A Chat with EMH (25.09.2020)
The three artists behind Italian band EMH have decided to unleash nine unreleased songs that have been created over the years. Their new album Greatest Hits Lab1 represents the sounds and lyrical sensations the group has taken listeners on. We sat down with EMH to talk about their new album, creative process, music, future plans and much more!
OSR: How did the band first come together?
EMH: We started quite some time ago and met through friendships and word of mouth, coming from different experiences and backgrounds. Although with quite divergent musical tastes, we liked each other, converging. Immediately an affinity was created that motivated us to make our own music.
OSR: If you were not making music, what would you be doing right now?
EMH: Let’s turn the question upside down, how much music would you make if you didn’t have to do anything else? 🙂
OSR: Your new album Greatest Hits Lab1 contains nine previously unreleased songs, what prompted this release?
EMH: After so much playing we have developed the urge, first of all for us, to materialise the creative path to put points to our work, to generate stronger motivation, to give direct motivations and, at the same time, to look forward. Nevertheless, sharing what we do on a wider spectrum is very very fascinating.
OSR: How did you choose the songs to include in the album?
EMH: We have quite a few original songs. The choice of those to be included in the album was almost self-determined, we began to accidentally record the ones we wanted to play. In the meanwhile, a totally new one came out, that we immediately recorded (the second track). So there are old and more or less recent songs. Hence the choice to call the album Greatest Hits as it spans an extended period of our time.
OSR: As the album was self-produced, what was the biggest challenge you faced when recording and producing?
EMH: The main explicit challenge is the organisation of work, the sequence of activities, the attention to make sure that the result is what you have in mind or at least comes close, knowing that time is not infinite. The main implicit challenge, and I would say more difficult, is to find the balance to deal with the emotional involvement and the nature of the sensations that you are experiencing in the progress of the work that can generate easy enthusiasms or moments of despair.
OSR: What part of the creation process did you enjoy the most and the least?
EMH: We prefer the initial part, in all its phases that outline the idea, then define it and finally settle it. If after all this the spark does not go off, the process stops.
OSR: You state you are not inspired by the mainstream. What does inspire your music?
EMH: The Italian music scene has never shone for originality or alternative “hazards”. We play what we like, not what we should play now, which is different from what we should have played yesterday. Often what each of us likes comes from far away and maybe from different styles. Our interaction leads to convergence.
OSR: What is your favourite and least favourite track on the album?
EMH: Each song has its own story and its own life. We are satisfied with this heterogeneity.
OSR: If your music were a colour, what would it be and why?
EMH: It would be a black background of restlessness and mystery interrupted by glimpses of red passion, anger and golden lucidity.
OSR: What can we expect from you in the next 12 months?
EMH: Keep playing, making songs and trying to share them. We are already working on the recordings of our other original songs, new and less new, and we plan to have a shorter time to prepare the new release.
Thanks to EMH for chatting with us! You can find more about them on their Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
