Interview with an Artist: Emerauld
Hey! I’m Emerauld, I’m an 18-year-old artist from Adelaide and I make Indie Pop/Rock music! I graduated High School last year, meaning I am now a full-time musician, so I’m working on new music with an EP being released late this year (yay I’m so excited). I have regular solo gigs and I’m also working hard at getting into the band scene right now! In my downtime I’m a bit of a crochet nerd, I love it and I have more wool than I’ll ever use but I always need more! My ultimate life goal is to morph into a crazy cat lady when I’m older. I listen to a ridiculous amount of different genre music but going to sleep, I neeeeeeed asmr! My ideal night out would end with a Green Tea Mango Mantra Boost Juice, good sushi, then bed by 10pm…… except if I’ve been to a music concert, then I’m hyped for days, can’t sleep, I’m so inspired creatively and there’s like an urgency to get all my ideas out…… and that leads to other ideas!! Sleep deprivation is the only end to that circle, but I love it!
How did you get started in music?
I first started getting into music when I was in primary school, I remember having a solo singing part in a school play that went well. I then got a ukelele, looked up some YouTube demos and taught myself how to play a few tunes that I could sing to. I also remember seeing a 14-year-old Grace Vanderwaal on America’s Got Talent and was totally inspired. A key part of my beginning in music was the feeling of being happy, it’s super cheesy but my entire schooling experience was a bit rocky. Writing music and poetry was how I made sense of some pretty intense bullying. I wrote one of my most successful releases in that ‘era’, it’s called ‘In the Silence’ and I was 11 when I wrote it. It was clear from then that music was going to form my life. I applied to be a student at a special interest music school that was an hour and a half travel from my house just for the music classes and I did that until I graduated year 12 last year.
Who are you inspired by?
At the moment, I’m really inspired by a big mix of artists but I’m loving the in-depth lyrics from Paramore! I also anything on the heavy side gets turned right up and has me jumping around like I’m in my own private mosh. Then when I need to mellow, I run straight back to Cavetown, who I have loooooved for years, they are my familiar comfy faves!
Bring Me The Horizon and Paramore have got to be my top two right now! I really love the lyrics of Paramore and how each song is so different from the last, it just inspires a lot of in depth song writing! Bring Me The Horizon on the other hand just fills me with such big emotions and makes me want to jump around and throw shit!! I would love to be able to replicate that feeling of just ‘massiveness’ with my own listeners.
What has your favourite performance/gig been that you’ve played? And what made it your favourite?
I have 2! One was Scouted ’23, it was huge for me, this was where I made the step from solo to band performance. It was super exciting and I was literally running from venue to venue trying to catch as many artists as I could, I was so stoked to be part of that!
The other was IndieFest. As well as perform, I was asked to be the ‘social media face’ and record interviews with all the bands, that was cool! Playing that gig was hectic and amazing! IndieFest was filled with a bunch of different genres and all different local bands/artists at Uni Bar, loved it!! I’m a new fan of some SA artists now.
What songs are sound tracking your life at the moment?
Lately I have been absolutely addicted to Asphalt by Molly Rocket. I saw them perform this song live at Indie Fest and it really was just such an amazing song. every time I hear the line ‘I haven’t felt this good in years’ I just feel a little bit warmer, as if all the good things that have happened to me are just hugging me.
Another song that has been sending me around the wringer is Can You Feel My Heart by Bring Me The Horizon. It’s their most popular song, and it’s how I found them through social media, but every single time I hear that song I just feel like a 10 foot tall emotional disaster. The chord progression in the song just hits so different and itches my brain in so many cool ways.
What advice would you give other young people who are thinking of starting their music journey?
Perform as much as you can, everywhere! People often comment on my confidence as a performer and that’s where it comes from. I’ve been busking, going to open mics and performing everywhere I could for years. Get lessons, collaborate and jam with others, jump on You Tube for some great free stuff to learn. Also write, whether it be poetry, lyrics or a journal, just start writing!