Emika

Ema Jolly [1] (born January 8, 1986), better known by her stage name Emika, is an English electronic musician of Czech origin currently residing in Berlin.[2] Her self-titled debut album was released in October 2011 via Ninja Tune[3] and received generally good reviews.[4]

Biography

Emika, a classically trained musician who studied classical piano and composition,[5] grew up in Milton Keynes, England. She started to make music at school (literally, in a cupboard, where computers had been stored, as she explained in an interview)[6] and waitressed to save up for her first Apple Mac and copy of Logic Studio.[7] Emika received her Music Technology degree in Bath, then procured an internship at the offices of the London label Ninja Tune, where she worked for a month.[8] As Bristol music scene was making a transition from drum and bass to dubstep, she went to the first parties organised by Pinch.[7]

Speaking of the reasons that made her leave Bristol, Emika explained: "I was very ill, physically, I've had to have some operations which weren't very successful and led to more, and had a long period quite surviving from morphine, really... I was in bed for many weeks. And afterwards in Bristol I became 'the ill girl'... It was very difficult for me to recover and stay in that city". In 2006,[9] she took advantage of a free flight to anywhere in Europe granted by her bank, as she got her account upgraded, flew to Berlin on her own and decided to stay there.[6]

In Berlin Emika started working as a sound designer for Native Instruments, all the while honing her own ("uniquely haunting", according to AllMusic) musical style with her laptop, picking up ideas from the dance scene at the Berghain and Panoramabar clubs. Fünf, the compilation album of music crafted from field recordings made inside these clubs by Emika (who contributed her own track "Cooling Room", an opener), has been released by Ostgut Ton, as part of the celebration of the label's five-year anniversary.[10] Her job at the Native Instruments had an important role in her artistic development, too. "I am focused on the world of sound and the power of the human voice, the instant connections it makes with listeners, in music. In general I feel there is a lack of vocabulary in the field of electronic music", Emika later explained.[7]

Ninja Tune appreciated Emika's new, dark, downtempo dubstep direction and in January, 2010, released "Drop the Other" as her debut single, which has also found its way into the label's 20th anniversary box set. Since 2009, Emika has appeared on tracks with the likes of Pinch, Kryptic Minds, Paul Frick and MyMy.[11] Her second single "Double Edge" came out in May 2010[12] to be followed by "Count Backwards" (April, 2011)[13] and "Pretend/Professional Loving", the latter came out in September, 2011, and was remixed by Brandt Brauer Frick, Kyle Hall and DJ Rashad.[14]

On 3 October (October 11, in US), 2011, her debut album Emika came out (all four singles included), described as the mix of "bewitching, atmospheric melodies and glitchy electronic beats"[8] and getting good reviews.[4] Emika's music has been described as being influenced by various genres like early dubstep, electronica and classical,[15] critics compared her to PJ Harvey, The xx, Zola Jesus and Beth Gibbons.[4]

On 18 October 2011 Emika embarked upon her first American tour, supporting Amon Tobin and she has continued to play live shows all over the world throughout 2012 in countries such as Austria, Czech Republic, France, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, Russia and Turkey.[16]

References

^ Josiah Hughes. (2011-07-29). "Emika Readies Ninja Tune Debut". exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
^ Killian Fox. "Emika album review". www.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
^ "Ninja Tune artist page". Ninja Tune. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
^ a b c "Emika. Reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
^ Helen S (2011). "Emika interview (video)". Pulse Radio. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
^ a b Jules Hallam. "Emika interview". Ninja Tunes. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
^ a b c "Emika". ninjatune.net. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
^ a b "Emika biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
^ Kyle Ellison. "Emika review". drownedinsound.com. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
^ "Fünf". www.berghain.de. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
^ "Emika Discog Page". Discogs. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
^ "Double Edge". ninjatune.net. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
^ "Count Backwards". ninjatune.net. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
^ "ninjatune.net". ninjatune.net. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
^ "Resident Advisor feature". Resident Adviser. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
^ "Emika tour dates". ninjatune.net. Retrieved 2011-10-10.