FEATURE: Spotlight: Emma-Jean Thackray

FEATURE:

Spotlight

Emma-Jean Thackray

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ALTHOUGH the simply fantastic…

PHOTO CREDIT: @sabinerovers

Emma-Jean Thackray has been on the scene for a few years now, I think her music is starting to spread far and wide. I say this about all artists I cover in this feature that are not fresh from the box, as it were. I have heard people refer to Thackray as a Jazz musician and, whilst Jazz is a part of her music, that label would be too limiting and narrow. The Yorkshire-raised, London-based musician is one of my favourite artists of the moment, and I want to bring in a couple of interviews so, essentially, she can tell us more about herself. Rain Dance is her new E.P., and I suggest people listen to it, as Thackray is a huge talent that is going from strength to strength. Normally, I talk about tour dates upcoming for artists and where you can go and catch them. At the moment, there is uncertainty whether any gigs will happen his year at all, so nobody is quite sure just what the rest of the year holds for Thackray. Keep an eye on her social channels – the links are at the bottom of this feature -, and I am sure we will hear from her very soon. I do want to source from some interviews this year, as it is interesting reading about her and the artists who have inspired her.

When she spoke with DAZED, she was asked about her influences and what effect growing up on Yorkshire has on her music:

“Emma-Jean Thackray is many things: a trumpeter, a producer, a multi-instrumentalist, a beatmaker, a composer, a DJ, and more. She’s also, now, a record label boss: Movementt is a new label, affiliated with the legendary Warp Records, set up by Thackray to showcase new music of her own as well as new talent from the wider jazz and exploratory music scenes that she’s involved with. Thackray’s manifesto for the label is simple: it’s music that moves the body, moves the mind, and moves the soul. “The coming together of the visceral, the cerebral, and music that nourishes the soul,” she says.

The Movementt label takes both its title and its mantra from a track of the same name on Thackray’s new EP, Rain Dance, which is due for release this Friday (March 6). The EP parlays Thackray’s diverse influences – classic jazz by Miles Davis and Alice Coltrane, LA’s leftfield hip hop beat scene, Moodymann’s unique Detroit house, etc – into four distinctive tracks.

What sort of music would you hear around the house growing up?

Emma-Jean Thackray: My mum listened to a lot of 80s soul/pop, that kind of pop from back in the day with the catchiest hooks and great session musicians playing some really groovy shit. I still love that stuff even today, and it definitely gave me an appreciation for pop done well, which I’ve definitely taken through to my own music. Even if I’m making some freaky shit, there’s always a singable melody that sticks in your head.

How did growing up in Yorkshire influence your relationship with music?

Emma-Jean Thackray: Yorkshire has a really rich tradition of brass band music. I grew up playing in brass bands – my primary school even had a brass band – and that’s not only where I learnt my main instrument, the trumpet (first, cornet), but it’s where I learned to make a nice sound, not just individually, but as an ensemble. Making a great sound together is one of the most important things: everyone has to be listening, saying each note with the same syllable, shaping the phrases the same way… The timbre of brass will stay with me forever, that’s why my music is so brass-forward now.

Although Thackray has had to cancel or postpone gigs for this year, as she revealed to DAZED, she has no plans to slow this year and sit on her hands – I can imagine we will hear a lot more from her this year:

What are you working on post-EP release?

Emma-Jean Thackray: So many things. More records, more music, more art. This year is gonna be busy! But even on top of that there’s lots of things I’m sitting on and haven’t released yet, mainly live stuff. It’ll all come out when it’s meant to come out. Practice patience and know I’m here for the long haul. I’ll be making music ’til my death day because it’s my purpose”.

Whilst many were looking forward to seeing Thackray on the road, we can still enjoy her music. Not only is the musician one of the most talented artists in the country; Thackray has set up her own label, Movementt, and she will use this platform for her own music, but also to bring other musicians into the fold. When she spoke with CLASH earlier in the year, she was asked about her role as a musician and producer, and how it feels to be one of the few female label bosses around:

“Now she’s set to embark on another groundbreaking project, heading up her very own record label – Movementt – an imprint of the legendary Warp Records, to showcase new music of her own as well as new talent from the wider jazz and exploratory music scenes that she’s a core part of.

How are you able to think of both elements – production and playing – at once?

When I'm composing I can visualise the score, that's the way I'd put it. I can see things being written out, that probably makes me sound really strange - but whenever I'm working and can just see it all in front of me.

Production was always something that I used to do on the side. I used to keep it as a bit of a secret – I didn't think it was compatible with all the jazz stuff I was doing. It was when I was studying at Royal Welsh [College of Music and Drama] I was starting to produce. It was pretty open but still very instrumental-based, and if you did anything electronic, it was kind of discouraged – there wouldn’t even be any places to plug in. You were there to be a trumpet player or whatever, you weren't there to do these different things.

Do you think it’s because of this quite intense musical study that you’re now able to be an effective producer?

There are loads of producers that don't necessarily play. I think it just gives me a better understanding of how music was put together, I've been reading music since I was really young. I had to – I was playing in loads of different groups and bands, in lots of different styles. It just gives me a better understanding of what I'm making.

The producing then feeds into my performing because it helps me consider things as a whole, kind of trying to have one ear on myself and one on the band – it's a different way of listening.

And you’re probably one of just a handful of female label bosses out there.

I think everything area of my music is quite male-dominated, whether it's playing the trumpet or producing, and I mix my own stuff as well. People always ask who has mixed or produced my stuff, and I have to say its me. My partner used to be in my band and everyone thought he had produced everything – it made me so angry.

Now you’ve got the reigns at a label, what’s your approach going to be?

I don't think that I need to do a particular thing, my reaction would always just to do the opposite. I just want to tell a different story, if I started a label and didn't differentiate it from anyone else, I'd think it was pointless and just a waste of energy.

I have a motto that I try to apply to everything I do: move the body, move the mind, move the soul.

I want it to be music that balances groove and stuff that is a bit nuts and forward thinking, with stuff that is about real subjects. I want it to be a collaborative label, with music that doesn't necessarily belong in other places. It's almost like I want to legitimise bootlegs that people just throw up on SoundCloud - not just thinking about how things will sell. If people just wanted to come to my place and record things on one mic, it doesn't have to be super fleshed-out”.

PHOTO CREDIT: @_saoirseoleary

I have quoted a lot from others, but it is the best way to discover more about a truly extraordinary artist. I wanted to spotlight her, as I have been digging into her back catalogue and seeing how she has grown through the years. Although this year is rather strange and we will not see many more gigs happen, I do think 2021 will be a year when Emma-Jean Thackray takes to some big stages and gets a lot more exposure. I can imagine Thackray is busy during lockdown with her label responsibilities and, perhaps, planning some new music. If you have not heard of Emma-Jean Thackray, do go and source her music and find out more. She is a wonderful talent and, as a producer and label boss, someone who is going to be helping to nurture other artists. She is one of those rare artists who has evolved through the years and seems to become more impressive and accomplished by the year. Although she has laid down some wonderful music already, I am sure she’d be the first to agree that, in her career, she has…