Interview: Emily Warren
The 'Side Effects' singer opened up about the inspiration behind her album, upcoming music videos and more.
Emily Warren is not the artist you want to slip your mind when scrolling through Spotify or Apple Music. This singer-songwriter is the writer behind some of your favorite hits on the charts and also creates her own successful music as well. With the recent release of her new album 'Quiet Your Mind,' things have been busy, to say the least, for Warren. In an interview with Odyssey, she explained the importance of a proper writing session and process as well as who she would want to tour within the upcoming year.
Congratulations on your new album 'Quiet Your Mind!' What can you tell me about that project and work as a whole?
It was kind of a long time coming...I was sitting on a couple of the songs for a little while and I've kind of been behind the scenes writing with other people and I've been doing that for a long time which I love. It was time for me to tell my own story and it's been really awesome sharing that and seeing people's reactions.
How has it been to see hear the feedback and tweets of supporting fans after you have been working on it for such a long time?
It was nerve-wracking right before it came out, but now I've gotten amazing feedback and really awesome messages from people saying that it's helping them or that it's relatable. I couldn't have asked for a better response.
You had a huge hit in the summer with the Chainsmokers called 'Side Effects!' How was it to work with them again after Don't Let Me Down and see the response of so much love for the song?
It's been awesome. I've done a bunch of stuff with them and this is the first thing that has been a single with my voice on it that actually went to radio. That's been pretty amazing. You can't even describe the feeling when you hear your own voice on the radio. They're awesome to work with and we're homies now, so it's been fun performing and chilling with them. It's been great. It's good to have successes with people [you are friends with] because then it's fun to celebrate.
The Chainsmokers - Side Effects (Official Video) ft. Emily Warrenwww.youtube.com
What is the songwriting process for you like when you are writing for other people?
I like to start with a conversation at the very beginning. Sometimes it depends on if it's the first time we're meeting or if we know each other well. Sometimes it's an hour. Sometimes it's longer than that. I always find that if I talk to people and we find a conversation and everyone is comfortable, the story comes out of them and that's a great experience. Once we've spoken for a long time and I find out what's bothering them or what's going on in their love life, there's generally something to take from that [conversation] that you can start the song with. I've found that to be the most therapeutic and therefore, rewarding process.
You won a Grammy back in 2016 which is a huge deal! Congratulations on winning one for 'Don't Let Me Down!' How was that experience?
Thank you! That's like everyone, who makes music, like [their] kind of big dream. It was for the first song that did really well like that and it was so completely surreal. I'm still not over it.
Emily Warren - Paranoid (Official Music Video)www.youtube.com
How do you think your sound has evolved?
I've gotten better at being more concise with the lyrics and saying what I need to say without a lot of extra [words]. I think that makes things more relatable because it kind of leaves it [the song] somewhere in the middle.
If you could tour with any artist or band in 2019, who would it be and why?
Probably John Mayer because I think he's the best and it would be so cool to see that show every night.
What are your goals of aspirations for 2019?
I think, in a lot of ways, a lot of the same. I'm still going to keep writing with other people and still going to make my own music. Also, hopefully, expand to other areas. I'm going to do some stuff with film and tv, so just [to] keep moving forward.
