Emmy the Great

Emmy the Great
Background information
Birth name	Emma-Lee Moss
Born	(1983-11-04) 4 November 1983[1] Hong Kong
Origin	London, England
Genres	Bedroom Pop [2] indie folk
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Drowned in Sound, Fear And Records, Moshi Moshi, Close Harbour, Bella Union
Associated acts	Younghusband, Three Trapped Tigers, Elizabeth Sankey [3], , Brighton Port Authority, Dev Hynes, Ash
Website	www.emmythegreat.com
Members	Emma-Lee Moss
Past members	Dani Markham [4]

Emma-Lee Moss (born 4 November 1983),^[5] known by her stage name Emmy the Great, is an English singer-songwriter. She has released three studio albums, First Love, Virtue and Second Love.

Early life and education

Moss was born in Hong Kong to an English father and a Chinese mother. Interested in music from a young age, she used to go by train to her nearest Tower Records shop so that she could buy the only non-Chinese music they had and, as a result, she developed a liking for bands such as Weezer, The Smashing Pumpkins, and The Lemonheads.^[6]

A British citizen through her father and with the ending of Hong Kong's status as a British colony, she returned with her family to London at the age of 12.^[7]

Personal life

During the writing of her second album Virtue, Moss' atheist fiancé underwent a religious conversion, and left her as a result. Her song Trellick Tower is thought to have been inspired by this.^[8]

Musical career

Her first appearance was as a singer on Falling Off the Lavendar Bridge by Lightspeed Champion ^[9] She first emerged under the name Emmy the Great in 2006, when she released a series of free demos over the internet, while studying contemporary music at the University of Westminster^[10]

She began writing her debut album, First Love, in "dilapidated studios" owned by The Earlies in rural Lancashire^[11] and was released in February 2009. It spawned the singles We Almost Had A Baby and First Love. The album was received with generally positive reviews, while The New York Times compiled their list of "Best Albums of the Year 2009" and ranked First Love at No. 7.^[12]

Her second album, Virtue, was released on 13 June 2011. The album's lead single "Iris" was released as a digital download on 29 April 2011. Speaking of the album's recording process, Moss said that, "It's been a very strange few months, and I can’t wait to make a record of them".^[13]

Both albums are released on Emmy's own label Close Harbour Records.

In 2013, she released the soundtrack for Sony Pictures' Austenland, featuring her original songs alongside the film's score by Ilan Eshkeri.

After signing to the British label Bella Union, her third album Second Love was released in 2016.^[14]

Collaborations

She has collaborated with several other artists, most notably Dev Hynes and Fatboy Slim (as part of the Brighton Port Authority project).

She has also worked with alternative rock band Ash (for whom she has shown great admiration^[15]) on an acoustic studio re-recording of the single "D" – "Tracers" and also performed with them on their A-Z tour. Moss recorded a cover of Ash's song "Burn Baby Burn" which was the B-side to her single "First Love".^[16] In 2013, she announced on her Facebook page that she had contributed vocals and lyrics to Gabriel Bruce's debut album.^[17]

In 2011, a portrait of Emmy painted by British artist Joe Simpson was exhibited around the UK including a solo exhibition at The Royal Albert Hall.^[18]

On 31 October 2012, Emmy teamed up with Kate Nash on Halloween in a re-enactment of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode (Once More with Feeling) with herself as Willow.^[19]

In 2015, Emmy wrote the end song for Mystery Show, a podcast by the broadcaster Starlee Kine. ^[20]

In 2017, she wrote original music for Strangers, a series by the filmmaker Mia Lidofsky.^[21]

Writing

Emma has written for The Guardian, Vice Media music channel Noisey and for music magazine The Stool Pigeon. An article of hers, based on her time in Omaha with Lightspeed Champion, is featured in the Stool Pigeon compilation book Grace Under Pressure.^[22] Her writing styles have been praised as being poetic.^[23]

Discography

Studio albums

• First Love (Close Harbour, 2009)
• Virtue (Close Harbour, 2011)^[24]
• Second Love (Bella Union, 2016)

Collaborative albums

• This is Christmas (Infectious, 2011) with Tim Wheeler^[25]
• Austenland Original Movie Soundtrack (Madison Gate, 2011) with Ilan Eshkeri^[26]

Live albums

• Acoustic Bonus CD – Live at 12 Bar, London (Rough Trade Shops, 2009)

EPs

• Take Me I'm Free self release (2006)
• My Bad (Moshi Moshi, 2008)
• Chris Moss EP Internet release (2007)
• Edward (Close Harbour, 2009)
• S (Bella Union, 2015) ^[27]

Singles

• "Secret Circus/ The Hypnotist's Son" (Drowned in Sound, 2007)
• "Gabriel" 7" (Moshi Moshi, 2007)
• "We Almost Had A Baby" (Close Harbour, 2008)
• "First Love" (Close Harbour, 2009)
• "A Woman, A Woman, A Century of Sleep" complimentary download (2011)
• "Iris" (Close Harbour, 2011)
• "Paper Forest (In the Afterglow of Rapture)" (Close Harbour, 2011)
• "God of Loneliness" (Close Harbour, 2012)
• "Swimming Pool" (Bella Union, 2014)

Music videos

• "Gabriel" 7" (Moshi Moshi, 2007)
• "The Easter Parade" (2007)
• "We Almost Had a Baby" (2008)
• "First Love" (2009)
• "MIA" (2009)
• "Iris" (2011)
• "Paper Forest" (2011)
• "God of Loneliness" (2012)
• "Swimming Pool" (2014)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Emmy the Great.

• Official website
• Emmy the Great discography at Discogs
• Emmy the Great statistics, tagging and previews at Last.FM
• Exclusive Interview with Virgin Red Room on YouTube