Melbourne/Narrm singer-songwriter, and music industry legend, Emily Ulman returns with Severe Clear, a stunning and hotly-anticipated new album set for release on Friday, October 10.
A defining force in the Australian music industry for over two decades, both on stage and behind the scenes, Emily Ulman’s lengthy tenure championing artists has seen her curate and program lineups at some of Melbourne’s most iconic venues, including The Prince Bandroom, The Gasometer Hotel, and The Toff In Town. Additionally, Emily has programmed some of the country’s most significant music events, including Brunswick Music Festival, White Night Melbourne, the CHANGES summit, and her own award-winning online festival Isol-Aid, which received the 2020 triple j J Award for “Done Good” and was named Best Festival at the 2021 Music Victoria Awards. Recently, Emily served as Executive Program Director for ALWAYS LIVE, a Victorian state-wide celebration of contemporary music, inclusive of emerging artists through to international icons, from sell-out stadiums through to intimate venues all playing home to these one-off, exclusive and community-focused events.
We caught up with Emily for a Q + A
Hi, thanks for taking the time to chat with Hear 2 Zen, what have you been up to today?
Hi, thanks so much for having me. It’s 9.23am, so far today has been a cup of tea, emails, and listening back to a couple of demos I want to get back to today.
Tell us about yourself, how long have you been performing/creating music for?
I’ve been writing songs since I was a kid. My first one was about rollerskating and had exactly one verse that I sang over and over down the driveway. I started performing properly in my late teens/early twenties and released my first album not long after. I’ve had a long break from releasing music while working behind the scenes in the industry, but now I’m back, songs in hand, remembering how much I missed this part of myself.
Who are your greatest inspirations? Why?
Leonard Cohen for his lyricism and the way he carved quiet into something idiosyncratic. Sharon Van Etten for how she holds strength and vulnerability in the same breath. Stephen Merritt for his wit and wordplay. Paul Kelly for the way he captures everyday Australian life with such care. And Fiona Apple, always, because she doesn’t miss. These artists remind me that emotion doesn’t have to be loud to be powerful, and that you can be thoughtful, strange, specific and still reach people.
How do you create music? Are you lyrics/story driven, or does the music/melody come first? Explain your process.
Always story first. I start with a phrase or a line or a word that hooks into something emotional and from there the song builds outward. Lyrics lead the way almost every time. I’m definitely one of those notebook and voice memo people, collecting fragments until they find their home in a song or piece of prose. Melody tends to follow the rhythm of the words, like the story is teaching the tune how to speak. Occasionally it all arrives at once, which feels magical, like catching lightning. But mostly it’s slow archaeology. Quiet digging. One line at a time.
What has been your greatest challenge so far in performing/creating music?
Probably getting out of my own way. After taking a long break from releasing music, it’s been hard to silence the second-guessing voice in my head that asks if I still belong here. But writing and performing is such a big part of how I understand the world and connect with others, so I keep going. It’s a constant practice in trust and letting go. Of my own inner critic mostly.
Tell us about your new release, ’Severe Clear’ how did it come about?
Severe Clear is a song about the moments that arrive after everything has settled, it’s about clarity that is so beautiful it is almost unbearable. That strange kind of beauty: perfect, but piercing. I think about weather a lot. I lean right in because it is intrinsic. And magical. This song lives in that space between forecast and feeling. It is about the quiet, everyday moments that suddenly become enormous in their clarity. Like standing in the middle of something spectacular and letting yourself be swept up by it. It is about love, about letting yourself be soft and fall, it’s about buying matching towels because you want to be one and the same. Johnny Nash wrote ‘I Can See Clearly Now’. And I’m borrowing the idea that after the clouds and hard times pass, something brighter takes their place. Sometimes clarity isn’t sharp or sudden or cold. Sometimes it is soft and patient and a little bit dizzying. And perfect.”
What advice do you have to artists who are just starting out?
Say yes to things. Even the small things. Especially the small things. You never know which moment will change your whole trajectory. Be kind to everyone. Make friends, not contacts. Build your community. Share what you learn. And most importantly, make the art that feels like yours, not what you think you should be making. The right people will find it, and you.
Tell us your favourite Zen practice.
I love love love love folding fresh laundry. The smell, the warm, the sense of order. It’s the closest thing I know to inner peace.
TRACKLIST:
Side A
1. Severe Clear
2. Every Hillside
3. Fans in the Stands
4. Mountains Mountains Mountains
5. Trundle
Side B
6. Lake Mistake
7. Planned Burn
8. Liminal Spaces
9. Toughest Tourniquet
10. If it Isn’t True
11. Repeat Things
