Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: Hey, I’m Emily Fields and I’m always in my feels I turn my experiences of life, love and loss into pop and soul songs. Making music helps to heal and expand my heart, and I hope to connect with a piece of yours too.
From a very young age I sang at every chance I could; putting on performances in the living room, doing theatre shows in the community and joining every choir in what my parents deemed to be a sensible radius. I taught myself to sing by listening to the greats – think Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion…you get the idea. I’ve been told I have a soulful tone so that’s probably where that comes from.
When I was little, I loved stories in all their forms – reading, watching, listening, writing, imagining – and that storytelling has stayed with me to this day. I usually start writing my songs from a feeling or an experience, then give that story its own sonic world, rather than starting from a specific sound or production element. That’s why my songs span different genres – the connecting thread is in sharing them authentically, however they want to be told.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “Emily Fields”?
A: In the 18 months I’ve been releasing music, I’ve already achieved things I didn’t think were possible. My debut single, 17, reached number 21 on the iTunes pop chart, one of my songs got featured on Love Island All Stars, I’ve collaborated with incredible artists like Broken Pen and received radio support from stations including BBC Introducing, Future Hits, Riverside, Amazing Radio, AFX London, Crags Radio and the European Indie Network.
So my plan is to keep showing up consistently, keep being my true self, and knowing the right people will find me and stay. I’ve already learnt so much about myself and I’ve got a lot more comfortable with knowing I don’t need to have it all figured out. Things are always changing and that’s a good thing because it means I’m growing – failure, rejection and mistakes are inevitable, and learning to embrace them has been a huge mindset shift for me. I also make sure to celebrate all the wins along the way, however ‘small’ they might seem, and to enjoy being in the process of becoming.
If we’re always thinking about an end goal or our dream destination, it’s easy to get burnt out or demotivated and not appreciate everything that’s already here. Practically, growing my fan base looks like continuing to write and release more singles (and an EP in the not-so-distant future ) connecting with as many people as possible to be inspired by and grow alongside, and performing live at every opportunity I get.
Oh and a message for anyone about to discover Emily Fields? Well HELLO and WELCOME, I’m glad you found your way here! I can’t wait to meet you and go on this journey together
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: That’s such a hard one, can I cheat and choose two? Okay I’m doing it…ask for forgiveness not permission and all that.
Firstly, Griff! She embodies everything it means to live and breathe artistry – from writing and producing her music, to making her own clothes, to sharing her inner world so vulnerably, to painting her artwork and designing her stage sets. She uses so many different sonic elements and explores many genres, but as soon as a Griff song comes on, you’ll know for sure it’s Griff.
And secondly, Olivia Dean – she’s the epitome of authenticity. Her soothing, understated vocals, her catchy toplines, her enchanting stage presence, and her ability to tell stories that you can’t help but be drawn into. They’re both female icons, and the industry needs more of those.
In terms of inspiration, I find it everywhere, all the time – in nature, during a coffee-shop chat with a stranger, in the graffiti hastily scribbled under a bridge, as I’m journaling or driving home… I’ve found being present and paying attention to every moment is where true connection lies.
I’ve made a big effort in the past few months to be off my phone or laptop as much as possible, to slow down and observe what’s going on around me. When we give ourselves space to just be, we start to notice things we couldn’t if we’re busy charging around all the time. There’s so much inspiration in the smallest moments of each day, sometimes we just have to shift our perspective to see it.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Always Be My Almost.”?
A: Ah, I could talk about this for hours, but I’ll try and keep it concise! “Always Be My Almost” is the song for every person who’s planned a future with their forever person, for that person to forever be their ‘almost’ instead. It cycles through the emotions of grief, regret, sadness, nostalgia, and hope. For as long as we are alive, hope for a better day exists.
I stopped talking to someone extremely special to me at the beginning of this year, and this song naturally poured out a few weeks later. It was around the same time that Netflix released their adaptation of ‘One Day’ (if you know, you know). Watching Dexter and Emma’s magical but tragic love story aligned with everything I was feeling, and still feel in many ways. So really it’s their song too.
