Emery Adeline Interview by Christian Lamitschka for Country Music News International Magazine & Radio Show

Emery Adeline Interview by Christian Lamitschka for Country Music News International Magazine & Radio Show

Lamitschka:
How did you choose the title for the CD?  Is there a story
behind the name?

Answer:
To me, it just made sense to call the record Killin’ Time. I feel
like it really encompasses the spirit of the songs. This little album
is kind of about the dead time between relationships. That space
where you’ve left someone you love or it fell apart for whatever
reason and you’re sad and you’re trying to figure out how to move
through it. Ultimately it ends with “Temporary” which moves into
the next relationship so the cycle can repeat. To me it just felt
right to call the record Killin’ Time because that’s what it’s
about, killing time until you feel ok again. It’s also my favorite
song on the record so that definitely helped!

Lamitschka:
What drives you?

Answer:
I’m driven by a strong desire to connect with other people.
For me, that’s always been the most beautiful part of music. How
incredible is it that someone can feel a feeling, turn it in to art
and then someone in a completely different place and time can feel
understood. Music, and especially lyrics, can hit you at just the
right time and truly change your life. I strive to create that in my
music, to be honest and make space for people to feel their feelings
and connect with me even if we’ve never met. If my words can help
just one person, then i’m doing my job. 

Lamitschka:
What is your favorite song among all the songs you have recorded and
what’s the story behind it?

Answer: It’s
like choosing a favorite child! I think it’s I Can’t Change You.
That song was a real turning point for me sonically speaking. It was
so different from really anything else i’ve written and when I
wrote it I remember thinking, “i think i just found my new sound”.
It was kind of the compass song on this last record because i knew
exactly how I wanted it to sound. It was easy to take the production
ideas I had for that song and translate them to the rest of the
songs. I wrote I Can’t Change You about an episode of my favorite
TV show Girls initially, but writing it was really the moment I
realized I needed to leave the relationship I was in. It’s just
about that moment of understanding that this person you love and care
about is who they are and who they are is not someone you need to be
with. No one is wrong, no one hurt the other, it just isn’t right
and you have to let it go. 

Lamitschka:
Who inspires you musically and how deep do your musical roots run?

Answer:
I’m
inspired by so so many people! I’ve loved music since I was really
little. I used to make my mom sing lullabies with me for hours. Some
of my favorites are The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Nancy Griffith,
Sheryl Crow, Alison Krauss, and REM when i was young. My parents are
huge music fans so we would always be listening to cool new stuff and
I loved it. I was always drawn to the lyrics of songs and I would
sometimes come up with my own versions of songs I liked. Now that I’m
older i’m really inspired by a lot of women. Kacey Musgraves,
Taylor Swift, Margo Price, and Maren Morris to name a few. I think
that women are doing such cool things and really pushing a lot of
boundaries. It’s very inspiring. I also how to throw out Gregory
Alan Isakov, Ruston Kelly, and Tyler Childers because they have been
basically all i’m listening to lately. Such incredible
songwriters. 

Lamitschka:
How much creative control do you have over your music?

Answer: One
of the benefits of really being at the start of my career and not
having a lot of other people on my team yet is that I have complete
control over my music! I’m writing all the songs, i’m deciding
what my sonic vision is, i’m coming up with the branding and the
visuals on all of it. it’s so much fun! I was also so lucky to work
with spectacular producers, Austin Bianco and Harry Baymiller, who
were really able to take the sounds in my head and translate them on
the record.  I’ve been working on finding my sound and my
unique message as an artist for the past 5 years and it’s been so
much fun to have it all come to fruition.

Lamitschka:
What’s unique about you that will differentiate you from other
artists?

Answer:
I
feel like I have a very unique take on country music. I try to be
blunt and raw with my writing and I borrow a lot from pop lyrics and
the way that they are written. I try to keep my writing as simple and
succinct as I can, i always feel like thats more powerful. I also try
to maintain a level of honesty that I think people shy away from
sometimes. All of my favorite music is very honest, and I think a lot
of times women are taught to shy away from the darker sides of them
and the parts of their truth that are ugly, but that’s really what
I like to write about. I was once given the advice from a songwriter
I really admire to find your shame, find the parts of you you don’t
necessarily like and write from there. Thats what people connect
with, that’s the music that changes lives. 

Lamitschka:
What has been your greatest challenge in music business?

Answer:
I always say trying to navigate the music business is like
standing at the bottom of a mountain that’s covered in fog. You
know the top is up there, and you know there’s probably a couple of
trails that you could take to get there, but you can’t see them.
You don’t know how tall the mountain is, you don’t know where the
cliffs are or where the forks are or where the trail gets really hard
to follow and you have to make your own. It’s a big guessing game
and what works for someone might not work for you at all. Finding my
path and figuring out where to put my energy has definitely been my
biggest struggle. 

Lamitschka:
What’s your favorite song that you wish you could have recorded?

Answer:
Oh there’s just so many it’s hard to choose! My Church by
Maren Morris comes to mind though. That song is just so easy going
and well done. It’s an anthem, it’s relatable, it’s emotional
but upbeat, and its just a very honest song. I would have loved to
get to record it. It captures a mood and a moment so well and i think
for those of us that grew up on classic country and really find
solace in music it’s something that we can all connect with.
Because listening to old country with the windows down really is
church to me and I would love to share that. 

Lamitschka:
How was the last year for you? What were your highlights?

Answer:
The last year has been really incredible. I have grown so much
not only as an artist but personally as well. I got to check a lot of
things off of my bucket list, including releasing an EP that I
recorded at Southern Ground in Nashville, being chosen as a finalist
for the Telluride Bluegrass Festival Troubadour Competition, and
playing at the historic Station Inn here in Nashville. It’s just
been dream come true after dream come true. I talk about this with
some of my friends in town, you know we all moved here with these big
dreams and goals and we get to live them everyday. If you told my 12
year old self that at 23 she would be living in East Nashville
writing songs and playing music as my job and hanging out with some
of the most talented and hardworking musicians in the world, who are
some of my closest friends, i would have died you know? Every day is
a dream come true. 

Lamitschka:
What do you think about today’s music scene versus its past and where
do you see it going in the future?

Answer:
I think the music industry is in a HUGE period of change right
now. Truly no one knows whats going on or where it’s going to go
and one of the coolest things about that is we get to be the front
runners of the new music industry. For the first time in the history
of the music industry, Artists have most of the power. You don’t
need a label or a manager or a publisher to make your career happen,
of course it’s really helpful, but you don’t need it. The
internet, as music as it’s really changed the way things have been
and taken away a lot of money from songwriters especially, has also
given us more freedom than ever. I think we’re at a huge transition
and I’m thrilled that I get to be apart of it  and help drive
how it all shakes out.