A Chat with Emaline Delapaix (19.01.2021)
Emaline Delapaix draws on a range of influences for her album With Every Beat. As she merges genres, she is at times melancholic only to bolster your spirits with hope and optimism. Dealing with topics from animal rights to self-worth and the helplessness of a loved one suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, she fills you with strength as you get lost in her sound. We sat down with Emaline Delapaix to talk about the album, influences, guest musicians, recording challenges and much more!
OSR: In 2010, you quit your day job, moved to rural Germany and taught yourself to play 3 instruments. Were you drawn to making your own music before this?
Delapaix: Yes, I was making music for many years before this in bands and with other musicians as a singer and songwriter but couldn’t really play instruments and always relied on others to express what I was trying to say in the music. I found that process at times quite frustrating and also the kind of music I wrote when I didn’t play instruments was quite different from what I do now. During those years I didn’t have the confidence to play instruments but after a break down in 2009, I decided to take the leap and just give it a go.
OSR: You compose intense folk-pop music, what are your main influences? Do your surroundings affect the music you make?
Delapaix: My influences have changed over the years as my songwriting evolved but some big ones include Dar Williams, Ani Difranco, Björk, Tori Amos, Julee Cruise, Richard Shindell, Kate Bush, Stina Nordenstam, the Finn Brothers and Anja Garbarek as well as most recently getting into more traditional and Scandinavian stuff like Eivör and Myrkur where I learned of the traditional kind of Swedish singing called Kulning which I tried for the first time on my song ‘On The Wind’. My surroundings most definitely affect the music I make. I always find the musical muses visit me more when I spend time in nature or in an inspiring historical place like Venice which I have visited many times. On my last trip there I wrote a song in an accommodation run by nuns.
OSR: Your album With Every Beat was recorded across Europe, the UK and Scandinavia. How difficult was this process?
Delapaix: With Every Beat is my first full-length album and it was quite a difficult process due to illness and a lack of money. I think I held on too tight at the beginning to certain ideas of how it must sound and which songs would be on the album but once I let go and allowed things to flow more naturally it became easier. We had a few issues with some people not doing the best job musically or technically so decided to do most of it ourselves which was a lot of work but in the end, I am proud of how it turned out.
OSR: Is there a common theme or story threaded into the album?
Delapaix: That’s a good question. I think there is a lot of honesty on the record dealing with some topics which are a bit more difficult like mental illness, animal rights and feminism. The first two songs are a little more selfish and indulgent if you will, spending a little too much time in the darkness (but somehow that is a way to also work through things), waiting for someone who isn’t kind to come back, and slowly it moves into what I think are other important things like beautiful memories of childhood with a loving grandfather who taught me to love nature, following where your heart leads, loving and taking care of animals, nature and ourselves, but also using art to ask questions and be brave. At the end of the journey, I wanted to end on positive, beautiful songs that cover the listener like a warm, safe blanket. I hope that comes across.
OSR: There are a few guest musicians featured on the album, how did you connect with them?
Delapaix: Every single person who played on the record apart from one person are long time friends of mine who I have either worked with before on different projects in the UK or Canada when I lived there or who I met in Berlin. I loved the fact that the musicians added their parts from home studios in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver Island and Istanbul and most of the other recording was done by my partner and I in The New Forest and Berlin, apart from the Faroe Islands where I did one day of recording. All these amazing places definitely added an international atmosphere and everyone had something great to add to make the song arrangements even better. That’s the beauty of collaboration when you have the right people and I enjoyed that process very much on this project.
OSR: The album is full of melancholic tones, but there is always an underlying positivity. Would you say you are a fairly positive person?
Delapaix: I would say the record is probably a good representation of me as a person as I am not so negative but do get melancholy as I suffer from depression. Often, if I find myself in darkness, I will find a way out of it, usually through music and come out positive and hopefully having learned something.
OSR: There are a lot of personal stories touched on in the album, how easy do you find opening yourself up like this to be?
Delapaix: I have always found it very easy to open up about depression as I could see how healing it can be for others and myself when you talk about it. I think songwriting and performance is a way for me to let go, though it wasn’t always easy as even 10 years ago. If you played a song that mentioned depression, audiences would get very uncomfortable but these days there is less stigma with mental illness which I am grateful for.
OSR: If people could listen to only one track on the album, which would you recommend and why?
Delapaix: For me, this is a really hard question as I think the styles vary and I noticed people like quite different songs depending on their taste but maybe ‘With Every Beat’ as it’s a song about finding the strength to get through dark times and right now we could all do with a bit of comfort I think.
OSR: This album was a completely DIY project. What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome in creating it?
Delapaix: I would say money was the biggest problem and usually is for my projects as I often want to create a big ambient atmosphere and use a lot of strings but I live in a one-room apartment. We also tried to use some professionals for certain things but they didn’t do a great job and it got a bit complicated, so we just decided to fix these things ourselves. It was a big learning curve as we don’t have the best listening space or gear so it just meant we had to work 4 times as hard and I think we got there in the end.
OSR: What else can we expect from you in the coming year?
Delapaix: I am working on a few smaller projects including an EP with folky winter ballads more on the traditional side including acoustic guitar, Celtic harp and my new Finnish bowed instrument called a Jouhikko. This EP will definitely include Swedish Kulning and I hope to explore other traditional styles as well. Apart from that, I am also working on a small handful of cover songs from my favourite artists on Celtic harp. Once we get through Covid, I will start touring again.
Thanks to Emaline Delapaix for chatting with us! You can find more about her on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
