Pulp with Emi Wes

Artist Breakdown:

Name: Emi Wes

Age: 26

Genre: Genre-fluid

Spotlight Single: Whereʻs My Money?

 

Q & A

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What is your favorite song off the EP?

Well, it changes every week, but I think Whereʻs My Money? is my favorite right now.

 

Are you looking to pursue a specific genre of a set of genres in the future?

I already have many different things planned for the future and Iʻm trying to stay ahead of everything. My second EP is more playful with 60s and Disco inspiration, further along I have more things akin to a mixtape. It really depends on my mood!

 

What juice would you be?

Lemon juice—I am deeply obsessed with lemons!

 

Where did you pull inspiration from in this upcoming EP?

There is a lot of cello; There are a lot of strings in general with western elements. I’m using this EP as an introduction to my style. It’s a mix of different things but mostly western with some urban/hip hop references. We had a lot of people in the studio on trumpets, cellos, violins…we tried to have every instrument live.

 

What are your thoughts on using live instruments in an album?

Live instruments have a different feel and sounds more expensive—at least I think so. Live instruments give the project an organic feel and a depth to the sound. Strings are the most important to be live. The Spanish guitar in Whereʻs My Money? was played by a guy named Joe. I couldn’t have made that song without his guitar. If he didnʻt play it, the song would lose something that brought it to life.

 

What are you hoping to accomplish with your lyrics relating to your “fragile” and sensitive mental state in song like Issues and Five Miles?

It is important that I donʻt set boundaries for myself when writing. Writing songs is a personal thing to get some things out, once Iʻve written a song I’m already over it. Itʻs like a healing process, I have to mean it and feel it before I can sing it. Sometimes I finish writing and see that maybe itʻs too personal and Iʻm like “Oookay. Weʻre going to put that away now”.

 

How was working with Robin Hannibal different than other producers? Was this a more hands-on production for you?

It’s been such a big thing for me, he has become one of my best friends and a mentor. When we first met, I wasnʻt very experienced and didnʻt know my vocal range or how and where to use it.  We just clicked and spent a lot of time in the studio together without outside interruptions. We worked for three years together before we began releasing anything. Because of him, I was able to be very hand-on with the production together. He helped me actually write down my thoughts/ideas for the production and implement them.

 

What inspired the music video for Issues?

Ingmar Bergmanʻs work really inspires me. The video was a remake of Bergmanʻs Persona short movie. There is a scene where a boy is sitting and touching a picture of his mother. The scene in the music video is me touching a picture of my own face. I wanted it to symbolize self-care and being good to yourself.

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Why did you use a black and white filter on the video [Issues]?

Issues came out as the first thing people were going to see from me and I just really liked it. There was something about making it black and white that made it more open somehow.

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Where did those beautiful vocals come from in Whereʻs My Money (about 2:50 in)?

When we were in the studio, after finishing the whole song, we had a day where  we played the song over and over and I did some vocal chops over it. We were trying to see if something was missing from the song and then I just did something. I head it and was like “This is it. This is what was missing from the song.” Robin had me sing it again, reversed the audio, and I sang over that.

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~Reagan Thornley

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