmy the Greatstatistics, tagging and previews atLast.FM
- Exclusive Interview with Virgin Red RoomonYouTube
- 1984 births
- Living people
- Anti-folk musicians
- English people of Hong Kong descent
- English women singer-songwriters
- English singer-songwriters
- Hong Kong people of English descent
- Singers from London
- 21st-century English women singers
- 21st-century English singers
- Bella Union artists
- Noah and the Whale members
- Women punk rock singers