Guildford singer and songwriter Emma Stevens is back in her hometown on Feb 25 with a gig at Bar des Arts, where she regularly played before winning the attentions of Radio 2's Terry Wogan and Chris Evans. Now she is co-headlining a nationwide tour with a new single 'Make My Day'. Here she speaks to Emily Horton as her career began to take off and reveals how her late mum inspired her success
I suspect Guildford musician and songwriter Emma Stevens has just had the best week yet of her aspiring solo music career.
After an impromptu invite from Chris Evans to join David Walliams as a guest on his Radio 2 breakfast show last Friday, Emma returned to Broadcasting House to perform on Clare Balding’s Good Morning Sunday show, and was subsequently invited to join Nigel Williams on his BBC Surrey breakfast show earlier today.
It is therefore not surprising that Emma has arrived to meet me at Guildford’s Bar des Arts carrying two large bags of orders for her EPs, which she has received since her radio performances.
“The whole weekend was an absolute whirl of dreamland,” she says. “It’s such a big career peak to receive that level of support from Radio 2.”
And yet, despite the growing publicity and acclaim for her work, she remains unsigned to a record label and still funds her music independently. “I call it DIY music,” she says with a smile.
Knowing the difficulties of breaking into radio, she saved up the money to employ a team of radio pluggers, and succeeded in having not one, but two of her songs chosen for Radio 2’s weekly playlist this year. Listeners may recall hearing Once and A Place Called You – music she describes as “haunting folk pop with a twist and lots of sparkles.”
The growing media interest in this former St Peter’s Catholic School and St Theresa’s Effingham pupil is certainly testament to her palpable drive and talent. She has worked hard to develop her skills from being a classically trained cellist in the Surrey Youth Orchestra to graduating from Guildford’s Academy of Contemporary Music in guitar. At 23, she wrote Wowowow for platinum-selling South Korean boyband SHINee, which went straight to the top of the charts.
These days, after trips to her musical nirvana Nashville, the 27 year-old’s musical range stretches from ukelele and mandolin to the piano and baritone guitar. To date, she has worked with artists such as Kate Nash, Passenger and Jenn Bostic, who she will again support on her UK tour later this year.
However, Emma’s journey has been tinged by great personal loss. Sunflowers, her forthcoming single, is a dedication to her late mum Tina, who died in March last year, just five weeks after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Asked how she has coped with losing her “biggest supporter and believer,” Emma says: “It’s like what people say, you just find the strength from somewhere. If it wasn’t for music I don’t know how I’d really cope as I’m just channeling everything into songwriting and performing. People come up to me after I play Sunflowers and talk to me about similar things they have been through. That level of engagement is amazing.”
Emma readily admits that she has struggled with self-confidence, but her mum remained convinced that she could create a solo music career. Indeed her mother’s courage during those last weeks renewed Emma’s sense of purpose.
“She was so spiritual and so fearless. It’s what gave me the level of security and confidence in myself to go ahead and just go for it. I feel like I’m taking her with me,” she says.
The pair set to work. Together, they planned a series of four EPs and Tina designed the covers as a present to her daughter. Put all four of them together and they reveal a larger painting. Touchingly, the artwork was completed just two weeks before she died (pictured: Emma's latest album cover, designed by her mother).
I can’t help but feel awe for Emma’s strength and tenacity. Out of great personal loss, Emma has transformed her belief in her abilities and her renewed confidence is taking her professional career to levels and places she says are like a dream.
It is obvious that Emma feels huge gratitude for the support she has received from her hometown, and in return, we look forward to watching her appeal and ambition continue to grow beyond Surrey’s borders.
Emma will be playing at Guildford's Bar des Arts, Millbrook (opposite Yvonne Arnaud Theatre) on February 25, from 8pm. Tickets: £10; to book, call: (01483) 453227
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Bianca Tuckwell
Emma Stevens
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