voice on the verge #48: emily arin

Currently recording her debut album with Espers’ Greg Weeks, Emily Arin is our newest crush to emerge from the venerable school of dusky, graceful songwriting. Hailing from the small village of Montour Falls in Schuyler County, New York, this plaintive voiced lady is a must-listen for fans of Sharon Van Etten, Laura Gibson and similar. Arin explains her musical philosophy best: “Songwriting for me is a process of distillation. My aim is to work to arrive at an essence — to repeatedly filter an idea/emotion until lyrics, melody, and rhythm combine to form an honest vehicle for sharing life’s poignancy, playfulness and mystery.”

Poignancy. Playfulness. Mystery. Three of our favourite things, and they’re all very much in evidence on her recent Slipstream EP, which Emily has very kindly allowed us to give to you for FREE. Among the five tracks are a demo version of ‘When You Knew Me When’, which recently had the distinction of featuring on the soundtrack to the first internationally distributed film ever to come out of Greenland, and the pretty, sweet lament ‘It Wasn’t Love But It Was Lovely’.

Download link below. First, though, Emily tackles our trusty questionnaire!

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What’s your middle name?

Arin.

What’s your earliest memory?

I was around three, living with my family in Yuma, Arizona, in a small house with a little rock garden out front. One afternoon I was so excited to find a striped and colourful pebble in the mix and picked it up to show my mom and siblings, but was soon crying from a bee sting on my finger. I was also crying from feeling stupid that I couldn’t tell a rock from a bee.

Who was your childhood idol?

Nadia Comaneci. I was an obsessed gymnast from age four to ten and watched the movie ‘Nadia’ countless times.

What did you listen to when you were growing up?

On the car radio in Yuma, Arizona (pre-school years): Fleetwood Mac, Hall & Oates and Anne Murray

Family road trips: The Beatles, ABBA, Paul Simon

Fourth grade: Whitney Houston’s Whitney tape (almost exclusively)

Middle school awkwardness (favourite singles): ‘Hold On’ (Wilson Phillips), ‘More Than Words’ (Extreme), ‘Losing My Religion’ (REM), ‘Sowing The Seeds Of Love’ (Tears For Fears), ‘Ice Ice Baby’ (Vanilla Ice), ‘Can’t Live Without Your Love & Affection’ (Nelson), ‘Love Takes Time’ (Mariah Carey)…alright, enough, you get the picture…

Early high school in Americus, Georgia: U2, Bob Marley, The Doors, Tracy Chapman, Indigo Girls, 10,000 Maniacs, REM, Radiohead.

Back in Los Angeles to finish high school: Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen, The Beatles, Edith Piaf, Billie Holiday, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Peggy Lee…

What’s the biggest guilty pleasure in your record collection?

I’ve always felt really self-conscious about listening to (and really enjoying) Enya — maybe because it’s labelled New Age? Anyhow, I love old Enya albums and have ever since my dad played Watermark when I was in middle school. The productions are so lush and transporting. I volunteered for a free acupuncture clinic for AIDS patients while in high school. Besides signing people in, my one job was to flip the eponymous Enya tape over while the patients received treatment.

Which female musicians have most inspired you?

Gillian Welch, Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, Peggy Lee, Asha Bhosle, Sibylle Baier, Amalia Rodriguez, Billie Holiday, The Carter Family, Memphis Minnie, Diane Cluck, Karen Dalton, Stevie Nicks, Emmylou Harris, Etta James, Edith Piaf, Vashti Bunyan, Cesaria Evora, Joanna Newsom, Meg Baird, Patsy Cline, Chan Marshall…….ad infinitum (and then a mighty hefty list of men too).

What’s your favourite poem and how much of it can you recite from memory?

In a poetry class in college, I encountered Leonard Cohen’s ‘Suzanne’ in the Norton Anthology of Poetry and was thrilled to see his lyrics celebrated as “official” poetry — and also thrilled that I already had one poem committed to memory. I’ve tried memorising other poems straight from the page (’The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’), but unless the words are tied to music, my brain doesn’t seem to have a shelf to put them on.

