London based, Swedish vocalist Emilia Martensson shares her fourth LP ‘Loredana‘, a beautifully introspective journey through the adversity and wilderness of the term ‘Mother‘. 

Celebrating the infinite interpretations around the ‘mother – child relationship’, the project was initially inspired by four specific questions Emilia asked her audience:

1. Describe your mother with one word.
2. What is the main thing you feel your mother has taught you/best advice she has given you?
3. Is there anything you feel you regret in terms of your relationship to your mother?
4. Do you have a specific memory of you and your mother or a story about your mother you would like to share?

These acute observations into the complexities of one of the most significant relationships of our lives has produced an explosive body of work infused with Scandinavian folk, jazz and art pop. From the swathes of dreamy strings and pockets of brass instrumentation on opening number ‘Arm Ourselves (Against Ourselves)‘ to the delicate electronics of ‘Weariest River‘, each track is enriched with Emilia’s exquisite vocal talent and thoughtful lyricism. 

In this interview spotlight, I chat with Emilia about her latest project, challenges, technology and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)

I am originally from Sweden but I am also half Slovene on my mothers side. I have lived in London for the past 18 years. I am sure that all of these three different ‘homes’ have influenced my music somehow and shaped the way I sound. From the age of 15 I got heavily in to jazz. This approach to music has influenced me a great deal and I believe this comes across in the music I create in terms of phrasing and language and the way I compose. My Swedish heritage also reveals itself a lot in my melodies and in the mood I create in my songs. 

What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?

Singing led me down this path. It was just something that came naturally to me. It is not always an easy path but it is one that seemed to be carved out for me somehow, so I’ll just keep going. I suppose what really motivates me is all the amazing musicians I have around me and just the need to sing and make music. I have to. 

How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?

I wanted to create something that my audiences could relate to on a personal level. I decided to have ‘MOTHER’ as a theme for the album and to involve my audience in the creative process by asking four specific questions relating to the mother-child relationship. Their answers became the inspiration when writing this new material. 

Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?

I suppose I don’t know any other age as a professional musician BUT I feel there needs to be a shift in how people access music these days. It is a beautiful thing in many ways that we can share our music so easily but it also has its major disadvantages. There needs to be a better balance. 

What was the last song you listened to?

Be Careful by Sarah Coleman

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

Vinyl and MP3’s

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

I prefer Bandcamp. I think the philosophy here is fair and much more in favour of the artists and the label. 

Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?

Bandcamp, Facebook and on my website www.emiliamartensson.com. 

Anything else before we sign off?

Well….best place to connect with me and my music would be in a live situation! As The EFG London Jazz Festival is coming up I’d like to invite you all to my gig on the 23rd of November at The Vortex Jazz Club where I will be playing music from the new album with my amazing band featuring Luca Boscgain on Guitar, Fulvio Sigurta on Trumpet, Sam Lasserson on Bass and Jon Scott on drums. I will also be doing a UK tour in February! I hope to see you out there 🙂