In Conversation With - Emma McGrath
British artist Emma McGrath has just released her new EP ‘Keep Your Eyes Open (Silent Minds Pt II)’ via Young Poet Records, the second in the series of three thematically inter-connecting EPs. She took a moment to talk to us about the release.
Your new EP ‘Keep Your Eyes Open (Silent Minds Part II)’ is out now. What is the inspiration behind the title?
Keep Your Eyes Open was always going to be the title track. It's probably the most meaningful track on the EP and features the 'Silent Minds' link... I also thought it just sounded cool as a title!
This EP is the second in a series of three inter-connecting EPs. How do they connect? And what made you decide to do that? Why not just put out an album with all the tracks?
I didn’t start with an album because I don’t think I felt ready. It’s a lot of work to put out all at once. Doing EPs gives you the chance to figure it out as you go, make mistakes and improve on them.
Silent Minds was a theme that developed when I was about 15. I would use ‘Silent Minds’ as a bubble and put all the people I didn’t really understand inside. I’d then just write about them until it made a little more sense.
Each EP has at least one song that relates back to the Silent Minds theme and I think it’s nice being able to tie them together like that.
What are the key themes of this EP within the series?
I think this EP is still a mix of emotions. You’ve got Fall With You that has that positive ‘you’re not alone, it will all work out in the end’ message. Other Side is a good old relationship song about being honest with each other but also has a sense of ‘grass is always greener’ going on. Old Times is my favourite track, I wrote and recorded it in my room in a day. It’s a song about that best mate that you haven’t seen in ages but whenever you cross paths nothing has changed and you’re still both crazy as ever. Then we come to Keep Your Eyes Open and we have a song that is probably the most meaningful in a way. It’s about a changing world. It’s about everything becoming more advanced. We are more connected than ever, so why do some of us still feel so alone?
Do you have a favorite lyric on the EP? If so, which one and why?
“Threads coming from our heads, we’re weaving a web, ‘till the spiders dead” - Keep Your Eyes Open
I just love the imagery of it. I almost don’t want to explain it… just read it.
You first picked up a guitar at the age of ten, what are your earliest musical memories?
Honestly my memory is so awful, I can hardly remember what I did yesterday. First musical memory… probably being made to learn the piano but it being the last thing on earth I wanted to do… I should have listened to my parents with that one.
When writing songs, how does your creative process work?
With me it’s important to keep on writing. When I stop for a long amount of time it’s hard to get going again so I try and mess about with ideas for at least 30 mins a day. I’ll normally start with a guitar/piano part… sing some random melodies then add some words. I’m not sure I have a process, it’s more about messing around until you play something that sticks.
Now the EP is out there, when will we hear the final part of the series?
The final part is all written so I’m hoping it will be out by the end of this year. We will have to wait and see!