Interview: Emily Pellatt on her songwriting process & encouraging female artists
- hotpinkmusicuk
- Aug 27, 2020
- 3 min read
Last week, I got the opportunity to chat with Emily Pellatt a singer-songwriter based in Southampton. Recently, we featured her new single 'I Already Know You' which myself and Kay loved. We wanted to get to know the artist behind the track and learn a little more about her as well as her creative process. Inspired by artists like Tori Kelly and Alicia Keys and drawing from genres such as jazz and acoustic pop, her music is upbeat, fun and very relatable. Emily is definitely one to watch out for in the future, already followed by over a thousand people on Instagram and listened to by over a hundred people monthly on Spotify, you really do get the feeling her career is only just beginning.
Emily began to sing two years ago after illness meant she had to leave college. After leaving, she ended up getting a job at a local music studio, where she was encouraged to start going and performing at open mic nights. Originally using music as a "way to get through", Emily never thought about it as a career until things became more serious and she was being booked "non-stop", often gigging every night on a weekend. She told us that she is a person who likes to see what happens and that for a long time she didn't see music as a proper career, but now considers it to be hers. As someone with a large social media presence, Emily explained that her favourite part of being a musician is interacting with her audience as she considers that to be a huge part of what she does. Emily expanded that she also loves performing live with a full band, giving people a good atmosphere from the stage and seeing the audience join in with her,
In terms of writing music, I was excited to find out from Emily herself how she writes her songs and specifically how her most recent track 'I already know you' came to be. Emily explained that she began writing music at the same time as she began to sing. She described how at work she was scouted for her songwriting, which helped to kick-start her career. Emily was also honest with me that she finds the writing process 'difficult' sometimes and that she loves to work with other people on collaborations as well as getting other peoples opinions on her music. We also spoke about her recent track, which she told me is actually an old song and that she took it into the studio over a year ago. Emily explained that song originated from a jam session, only taking one evening and that the lyrics where created in order to tell a story. She also described how that before the song went into the studio, it sounded much more stripped back and that her producer really helped to build it up.
We moved onto the topic of gender inequality and things in the industry that can lead women to feel discouraged. Emily bought up the topic of body image and the fact that women are held to high beauty standards which can lead them to feel like they don't belong or fit in. She also described the fact that women can feel a huge amount of peer pressure which can negatively affect how girls feel about the industry. Emily explained that she understands why all of these things may impact women as they once impacted her and led her to not feel good enough for the industry. Emily also told me that she tries her best to help girls not to feel like this, by running open mic nights and encourages women to come as well as remaining real on social media about mental health. She expanded that she wants to portray herself as a positive role model to younger girls who follow her too. Emily also told me that her DM's are always open to anyone who needs advice on the industry or is struggling with the pressures of it. In terms of other advice she has to give, Emily told me her top tips are to do as many open mics as possible so that you can make friends with local musicians. She also suggested messaging local musicians that you admire as the worse thing to happen would be to be ignored.
Next up for Emily is new music, that she assures me is "one hundred per cent" coming. She also told me that her goal for next year is to go on a small UK wide tour as well as continuing to build her social media following. She explained that she's a very see what happens person and is very excited for next year. As always, all links to Emily are below!
Ruby x
Emily:
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