CD Review: Emmaline Muchmore's Just a Cherry
Photo credit: Sean Smuda
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Summary
Emmaline Muchmore provides something for everyone, and legs that go from here to there.
The Chart
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Name: |
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CD (Release Date): |
Just A Cherry (November, 2005) |
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Primary genre: |
Pop, electronic |
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Secondary genre: |
Rock |
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``Sounds like'' (Emmaline's list): |
Annie Lennox, Fiona Apple, & Nikka Costa |
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``Sounds like'' (reviewer's list): |
Annie Lennox (voice), Shirley Manson from Garbage (electro-pop styling, see ``Androgyny''), & Taylor Dayne/Donna Summer (diaphragm) |
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Residence: |
Minneapolis, MN |
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Playing region: |
Mainly local/regional |
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Ambition: |
``To constantly improve as a singer and songwriter, and to get my music heard by a lot more people in a lot more places'' (E.M.). |
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Website: |
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Email: |
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Rating: |
My Take
When I received an email from Emmaline Muchmore just before Thanksgiving, I thought, ``Oh no, not another Minneapolis singer.''
You see, at the time I was completing work on my Turn It On with Ali Gray series, and I had recently done reviews on Patrik Tanner's Soft and Tina Schlieske's Slow Burn CDs. Frankly, I was beginning to feel a little like a character out of Fargo, and I wanted to give my Minnewegian dialect a rest.
But then I went to CD Baby, and after I listened to song clips of Just a Cherry, I realized I was destined to become a huge Emmaline Muchmore fan. In a short while I had my own personal copy of the Just a Cherry CD.
Then later, while I was listening to Just a Cherry, I became hopelessly addicted to Emmaline Muchmore's music.
In a nutshell, Emmaline Muchmore performs pop and electronic music. She has a singing voice that occasionally sounds like Annie Lennox, the electro-pop styling of Shirley Manson (Garbage; see ``Androgyny''), and powerful pipes that equal Taylor Dayne or Donna Summer. And to top everything off, she's got legs that don't quit!
My Bias
It is well-known that I love women with big voices who can slide back and forth from silky-soft to brassy-bold with the ease of a trombone. Well, as a vocalist, Emmaline Muchmore was created right to my spec. Additionally, she has taught me that there's a place in my musical heart for electro-pop and dance. (Maybe I never quite got over Miss Donna after all.)
Someone once said, ``Music genres never really die, they just hide in plain sight.” Oh, it was me at dinner last night. (Can your wife, parrot, and adult children groan in four-part harmony?)
The Bio
Emmaline Muchmore is a Twin Cities native; that is, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN.
She became involved in the music scene during high school. Prior to going on her own in the year 2001, Emmaline fronted two bands: (a) an all-girl rock band called Interstate Judy that played live in the mid to late 90s, and (b) an 80s cover band called A Fixx of Seagulls that still plays large festivals a few times a year.
In 2001 Muchmore released her first CD, Inviolate—an alternative pop CD combining hip-hop grooves, analog synths, vintage guitar sounds and female vocals.
In September 2002 Emmaline learned she was pregnant. At the time she was just beginning her second CD (Just a Cherry). On her website Emmaline states that this was ``shocking but thrilling news.'' It did delay the production of Just a Cherry by two years. Also—just to keep life interesting, and disrupt the production schedule—the Unknown Alloy recording studio has moved three times in the last three years. (Unknown Alloy is co-owned by Muchmore and producer Todd Mikkelson.)
Just a Cherry was released in the November of 2005, and is receiving extensive radio play on Internet radio, while also making headway in about a dozen local markets.
The Interview
TBU: Let's go right to the heart of the matter, and start with your CD inserts. First, let me say I love the sassy photos of you with the hat, boots, and coat. They'll probably be worth the price of admission for most guys.
When you pick outfits for photo shoots, do you go for what's personally fun and funky, or are you going for a particular image? I don't have any fashion sense, but some of your clothes seem retro.
EM: All fashion these days is completely retro—all the good stuff from the 60s–80s is back. It seems like a complete free for all where you can mix and match all your favorites.
I'm definitely going for fun and funky when deciding what to wear for photos or shows. It also has to look gorgeous and flattering.
