180 degrees of music

Minnesota Speaks With a Strong New Voice: Emmaline Muchmore

Over the past several months, I have been listening to a cd called “Inviolate” sent to me by Emmaline Muchmore. I would listen to her cd, put it away for awhile as I listened to other music, but I kept coming back to her cd. I was drawn to Emmaline by her dynamic voice, strong sense of purpose, and desire to put her all out there for everyone to hear. While Emmaline had formal musical training on clarinet and piano, she is self-taught on guitar and vocals; and it is her strong vocal style that kept me coming back and will keep you coming back as well.

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, Emmaline finds inspiration in various genres of music including groove-heavy electronic music and infectious pop. As Emmaline puts it “I am inspired by strong performers regardless of genre. I admire people that give it their all on stage, put on a show and connect with their audience.”

Emmaline and I spoke about her songwriting style and told me “the beat usually comes first and helps me focus on the feel of the song and the ideas that emerge.” My favorite tracks on “Inviolate” are “True Believer”, “Coming Down”, “Inviolate”, and “Lost in a Daydream”, although the entire cd is an exceptional effort, right down to the producing (by Emmaline and Todd Mikkelson). We spoke about Emmaline’s writing style for several tracks on her cd. For “True Believer”, Emmaline explained that “the groove to this song came first, then the melody and words of the chorus. After that, a story line came to me about obsession; in this case a man obsessed with a woman out of his reach who he believes he will eventually win over.”

“Coming Down” evolved from Emmaline’s “listening to a lot of trip hop and experimenting with beats which turned out to have more of a traditional pop arrangement with a trippy beat. The lyrics and melody that evolved out of the chorus are a bit of a cautionary tale of someone enjoying the limelight but has not really earned their status and is headed for a fall and does not yet realize it.”

“Inviolate” was a song that experimented with an in-your-face beat and almost spoken lyrical line. “The lyrics focus on the notion that the world can hand you a lot and change you in a variety of ways, but essentially you remain the same.” For this song, Emmaline liked the idea of spoken verse with a lot of character in her voice as the story is told and returns each time to a strong chorus.

What continues to draw me to Emmaline is the strength of her voice. I asked Emmaline if she was even aware of how powerful her voice was. As Emmaline told me, “people at my shows seem to be impressed and happily surprised to hear a strong female singer. Particularly in the independent music world, a strong singer that doesn’t get drowned out by her band is sort of rare.” It is not only the strength of Emmaline’s voice, but her confidence as well. When I asked Emmaline about her confidence, she responded that “the confidence you hear in my music comes from the fact that I really enjoy expressing myself with my voice and I am very comfortable inside my voice. I also really love to perform and to connect with the audience, whether live or on my recording. I feel confident in my ability to create a vocal line that will grab and hold people’s attention, and I strive for that connection and communication.”

Emmaline is a rare combination of sensuality and strength that I found infectious, and that I believe you will too. You can find out more about Emmaline at www.emmalinemuchmore.com.