If you were the answer to a crossword puzzle, what would be your clue?

A walking contradiction: deeply impressionable and stubborn as a mule (aka American woman of German-Polish-Swedish-Scottish descent) (5,4)

What would you be if you weren’t a musician?

Well, at present, in addition to being a songwriter, I’m working in the non-profit adult literacy field. It’s good, challenging work, but underfunded. Other non-music roles would include: teacher, writer, counsellor, gardener — or hairstylist?

What’s the worst job you’ve ever worked and what was so bad about it?

About a year after graduating from college (and after having tried my hand at smalltown journalism to no joy of mine), I got a job working in a small cabinet shop in LA. I was definitely feeling lost at that time in my life, living in a cheap crack house apartment building that leaked like a sieve (it was a particularly rainy season that year). The one good thing (I thought initially) was that I had found a job within walking distance of home that allowed me to work with my hands. Unfortunately, my hands ended up getting smashed underneath a vintage radial arm saw (only broke one finger and lost one nail, but it was traumatic).

Besides not loving the work (sweeping, sanding, table saw kickbacks), the vibe of the shop was all wrong. I was a young woman working in the midst of an awkward male trio: a creatively frustrated owner, a disgruntled former Teamster and a virtually silent Central American immigrant. I didn’t last long.

What’s been the best moment of your career so far?

Well, a couple years ago I was in Paris in a neighborhood near the Louvre and met Stelios, a Greek man who ran a very fancy convenience store (I’m talking wood-panelled walls and chandeliers juxtaposed with your typical fluorescently lit “grab your stuff and go” case). He spoke English and we had a nice chat. At the time, I was travelling around with my just-finished, self-produced (i.e. bedroom recordings) Time & Space album and had a habit of giving a copy to anyone I enjoyed meeting. When I handed one to Stelios he asked me if I knew the band Os Mutantes. Did I? I love Os Mutantes! “Well,” he said, “Sergio Diaz (the guitarist from the band) happens to stay at my apartments whenever he is in Paris. I’ll give him a copy if you have an extra.” But of course!

A few days later (by this time I was in San Sebastian, Spain), I received a sweet and simple email from Mr. Diaz saying he enjoyed the CD and thank you. It was such a lovely moment — a sweet kiss from the universe. I have since become friends with Sergio on Facebook and he still remembers the CD he got via Stelios. How fun!

Do you have an instrument you’d still like to learn? What’s stopping you?

The kora. I tried taking lessons once, but felt conflicted about being a white girl wanting to casually study an instrument with such a rich tradition of heritage and lineage. I may change my mind and try to learn it again some day.

Which artist would you most like to work with – your dream collaboration?

Caetano Veloso — he’s like magic.

What’s your top household tip?

Listening to [US radio show] ‘This American Life’ while washing dishes or folding clothes makes cleanin’ time something to look forward to (almost).

Oh! And, this is more in the household health category, but rose oil in jojoba (I’ve only used the Aura Cacia brand) is incredibly healing on minor burns. Takes the heat right out. When I was a grill cook I burned my hand on pot handles and grease many times, and this helped like nothing else!

Do you have a tattoo?

I don’t. But it might be fun to get some jewellery or makeup tattooed on. No?

What’s your tipple?

Whiskey — neat. (I’ll admit, I had to look this word up, being American and all.)

What would you tell your eighteen year old self if you could go back in time?

Buck up princess! (A good friend once wrote this in an email to me—and it definitely had a cheering effect.)

How would you describe your new album in ten words or less?

Dusk pine walk.

How are you most likely to die and what would you want written on your headstone?

No clue! No headstone please. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. (The perfect soundtrack to this answer would be John Prine’s ‘Please Don’t Bury Me’.)

Would you rather see a ghost or simply have a piece of toast and watch the evening news?

I do love toast! Thick slices of butter (of course)!

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Download the Slipstream EP here. Cover art below. For more things Emily Arin, pay her a visit on Myspace.

Written by: Alan Pedder

Tags: emily arin, slipstream EP

This entry was posted on Friday, March 12th, 2010 at 5:25 pm and is filed under feature, voices on the verge. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.