Emily Saunders, the London-born vocalist, songwriter, and producer has long been a genre-smasher, a sonic alchemist weaving Brazilian rhythms, synth-drenched atmospheres and jazz-fusion into something that’s sensual, cerebral, and completely her own. Now, with Moon Shifts Oceans, she’s delivered a shimmering, soul-baring record that feels universal but yet personal. Jason Barnard caught up with Emily as she unleashes her boldest work yet.
“Moon Shifts Oceans” is a title of poetic grandeur. Were you drawn to it because of the cosmic implications, the tidal forces of human emotion, or simply because of how it sounds?
Yes, I love how “Moon Shifts Oceans” sounds as a title – it’s lyrics from “Sideways”, one of the tunes on the album – “Moon Shifts Oceans while shining on the water”. It’s also about a kind of concept, that the moon is much smaller than the earth, and looks tiny in the sky, but its gravitational pull moves the tides, moving our oceans round the world. For me it represents that small things can create great change, so I find it an inspiring concept that sometimes we can feel small in relation to what’s happening in the world around us, but our individual and collective voices do matter and can influence positive change.
You describe ‘Floating’ as a song about self-reflection and personal accountability after a failed relationship. But do you think there’s ever such a thing as a completely objective perspective on love lost?
Yes, that’s such a good question! And it depends on each relationship we have through our lives doesn’t it – we grow and learn each time. Aside from the basic morals of right and wrong (which I feel are universal as a constant), when it comes to other things in relationships, each person’s perspective is so key and can be so different. Who has the answers to love and lost love…? With the tune ‘Floating’ I tried to describe one time where the love seemed to float back and forth, then disappeared, but then at the time rather than my just feeling ‘oh poor me’, with this particular song it was me looking in the mirror and thinking, “yep that was on me too”.
You’ve been called “the Queen of Jazz Fusion.” Do you embrace that, or does it feel like a straitjacket?
It blows me away to be honest. Snowboy the amazing DJ, producer was the first person to call me the Queen of Jazz Fusion, then amazingly it stuck with more DJs saying it too. There’s obviously so many incredible jazz fusion artists, but in my specific little corner of it, things seem to be going well, so I just feel I need to rise to the challenge. I think some people might see Jazz Fusion as a specific sound, but I feel contemporary Jazz Fusion can incorporate many difficult stylistic influences. I’ve found it quite liberating finding that the cacophony of musical influences I blend together in my music can have a way of describing it so strongly.
There’s a great tradition of storytelling in jazz, think of Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, even Tom Waits. Do you see yourself as part of that lineage, or is your storytelling impulse drawn from elsewhere?
Yes, there are so many genius songwriters in jazz through time, and those are some of my absolute favorites. I feel song-storytelling comes from both songwriters reflecting on their own life, and on what they see around them. Plus I think it’s how that’s also balanced sometimes with a sense of intrigue for the listener too, drawing them in to think about their own experiences too.
You grew up in a musical family. Was there a single formative moment, an album, a performance, a melody, that first made you fall irreversibly in love with music?
Music has been a way of life for me since dot, just walking past the piano then writing a song, or singing my head off looking out the window when a tiny kid, it was just a natural thing to do (fortunately the neighbours didn’t complain! 🙂 There’s formative moments throughout growing up, with certain albums, or performances, but one time that’s totally formative as to how important music is to me, is when I lived in a hostel in my teens. I’d go to an empty local church at the end of the road (when I was meant to be at school), which had a wonderful big grand piano in a cavernous hall. I’d be there on my own hearing my voice ringing round the huge space, writing songs on the piano. For me the music was a sense of continuity, me still being me, and somehow making a difficult time have some sort of sense of home.
There is a certain warmth, a glow, to your music that suggests an unshakable belief in the restorative power of sound. Are you a musical optimist by nature, or does that light come from having walked through the dark?
Thank you, that’s a lovely thing to hear! I do hope to create happiness, warmth, kind of a sense of connection in my music. And yes I feel there is a restorative power of sound. I’m definitely an optimist by nature – when I was a kid, my Nana said always said “the glass is always half full”, kind of prompting me to always look for the positive, and I’ve always carried that with me, that when life has tough times, there will be good things to focus on, to be grateful for, and to power up.
Recently I lost the capacity to walk fully for a few years, and became totally isolated, experiencing a lot of physical pain with Psoriatic Arthritis which at the time contorted my limbs. So I decided I had to somehow power-up, and with some funding, I trained in music recording and editing, so I could continue with my work when totally unable to leave the house. It’s led to me having so much more creative freedom and to make music that I feel has grown and developed loads, somehow because I focused on the half of the glass that was full, it’s now become loads fuller :).
Given your global reach, do you notice subtle differences in how audiences react to your music depending on where you’re performing? Is there a country that ‘gets’ your sound in a particularly special way?
I love performing live, being back on stage means the world to me. I feel so happy and grateful to be there again, and for people to come and hear me sing and play. I couldn’t be happier than when on stage, the time goes by so fast, and I can’t wait for the next one. It’s also amazing to hear my music being played around the world, just blown my mind to be honest. It feels like somehow, wherever it’s played it goes down well, from the US to Japan to Denmark to South Africa to Mexico, it’s seeming to have the same global appeal, it’s just blown me away! 🙂
And finally, what’s one thing nobody ever asks you in interviews, but you wish they would?
Ahhh that’s such a difficult and brilliant question! I’ve never been asked what I have for breakfast everyday…. And my answer is a high-protein food to power-up the mind and body, which is a funny combination that my friends always laugh at – it’s a plate of eggs, fish, and walnuts! 🙂
Further information
Moon Shifts Oceans by Emily Saunders is out now
