Empress Of

Empress Of
Birth name Lorely Rodriguez
Origin Los Angeles
Genres
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician, producer
Years active 2011–present
Labels Terrible, XL, Double Denim, No Recordings, Big Love
Website empressof.com

Empress Of is the solo project of Los Angeles-based, American singer-songwriter, Lorely Rodriguez. Ethnically, her parents are Spanish-Honduran descents. She gained attention in 2012 for anonymously releasing a series of 1 minute-long demos (via YouTube) prefaced only by a solid color entitled "Colorminutes".[1] Her first 7" single, "Champagne" was released soon after on November 5, 2012 through a limited run via No Recordings.[2][3]

Lorely's stage name was inspired by a tarot card reading she did with a friend: “The first card he pulled out was an Empress card and I was like, 'It's me, I am Empress.' [...] the Empress card is connected to fertility and mothering and strength. It's kind of nice to have those feelings.”[4]

On April 2, 2013, her bilingual 4-track EP, "Systems" was released via Double Denim/Terrible Records in the UK & North America respectively.[5] Since the release of her EP, she's showcased at SXSW, Iceland Airwaves and Pitchfork's Summer Music Festival[6] and toured as a support act with the likes of Jamie Liddell, Jungle, Kimbra and Florence and The Machine.

"Water Water", the first single off her debut full-length Me was released on April 14, 2015.[7] She has also revealed a Spanish-language version of the track, 'Agua Agua' "so that [her] mother listens [to her] music. Me was released on September 11, 2015 via XL Recordings/Terrible. The album was recorded in Mexico City.

Go to Hell, (presumably) the first single off her second studio album was released July 12. 2017 via Terrible Records.

Personal life

Lorely was raised by her mother in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Lorely's first experiences with music were listening to her father's cassette tapes of The Beatles and Pet Shop Boys.[8] She now resides in Brooklyn, NY. Much of her album Me addresses the hardships she faces living in Brooklyn: "I hate the rats, I hate the rent, I hate all these shitty guys, I hate capitalism. [...] I am getting cat-called in the street, just being a woman walking and I should just be able to walk down the street, you know."

Lorely has a degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston.[9] She cites Julee Cruise, Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins, The Zombies, and The Beach Boys as some of her musical inspirations.[10]

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK AUS CAN GER US Bub. Emerging Artists
[11]
"Champagne" 2012 — — — — — — non-album single
"Realize You" 2013 — — — — — — non-album single
"Water Water" 2015 — — — — — — Me
"Kitty Kat" — — — — — —
"How Do You Do It" — — — — — —
"Standard" — — — — — 34
"Icon" — — — — — —
"Woman Is a Word" 2016 — — — — — — non-album single
"Go to Hell" 2017 — — — — — — TBA
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Title Year Album
"The Way That You Like"
Pional		 2016 When Love Hurts
"Reformer"
Darkstar 		Made to Measure
"Best to You"
Blood Orange		 Freetown Sound
"STONEFIST (REMIX)"
Health & Boys Noize		 2017 DISCO3+

References

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