One thing I love about making music is that people take away their own messages and feelings from it. But my intention here was to know you’re never alone – that something so deeply personal is actually universal. To allow yourself to feel it all, for to feel so intensely is to embrace what it truly means to be human. To give yourself permission to sit with it and just be, when we live in a culture that encourages ‘getting over someone’ and ‘moving on.’
There’s an analogy I found of love being a ‘well’ or love being an ‘ocean.’ If love is a well, it’s narrow, deep and dark, and can feel overwhelming or all-consuming. We can get stuck there if we’re not mindful. But if love is an ocean, it becomes expansive, ever-flowing and endless. Loving one person does not negate the possibility of loving others. Sometimes the waves will crash a little harder, perhaps on certain dates or in certain places that activate memories or feelings. And sometimes the waves will be soft and gentle – flowing just as they are.
The person I wrote this song about will always (ahem, excuse the pun) be special to me, and I’ll always love them, even though we’re not together anymore. My healing transformed when I realised we don’t have to force ourselves to stop loving people and ultimately deny a piece of who we are. Instead, our life experiences, emotional resilience and capacity to love others simply grows wider and bigger around them.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A: Emotive
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Always Be My Almost”?
A: Of course – if you don’t come up against any challenges then I’m not sure you’re doing it right! I actually wrote the topline and lyrics for this song in about 30 minutes, which was a nice surprise, as it usually takes me a lot longer. But the challenge came in finding the right world for it to sit in musically. I didn’t want it to be a full-blown ballad, or pure pop either, it needed more nuance than that. So it took a lot of experimentation to get the piano lines right, and sonically capture the range of feelings the story was telling.
This song wasn’t actually supposed to be my next single, but I made an intentional decision to boost it to the top of the queue (that’s one joy of being a fully independent artist). It was definitely the right decision because I could embrace sharing very vulnerably in my release plans on socials, radio and PR, and I believe that’s why this was my most ‘successful’ release yet.
But that was a huge challenge for me in that I was still processing what I’d gone through in my actual life. So I had to learn to balance leaning in enough to connect with people, but maintaining enough distance to protect myself and my boundaries, and still be able to actually function as an adult
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A: As cheesy as it sounds, the message is to be unapologetically yourself. To know that your place in the world matters. And also to get curious with who you really are, to go inwards and explore what’s truly yours and what you might be carrying that feels like you, but are really just conditioned beliefs or patterns.
We always have more choices than we think. Once we start living in our truth, everything is a lot less scary. It doesn’t matter what people say or do, who leaves or who rejects you, because you know yourself and you’ve got your own back.
My overarching goal is to live a life off my creativity. I’ve got lots of subgoals and bucket list items beneath that, as I’m sure all artists do. But the goal is intentionally broad – it helps me focus less on outcomes and attaching to one path, and keeps me focused on showing up and being open to whatever opportunities are presenting themselves.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: An impossible question! But I’ll stick with my inspiring artists for now for all the reasons I mentioned above – so Griff and Olivia Dean. Here’s hoping this is my sign that it’ll happen one day
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: Stop thinking about it, start doing it! You’re never going to feel ready, and that feeling never leaves, so get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable. Get out to events, gigs, workshops and meet as many people as you can. You never know what might happen, but you have to show up. You don’t need ‘qualifications’ to succeed. Be your own best supporter and have intentions of where you want to go, but release expectations and detach from the outcomes.
Remember that what matters is you care about your art. Always be open to feedback and learning, but use your discernment – one person’s opinion does not define your worth or potential. Remember that being liked by everyone is impossible and perfectionism is the antithesis of creativity.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: Ohhh you’ve really got me thinking here! I’d probably say trust yourself enough to just start. Try to let go of what your education, culture, society, family or friends believe and focus more on what you believe.
Stop waiting for things to be perfectly aligned before you take action, because they never will be. Time will pass anyway, it’s your responsibility to create a fulfilling life for yourself and only you can make that choice. Life will always be hard; you choose your hard – realise when you’re blocking yourself and get out of your own way
