Emzae is a singer and electronic musician who has been recording and performing her own songs since 2014. After various demos her debut long-player ‘Double Life’ was an ambitious concept album about a fictional pop singer. It showed her versatility and range; from the frenetic 80s synthtastic pace of ‘Alter Ego’ and ‘We Hate You’ to the leisurely atmosphere of ‘Lounge’ and compact pop template of ‘Star Sign’.
Impressive indeed, then follow-up singles opened up new landscapes – starting with the much streamed ‘Lucid Dreaming’ (a dream during which the subject is aware that they are dreaming) which was a simple structure with a seemingly infinite number of textures and colours to frame Emzae’s entrancing vocals. Four experimental remixes added to the intrigue.
Recently ‘Glory’ started with an electric piano introduction then added echoing semi-ambient keyboards and bass lines. As the track built up with percussion and strange slowed-down vocal interventions weaving with a catchy hookline it was a darkly satisfying composition.
So now we have a new single to accompany some live dates in the UK. ‘Another Lesson Learnt’ is an atmospheric, assured track; throughout an electronic drumbeat drives the narrative with the words addressing the idea that society pressures all to find love in order to be secure and complete and how that can lead to wrong choices.
‘…I want to belong, just like anyone….in our quest for unity we get ourselves burnt….’, like many of her lyrics, the heartfelt emotion comes through in her haunting vocals. The instrumentation is complex and confident, the messages strongly expressed. Finally that pulsing beat stops, leaving just the multi-tracked voices to drift off into the ether…..
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