Artist Spotlight | Esme Emerson

Ahead of their headline show at King Tut's in May, we caught up with sibling duo Esme Emerson to chat about their inspirations and the story behind their latest release.

We can't wait to see Esme Emerson headline at King Tut's on 5th May - what can we expect from the show?

Getting to share our music in person, and hear our lyrics sung back to us, is such a unique and special

joy. Expect plenty of dancing and smiles, maybe some tears. We’ll also be playing some new tracks that

we’ve been working on for the first time. It’s a little nerve wracking, but also feels like the perfect little

secret to share in a room full of people who like us enough to be there.

How did Esme Emerson first originate?

We grew up around our parents' love of music. Our mother had a Walkman attached at her hip, our father

stacked his plastic-protected record collection on the top shelf, and the side compartments of our car

doors were jam packed with rattling CD cases. The apple(sauce) never falls far from the tree. We joined

our own bands retrospectively as children (some better than others) and, being siblings, we knew we

were always bound to start writing music together. In Emerson’s last year of University we started and

haven’t stopped. #cantstopwontstop

Are there any artists that inspire your music/songwriting? Who and why?

Like everybody else in the world, we’re finding Cameron Winter super inspiring right now. Particularly his

solo record ‘Heavy Metal’. It doesn’t necessarily feel like direct musical or lyrical inspiration, but it’s

inspiring because of how individual, personal and sincere it feels.

Do you both have a favourite track(s) at the moment?

Emerson has been listening to ‘The Jangling Man’ by The Cleaners From Venus’, and Esme has been

listening to Faye Wong’s ‘You Are My Everything’.

If you could support any artist on tour, who would it be?

Alex G please we love him.

What’s the story behind your latest release?

Both our recent EP’s - ‘Big Leap, No Faith, Small Chancer’ and ‘Applesauce’ - feel like us growing into our sound

and leaning into what makes us feel good when it comes to making and releasing music. They’re full of

nostalgia and the constant search for belonging. Those EPs were punctuated by our most recent single,

Centipede, which is a song about comparison being the thief of joy. The lyrics represent an inner dialogue

between bickering, insecure halves. It’s about immaturity, pride and doubt competing for attention in our minds

and fuelling an obsession with becoming something better. We especially love playing this one live.

What can fans expect from a Esme Emerson show?

Rock and roll, baby.