Local Teen Artist Releases Debut EP

Maryborough’s Emma Newman has been singing for as long as she can remember, and next month the 17-year-old releases her first album.

“I’m extremely excited for people to finally hear what I’ve been working on this past year,” she enthused.

The EP “A Perfect Storm” will be launched on Emma’s website June 2 and will also be available in person at her gigs, including The Beach House Hotel in Scarness every Thursday evening.

Emma said the title of the album came from her interpreting the phrase ‘a perfect storm’ as “beautiful chaos” which, for her, summed up the art of song writing.

“Everything that goes into writing – the experiences, the emotions and the doubt – feels like this raging storm, but the way it’s all transformed into art makes it feel so perfect, like it suddenly all makes sense,” she said.

“That really reflected the process of creating this EP and ‘A Perfect Storm’ felt like such a fitting title.”

Passionate about writing and singing, the self-taught artist expresses whatever she’s feeling through her music, her unique style landing in between acoustic pop and folk.

Much of Emma’s musical inspiration is drawn from Kate Miller-Heidke, Tori Amos, Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift.

Emma states that seeing everything come together had been one of the most rewarding parts of creating the EP, “from the evolution of the songs, to the cover artwork, to the music videos and how they all work cohesively”.

Emma said ‘A Perfect Storm’s underlying theme was curiosity and her favourite song was “Invincible”, which she described as “The most vulnerable and raw song on the EP”.

“At the time of writing, it was a way for me to address how I felt, without any of the normal sugar-coating that happens in real conversations,” she said.

“It’s meaningful personally, because writing the song felt like such a release, in the sense that something that once felt impossible to explain has now all been said.”

Emma Newman has been booked to perform at upcoming events such as the Relish Food & Wine Festival and River Heads Rocks, and regularly appears at local venues such as The Beach House Hotel, The Clubhouse and the Hervey Bay RSL.

The singer-songwriter said she would love to explore the festival circuit and continue building her original repertoire.

“I will continue to release music and eventually travel further afield to explore the music scene in different areas,” she said.

For more information, visit emmanewmanmusic.com.au.

Emma's music development has been supported by a Fraser Coast Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) community grant. RADF is a partnership between the Queensland Government and Fraser Coast Regional Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.