Emmy the Great | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Emma-Lee Moss |
Born |
Hong Kong |
4 November 1984
Origin | London, England |
Genres | Anti-folk,indie folk |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
Years active | 2006–present |
Labels | Drowned in Sound, Fear And Records, Moshi Moshi, Close Harbour |
Associated acts | Younghusband, So Say So, Pengilly's, Three Trapped Tigers, Noah and the Whale, Jeremy Warmsley, Johnny Flynn, Brighton Port Authority, Lightspeed Champion, Ash |
Website | www |
Members |
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Emma-Lee Moss (born 4 November 1984), known by her stage name Emmy the Great, is a London-based singer-songwriter. She has released three studio albums, First Love, Virtue and Second Love.
Moss was born in Hong Kong to an English father and a Chinese mother. Interested in music from a young age, she used to go by train to her nearest Tower Records shop so that she could buy the only non-Chinese music they had and, as a result, she developed a liking for bands such as Weezer, The Smashing Pumpkins, and The Lemonheads.
A British citizen through her father and with the ending of Hong Kong's status as a British colony, she returned with her family to London at the age of 12.
During the writing of her second album Virtue, Moss' atheist fiancé underwent a religious conversion, and left her as a result. Her song Trellick Tower is thought to have been inspired by this.
She started making music after encouragement from The Get Up Kids while at Fuji Rock Festival as part of Joe Strummer's entourage. Since then, she has performed with indie folk groups Lightspeed Champion and Noah and the Whale, but is primarily known for her solo work. She first emerged under the name Emmy the Great in 2006, when she released a series of free demos over the internet. She says the moniker came about when "[she] wanted to be a backing singer and [...] wanted to have something to hand to people... 'Emmy' is a name they called me at university, which I hated, and 'the Great' I added on because I hated 'Emmy' so much."
Her debut single, Secret Circus, was released in April 2006.
She began writing her debut album, First Love, in "dilapidated studios" owned by The Earlies in rural Lancashire and was released in February 2009. It spawned the singles We Almost Had A Baby and First Love. The album was received with generally positive reviews, while The New York Times compiled their list of "Best Albums of the Year 2009" and ranked First Love at #7.