Upcoming UK-based independent singer-songwriter Emily Lockett has swiftly caught the attention of music lovers with a unique & charismatic style that infuses a variety of country, pop, & Americana.
Not long ago, Emily unveiled the brand new EP “What The Hell Have I got Myself Into?”, which explores a variety of emotional & impacting journeys.
The 4th EP from this gifted artist, this latest release was written over lockdown/early 2021 & recorded during Sept 2021 – May 2022 for Emily’s final year project at BIMM university for her songwriting degree.
Emilly took on the ambitious task of writing, recording & crowdfunding an EP. The songs depict a turbulent couple of years & showcase a range of emotions and a collection of fictional situations (but some may be a little factual also!). All the tracks were written by Emily & produced by Matt & Tom Bishop at Inspire Studios.
Emily has kindly taken the time to speak with Fierce & Fabulous Revolution regarding the release of her brand-new EP. You can find the full interview below.
Hey Emily, thank you for this interview. Can you start by telling listeners a little bit about yourself?
Emily: I’ve been putting out music since the age of 15 and the current EP (released on 13 Jan 2023) is my 4th. I’ve recently achieved a 1st class degree in songwriting and have been told that I’m a bit of mix of early Taylor Swift, Avril Lavigne and even Dolores O’Riordan. I also seem to churn out a lot of songs about unrequited love!
How would you currently describe your musical style?
Emily: I would label myself as country/pop sometimes more “poppy” and sometimes a little soft rock.
You recently released the brand new EP “What The Hell Have I Got Myself Into?”. How did the idea for this EP come together?
Emily: Well, I have to confess I was somewhat forced into writing this EP. I had a few song ideas already but then I started my final year at university, where I was completing my songwriting degree and was informed that for my live performance assessments, I couldn’t re-use any old songs, so I had a few months to put together 40 minutes of new material.
I also then had my final project to complete so I decided to research crowdfunding and eventually ran my own successful campaign and one of the “perks” I offered was physical CD’s of what then became my new EP “What The Hell Have I Got Myself Into?”. It was a pretty stressful time, writing and recording the final versions of each track and crowdfunding and delivering everything in 8 months.
How did you go about selecting the songs for the EP?
Emily: I like to try and get a balance of tracks I don’t want them all to sound the same or be a similar tempo but I also didn’t want to put out all my strongest songs out in one go either, so I’ve split these across the current EP and have a few in reserve for the next EP.
What are some of your favourite tracks from the EP?
Emily: I put the tracks to a vote by my backers once the first batch of CDs was delivered and “When You Walk Into The Room” was the favourite pre-release, however, my personal favourite is “Never Be You” because I was pleased with the production and it felt like a story people would relate to.
What does this EP personally mean to you?
Emily: It sums up my time at university, at least one song was inspired by events whilst studying and the successful completion of this project helped me complete my degree and saved me from having to write an 8,000-word dissertation! There were times in my final year at university when I really did think “what the hell have I got myself into?” as years 1 and 2 were greatly disrupted due to the lockdown and I’d taken on a large project for year 3 whilst trying to perform and be an active musician.
If listeners could take something away from this EP, what would you like it to be?
Emily: Well, I hope everyone enjoys it and keep coming back for more. Aside from that, I’d like them to really listen to all the small details in the tracks, there is some much work that goes into each track. I don’t like leaving big gaps in the sound when nothing is going on and can spend days in the studio just experimenting with ideas to make the tracks as interesting as possible.
Are there any songs that did not make the EP that we could see released in the future?
Emily: Yes, I had a few partly worked-up tracks that I simply ran out of time within the studio (due to my university deadlines). I’ve just started working on these again and hope to release a few singles and another EP (and maybe another crowdfunding campaign) in 2023.
I also have a track that didn’t make my earlier EP (Paint The Town Red)’ as it didn’t fit the general sound, which I might dust off. I also released a piano ballad track on the new EP called “If Only I” but I also have an idea for a much rockier version of this track as well so that might be released as a bonus track on the next EP.
You can check out the full EP on Spotify below or via further platforms here.
Fierce & Fabulous Revolution 