It’s not typically {that a} 17-year-old artist comes out of the gate with “celebrity” qualities. Taylor Swift and Lorde come to thoughts, and now they’re joined by New Zealand artist Emma Wagner, aka emerson. Her final single “You Actually Should Hate Me!” had a Sabrina Carpenter-style allure and was a shock hit on Spotify’s Recent Finds Pop playlist. Now she’s again with a shocking new single “I Need You To Know Me”.
Over the summer time, emerson teamed up with producer Josh Edmonds in his Auckland studio to craft the primary model of “I Need You To Know Me”. Later, she labored with Grammy-nominated producer Rory Noble to create a second model of the monitor—leading to two distinctive takes on the identical track.
“I Need You to Know Me” is about craving actual connection in a world that usually values appearances over authenticity. It’s in regards to the frustration of being seen as an object fairly than an individual – and highlights the strain between desirous to be desired and desirous to be identified.
Emerson says, “I wrote this track as a mirrored image of my very own experiences—the moments of questioning, what do you actually see while you take a look at me? Is it simply a picture, or is it me—my ideas, my passions, my coronary heart? This track is a message to anybody who’s ever felt like they needed to commerce a bit of themselves to be cherished. It’s a reminder that you just don’t have to alter, shrink, or strip your self right down to be worthy. If somebody actually desires you, they need to need all of you—past the floor.”
emerson chats about her whirlwind debut within the music enterprise:
Is the guitar your predominant instrument? And what guitarists do you most admire?
Though I began on guitar, I really feel like my predominant devices are each guitar and piano – particularly in terms of writing. I have a tendency to begin on guitar largely as a result of I write so much in my bed room the place my two acoustic guitars stay (my pink 6-string known as Patricia and my 12-string known as Jonathaniel). If I ever get caught when writing on the guitar, I swap to the piano, which is in my front room, and vice versa.
I actually admire Mk.gee. His guitar decisions and tones are so attention-grabbing. With a sound considerably spinoff of The Police, Mk.gee takes outdated sounds and innovates them, pushing tonal boundaries, and even creating new ones. I’m actually impressed by his sound and love borrowing some related tones and textural parts from his music in my very own songs in terms of manufacturing. I additionally actually like baritone guitar. Some songs I like are: “The Worth” by Abby Holliday, and “Angie” by Humble The Nice. I’ve been writing quite a lot of new music on baritone guitar.
Why did you resolve to do two variations of “I Need You To Know Me” – one with Josh and one with Rory?
Initially, Rockquest paired me with Josh Edmonds to provide the track. The recording was a part of the New Zealand On Air grant that got here with profitable first place on the Smokefree Rockquest Nationwide Closing. And whereas I actually favored the first model, it wasn’t the vibe I used to be going for. So I hit up Rory Noble (who I’d been writing with for different artists – he additionally runs my distribution at WAAVE) to see what he may do with it. We labored on it for a half day at his studio, utilizing the vocals and guitar recordings from Josh’s classes and reproduced it with the precise vibe I used to be initially going for. So Rory’s model grew to become the primary model, however I nonetheless felt the second model would join with listeners and simply supply a distinct, extra musical tackle the track. So I made a decision to launch each.
Will you be releasing an EP this yr?
No EP this yr, simply singles. I’m desirous to create a physique of labor and, for now, I believe singles are the way in which to go.
Do you might have any touring plans this yr? It looks like a tour of New Zealand and Australia can be the primary order of enterprise, however London, L.A. and Nashville would love to listen to you, too!
I’ll be touring regionally this yr, however I’m desirous to go abroad as quickly as I can! Hoping to hop on as a help artist on a tour in Australia/NZ and even the US!
Story: Larry McClain //Picture: Chontalle Musson
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