Artist: Emma Kupa
Title: Nawlins
Format: Digital single
Cat#: Fika083SG3
Release date: 14th August 2020
Bandcamp | Spotify
The third single to be taken from Emma Kupa’s debut solo record is Nawlins.
Nawlins is a song about a period when I was travelling around a fair bit visiting family for various reasons (a wedding and an elderly relative with cancer - see my song Katie NYC) and I would end up hanging out with really fun people that I was put in touch with by friends and family here in the UK. It's always good to know someone in a new place who can show you round, especially if you're on your own. I love Rory's guitar solo so much. This song also features in Jeanie Finlay's documentary about Indietracks. The video was made with the help of my neighbour Sara who is a choreographer, her students, and Darren Hayman who edited it.
Video edited by Darren Hayman, choreographed by Sara Ford and danced by Artemas Nicoll Cowley, Isabella Yerassimou, Nina Siriwardena, Eliza Mahoney, Natalie Rees, Alice Birch, and Griffin Tremlow.
Following successes fronting Mammoth Penguins and the sorely missed Standard Fare, Emma Kupa releases her first full length solo album It Will Come Easier on 18 September:
“The hope in the title is important to me – it is something I try to hold onto when things feel difficult”.
It Will Come Easier delves through the trials and tribulations of attempting to navigate the crossroads of your early thirties. Head on and raw, Kupa leads us through her tender reflections on relationship regrets, the torment and pressure to succeed, and the dichotomy of now finding herself inclined to choose logic over impulse - “does her smile light up your heart, or do you just want to get under her shirt?” she asks on Does It Feel New.
Her most personal collection of songs to date, they pick up from the intimate family portraits of Kupa’s debut solo EP, Home Cinema:
“The album explores aspects of love, escapism and fidelity, but there’s also a thread about accepting feelings of hopelessness when you don’t quite meet the many pressures of life’s expectations”.
In spite of the harsh directness of its subject matter, It Will Come Easier has an audible freshness and a spring in its step. The optimistic jaunt of Nothing At All defies the futility in being unable to influence a particularly toxic situation. I Keep An Eye out is a follow up to Home Cinema’s Half Sister, written for the eponymous sibling that doesn’t know of Kupa.
Written and recorded over a period of time, Kupa felt she needed to give these 10 tracks some emotional space before making them public. Joined by bandmates from both Mammoth Penguins and Suggested Friends (Mark Boxall and Faith Taylor, respectively), alongside Laura Ankles, Joe Bear, Rory McVicar and Carmela Pietrangelo, the instrumentation is more diverse than in previous Kupa bands. From the sparse, evocative strings of Hey Love and the simple piano backing of unexpected wedding drama in Crying Behind The Marquee, through to the grinding synths of CP Reprise, textural flourishes abound, belying Kupa’s background fronting noisy three-piece indie-pop outfits.
With nods to Dusty Springfield, The Unthanks and The Postal Service, It Will Come Easier is a mesmerising journey through early adulthood, poignant and expertly detailed.
“With Emma’s lovely voice and lyrical acuity brought to the fore with bare accompaniment on violin and cello, this makes for an ode to love that is both astute and fragile.” Folk Radio
“Now Emma has shared the video for second single “Hey Love”: watch below. It’s a naked look at a true relationship as lived out there in the real world: the everyday, the little compromises of life. Emma is filmed straight to camera, against 70s’ wallpaper, singing to her lover: “Hey love … / If you think it’s got boring / Just say love / And we’ll do something different.”
It’s a simple but powerfully universal sentiment of a shared life in the actual, delivered in Emma’s unadorned and charming tones, all beautifully restrained vocal power; sparse violin and cello backing are all that she needs to convey this little fragment of beauty. The ‘kitchen sink’ lyrics bring to mind an Alan Sillitoe short story lent melody. “ Backseat Mafia
“the song for the most part are pretty stark, just Emma and her voice; you do get some delicate string work to build in the slightest hint of texture throughout, though the focus remains on Kupa’s dynamic pipes. Honestly, her voice and lyrics make this entire record; I love the lyric below reminding us that “nobody’s a saint/and we’ve all got our problems.” It’s a good thing to keep in mind as we all hold tight to our relationships.” Austin Town Hall
“With no instruments to hide behind, Kupa’s vocals are endearing and pleasantly lilting. Its not a powerhouse performance but it is a perfect accompaniment to the chamber pop vibe.” Surviving The Golden Age