TBU: In the photo on the back cover, what is that on or in your tongue. Please, tell me it's not a piercing! Could it be a cherry?
EM: That thing on my tongue is indeed a cherry, tied in a knot.
TBU: I'm puzzled by the CD title, Just a Cherry. What does the title mean?
EM: ``Just a Cherry'' is actually a bit of a boast, tinged with a little sarcasm. It's part of a longer lyrical line that I came up with for a big rave-up bluesy song I'm working on. The chorus resolves with the line ``just a cherry on the top of my super sundae'' and it refers to how no matter what gets thrown my way I'm not phased by it, and how I handle it actually becomes a badge of honor—something to be proud of. The title also works with the fact that after I had my ``surprise'' baby I think a lot of people weren't expecting to see another record out of me, and yet here it is, bigger and better than the last one. Just a cherry on the top of my super sundae, baby!
TBU: I'm always delighted to see a musician take her voice as a serious ``instrument'' worthy of development and training.
In a 2003 interview you did with Steven Nathan, you mentioned that you are formally trained on clarinet and piano, but self-taught on guitar and vocals. You also mentioned that you have been ``strongly influenced by such female vocalists such as Anita O’Day, Ella Fitzgerald, June Christy, Lauryn Hill, Eryka Badu, Gwen Stefani, Dolly Parton and Anita Baker'' (Steven Nathan, Getgigs.com, January 2003).
You may be a self-taught vocalist, but clearly you found yourself a very good teacher!
What advice can you give would-be vocalists who are attempting to teach themselves how to sing?
EM: I'm not sure you can be taught how to sing. But if you've got the basic ability, which everybody pretty much discovers when they're a kid, then you can work on improving what you've got. I've learned that you need to know your strengths and weaknesses. What makes you unique? What type of music that you sing seems to have the most impact on your listeners? Go with your strengths—not everyone can be a screamer, or soulful, or whatever, so work on doing whatever it is that you do that makes you different and special.
As a kid I drove my siblings crazy because I sang to everything on the radio. I sang all the time! Turns out not only was it fun but it was also good practice. I would also suggest taking any opportunity you can to sing in front of an audience. The more you do it the better and more confident you'll become. It also helps you define your own singing style, and hopefully moves you away from mimicking your idols.
As far as technique, one thing that has helped me become a technically better singer has been working as voice talent for educational and commercial clients for a number of years. I guess this has been my vocal instruction, because that type of work has allowed me to strengthen my ability to control my breathing and has improved my phrasing, which has translated into better singing. I would think that any public speaking, work in radio, etc. would also be helpful in this regard.
TBU: Anita O'Day and Ella Fitzgerald are both well-known for their scat singing. Is singing along with the recording of a scat singer roughly equivalent to doing scales in a formal vocal lesson?
EM: This is coming from someone who has never had formal vocal lessons (for better or worse), but here's my take: learning your scales are the work you do and the foundation you build on so that you can have the freedom to create and improvise with your instrument. Singing along with a scat singer is a good way for a singer to get to know their way around a piece of music, for sure, and it's a great workout for your vocal chops. But it seems to me singers that scat are injecting so much of themselves —their own style and personality—into the vocal that singing along gets you more of a lesson in style and improv than music theory.
Even if you're not crazy about scat singing, the talent that it takes to do it well is undeniable—it requires incredible creativity and confidence and you have to know the song inside and out. I love listening to it for the same reason I like to listen to a lot of jazz —it's very free-form, creative, and out there.
TBU: Earlier you mentioned you siblings. How many brothers and sisters did you have?
EM: 4 brothers, 1 sister—I'm the 5th.
TBU: That's curious. Ali Gray also came from a large family with lots of brothers. I'll have to start a survey!
Were you in high school band?
EM: I played the clarinet in high school band through the 9th grade.
TBU: My two sisters played clarinet, and they're only ok singers. My dad played clarinet, and he couldn't hit middle C with a sledge hammer. I guess playing clarinet isn't your secret to success.
Were your parents musical?
EM: My parents are professional listeners.
TBU: Darn, I thought I had invented that profession.
