ONE of Limerick’s finest young singer/songwriters will launch her debut EP at Dolan’s this weekend.
The Caherdavin girl, now 26, grew up in a house filled with creativity and music. Both her parents are visual artists.
Emma’s first positive review came from her mother when she was overheard singing along to ‘Thumbelina’.
“My first musical love was singing along to Thumbelina and my mum came into the room to ask was it me or the film. Ever since then I have been relying on my mum to tell me I’m very good,” she laughs.
Emma graduated from UL with a BA in Voice and Dance at the Irish World Academy in 2013 and the new EP reflects her musical creativity in the intervening three years.
The self titled debut EP was recorded in a studio in Dunmanway, County Cork arranged and engineered by Clint Fitzgerald. It features Emma’s vocals and Peter Hanaghan on bass while Fitzgerald added piano, guitars, lapsteel and percussion.
Clint Fitzgerald also produced and arranged Emma’s 2013 single ‘Bear This Child’ which brought attention to Langford’s music and songwriting.
‘Bear This Child’ is a song that deals with issues of mental illness and the emotional burden of depression.
Emma chose the metaphor of carrying an unexpected child as a burden that you don’t want to be carrying. She is forthright in discussing issues with anxiety and depression, sometimes her own.
The song ‘Tug of War’ from the new EP deals with this and the writing and recording of the song marked a watershed moment for the artist. It brought her through to a more positive place today.
“I got the sense that when I wrote it was going to be something special, it got an amazing response,” says the singer.
“That song came as a surprise to me. It was just a random rush of inspiration, it was written, recorded and put online in the space of half an hour.”
Written and posted online on February 15 this year, Emma admits that felt that she was stagnating musically and struggling to cope with panic attacks of anxiety .
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I couldn’t get out of my pyjamas. Couldn’t get off the floor. I couldn’t do anything”.
Emma’s coping mechanisms for anxiety attacks is to use exercise to break the cycle and creativity to speak out and share her experience.
“I had a quick half hour of exercise to get a burst of endorphins, went for a shower. That is where the song came from.”
The composition and performance of the song ‘Tug of War’ comes from a place of emotional and physical hunger. It is a soulful blues song in the truest sense of the word and has become inspirational for the many listeners who shared the video of the track.
“I didn’t have the self esteem to put myself out there but the way that song was picked up and the momentum that developed has put me where I am now, where I’m reaching a lot of my goals.”
Since ‘Tug of War’ went viral earlier this year, Emma has successfully run a Fund It campaign to record and master her debut EP. She played gigs in Dublin and St. James’ Church in Dingle, the location for the famous ‘Other Voices’ sessions and has organised a festival dedicated to female artists this Thursday 16 at Milk Market.
The reaction to the viral video has put Emma on the right track energy-wise for the challenges that have followed.
“Aside from helping me to deal with my anxiety, I’ve got so much feedback from people to say it helped them just to hear an artist talking about their experience.
“If you can find one thing that helps you cope with whatever you are dealing with, you never know what will come of it.”
The debut recording showcases Emma’s strong songwriting talent and her ability to incorporate styles from folk and country to gospel and even 1950’s Hawaiian pop music. Most of all it shows an artist only just beginning to tap into her potential.
The six track EP is led by ‘You are not Mine’ a fan favourite. Emma is now making a video filmed in Dublin on the set of ‘Peaky Blinders’ and ‘Penny Dreadful’ for ‘The Seduction of Eve’, a ballad about having your heart torn out of your chest.
‘Goodbye Hawaii’ is a charming ditty that finds Emma playing guitar and trumpet at the same time. You will have to go to her show to see how she pulls that trick from her hat. Inventive.
For the launch show in Dolan’s, Emma’s band will feature Alec Brown, Tadhg Murphy and Ray Yrure.
“The idea with most of my gigs is that I try something different every time working with different musicians, introducing new songs and telling different stories.”
Emma Langford launches her debut EP this Saturday June 18. Special guest is Nile St. James, another Limerick artist on the rise.
