Em teases upcoming album ‘Move’ with sun-kissed indie-pop single ‘Crush’
After carving out a reputation as one of Aotearoa’s leading sound engineers, Emily Wheatcroft-Snape is now fast establishing herself as one of the country’s most exciting indie-pop acts.
Making music under the name Em, she has today released Crush, the next single from her upcoming sophomore album, Move, which will be released first on 11-track vinyl on October 24, before then going live as an 8-track digital album on November 7.
Listen to Crush HERE
Pre-order Move on vinyl on Elastic Stage / Bandcamp (out Oct 24)
Pre-save Move on DSPs (out November 7)
The sun-kissed and effortlessly cool Crush poses the question, “Have you ever been in a situationship with someone you’ve already dated?” If so, Em adds: “This song is for you!”
“The lyrics try to describe the freedom, strength, and sadness that come with choosing to not
fall in love. Whether that is for self-protection or because there is a different form of your relationship that could be more meaningful,” she says.
Crush also sees the coming together of a handful of talented New Zealand music identities, including the song’s co-writer Jason Johnson (Eb & Sparrow), and singer-songwriter and musician, Arahi..
“I bumped into Jason at a few events. He expressed that he wanted to do more writing for others; and I wanted to stretch myself with collaboration on this album, so I invited him to my studio in Newton for a writing session,” says Em.
Together Em and Jason laid down the drums, started the bass part and layered it with a 12-string guitar, gradually building in more synths and extra parts before wrapping for the day. “After Jason left, the lyrics for the track came to me straight away – what I called in my head ‘an avoidant girlie anthem’, which I then adjusted over time. We had struggled with the synth sounds, but as happens occasionally, I found clarity once alone in the studio and figured out the part I liked.”
From there Arahi added guitar and the drums were recorded in Tom Broome’s studio. “The vocals in the drop-down bridge were the original vocals I recorded right after our writing session. The feel of them was so perfect, I can’t imagine them being any different.”
Watch the visualiser for Crush, created with Jack Mensah and filmed in Em’s lounge during the golden hour, HERE
The visualiser aims to convey the comfort and safety that accompanies the isolation of having your walls up emotionally. Featuring murky warm light, moving shadows, and haze set within a quiet home setting.”
Crush sets the scene for the release of Em’s second album, the 11-track Move, which will be released on all streaming platforms, and on vinyl, on November 7. A merger of indie, pop, and folk aesthetics, the album plays around with mesmerising guitar patterns, rich vocal layers, moody synths, and groovy drum loops to build songs in a world of their own. Ever committed to the craft of an album, Move will exist as an 11-track vinyl released on October 24 and an 8-track digital album released on November 7.