And speaking of the fact that I'm not a musician, maybe you can explain some of the things I hear in your music.
In some of your songs (Siren Song, for example), it sounds almost like you have sampled voices being faded in and out to obtain an organ-like effect. How do you get that effect?
EM: No sampled voices—it's all me with different types of effects on the vocal and some finesse from the recording engineer.
TBU: The Just a Cherry CD has just about every imaginable genre. For example, there's dance, pop, country, rock, Electrolux, and maybe even letgo-Eggo. This mix of genres is cool by me, but have you ever considered swamp-grass?
EM: Anyone listening to the new CD will notice the variety of songs on there. I figure people will either dig that or be bugged by it. Maybe it would be smart for me to focus on a particular genre, and if a producer came along who wanted to do a record with me that's most likely what I would do because it would be more commercially viable.
But the thing is I love all types of music and when I sit down to write a song all different types of music and sounds come to mind. I enjoy exploring different ways of expressing myself and seeing what I can come up with in the studio—seeing if I can get down what I'm hearing in my head.
If a particular song of mine somehow got to be a hit I would probably try to focus more energy in the direction of that type of sound. But in the meantime I'll just keep writing songs that I feel like writing.
Oh, and I totally love dance remixes! I would love it if someone wanted to do a huge production dance remix of one of my songs.
TBU: I apologize if I'm demonstrating my ignorance in the way I ask this next question.
Your songs are filled with tons of little- and medium-sized noises that seem to provide the same function of guitar hooks and riffs, in that they keep things fun and lively. I assume many, if not most, of these ``noises'' are created with sampled sounds. When you decide on what samples to use, do you use a trail and error approach, or do you start with a preconception of the type of sound you're after?
EM: No sampled sounds—what you're hearing is either a synthesizer, a guitar, a drum machine, or a vocal.
But the answer to your question is: both approaches. Sometimes I know exactly what type of sound I want to hear in a particular spot and try to get that. A lot of times I rely on Todd's expertise in the studio—he'll experiment with sounds for a while, then run them past me and we'll start tweaking from there.
The Songs
Emmaline Muchmore has put together ten songs that are multilayered both lyrically and musically.
I won't attempt to interpret her songs. The magic and the mystery is in ``the stew.'' I suggest you go to CD Baby and stream the Just a Cherry song clips for awhile. I recommend CD Baby, because they have two-minute song clips—not the usual 30 second clips, which are totally useless (but don't get me started on that subject!).
In dance songs, it's not easy to develop a story or idea through the use of the traditional verse/chorus format, so Muchmore ``lays down'' the lyrics as one might lay down tracks. She starts with a simple concept or metaphor to establish a mood, then she adds additional layers. For example, in ``Distorted'' Muchmore begins with a mythical past, then moves to the present, and finally speculates on the future. While this is all going on, she takes the opportunity lyrically to make a few comments and observations about the state of life in the world today. Personally I haven't delved too deeply into her lyrics, I'm way too busy getting my ``groove on''!
That segues to my three major tenets about lyrics.
Lyrics should stay out of the way.
Lyrics must add to the mood.
Keep lyrics simple. (Even if an audience is listening carefully, they may only be hearing a small number of words.)
Going through the songs I listed five or six as dance tunes, and three or four as pop and one as being ``a little country and a little rock n roll.'' (Obviously I'm not quite sure whether one song is pop or dance. Or, it could just be Emmaline's take on where Western music went.)
Mr personal favorites are ``Siren Song,'' ``Magpie,'' and ``For You.''
``For You'' is a song Emmaline wrote as a mother to her own child. My plan is to feature ``For You'' in my Great Song series in the very near future.
Mosquito Media in the UK has chosen the song ``Let 'Em In'' from Just a Cherry to be on The Greatest Music You've Never Heard, Vol. 2, (see a review of it at www.rockpulse.co.uk).
The Clips
Go to CD Baby, as soon as you finish my review!
Triflings
Got none. I'm a happy camper this week.
The Rating
It has taken so long, people were starting to say that I would never give out a 6 (5=Perfect). After all, how can a CD be better than perfect? Well, it is easy, when the CD is flockin' unbelievable from beginning to end.
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