Emma
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Emma

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"A Reason to Stay Up All Night"

Wow. 'A Reason To Stay Up All Night' is a “must hear, must buy and must hear again and again.”

Vocalist/songwriter, Emma is one of the best things to come along in a long time; her music appeals to a broad range of listeners as evidenced by the audiences at any of her gigs.

Emma’s style is uniquely Emma and brings a blend of jazz, as in the title track 'A Reason to Stay Up All Night or in 'Stay With Me Tonight,' delightful whimsy in 'Come Here to Me (The Ice Cream Song),' and love and longing of the heart as heard in 'For You' and 'Exceed My Expectations.'

Emma is that rare combination of innocence and intellect who creates music with such memorable lyrics and catchy tunes that we are left humming and singing her songs. One of my favorite tracks on this CD is 'Part of Your Mudra' a bit naughty and very delicious! Even Emma’s break-up song 'I Don’t Like You Either' speaks Truth for many who have been loved and left.

This CD is one of those gems we have the privilege to take home to enjoy, finding something new each time we listen. Thank you Emma for such a refreshing project! - Kate of Sister Kate's Dance and Dine Radio Show


"New Artist Review"

What I am generally hearing here is something religious and humorous and witty. The piano style on the whole sounds like something heard in a parlor of the American West. There is a sense of longing and wanting to belong to something specific, but as to what that something is exactly is rather difficult to decipher. The melodic lines are rather easy to follow and the voice is natural and soft and suits the general mood of the record nicely. In other places the piano work is highly expressive and moody, perhaps not dissimilar to some of the more so quieter moments by Beethoven. There are instances in which the vocal work reminds one of Nick Drake, in short: Perfect rainy day music. However, the artist does not seem to give into any real sense of depression, as a certain highly literary humor is very obvious in the lyrical content. The lyrics themselves are not out of place, as they are finely edited on the whole and often repeat their themes.

The elements that remind me of Baroque era Classical are quite pleasing due to the sense of drama that enters the picture, like on “Pet (Helena’s Lament)” which is track three on the album. However, things are given a modern twist after the introduction and the lyrics seem to inform me that the song is possibly about the unique and loving perspective of a dog? I am reminded of the sassy Nellie McKay in places, and like her, these songs seem to belong to a different time and place and coming decidedly from an old soul. Elements of Classical can be heard again on “Stay with Me Tonight,” which is track four on the album. Some of the collective atmospherics contained on the various pieces of instrumentation are rather familiar to something heard on a film soundtrack, and one does tend to see a film playing in their head with music of this variety. Perhaps not quite as gut wrenching as some of the more potent material by Van Morrison, but if you are in the mood for a Singer/Songwriter with a decidedly Jazzy approach on the whole, I suggest giving it a shot and let the mood of the music take over…
- www.musicbyday.com


"Something New..."

Just when you thought there was nothing new out there, along comes a
local musician with an invigorating album that emanates passion and wit.
Emma Wallace is a young artist with a considerable force of her own. Her
soulful voice and lyrics, a bit reminiscent of Norah Jones, lend the
album "A Reason to Stay Up all Night" a heat that makes it believable. - Christina Kollar Cowherd for Infusion


"Emma Wallace- Orlando Weekly Staff Selection"


Orlando acoustic-jazz vocalist Emma Wallace has quite a sucker punch. She is equally perceptive and enthralling in the multiple genres she skips across on her album, A Reason to Stay Up All Night (available on iTunes). A Reason features the socially conscious redhead as a Tin Pan Alley plugger, a vaudevillian tease and a smoky Blue Note seductress. Wallace uses her exceptional storytelling ability as the setup for heart-wrenching couplets designed to disarm. For every amorous metaphor (“You’re like the first time Bonnie and Clyde held up a bank”), there lies a buried, yet personally revealing sting (“I’m ready to be the girl you take for granted”). Wallace extols the benefits of loving a hippie (“Baby, you’re more enlightened than most men can attain”) on “Part of Your Mudra,” but gently emasculates the same partner frightfully efficiently (“But in bed I don’t want a Buddha, I want a Genghis Khan”). From the lyrics to her joyfully unpredictable chord changes, Wallace keeps you on your toes, which seems to be just where she wants you – all the better to “saute your heart.” - Orlando Weekly - Selections of the Week


"Emma Wallace: A Reason to Stay Up All Night"

Today we’re looking at a local lady from Orlando (I’m in Florida) called Emma Wallace. Or, just Emma.

This chica has serious self-propagation skills. It seems she has invested herself into her music, traveling to California and back, and creating her own image without the help of any major recording label. Think piano-soft rock, whimsical lovelicious lyrics and a soft but oddly demanding voice. Responsible for all the lyrics and music, Emma has recorded an impressive debut (sort of a debut) album. You even get to hear a harpsichord. Which I think is kickass, because, hello? Who else uses those?

My definite fave is ‘Alice In Wonderland’. It’s like walking down streets in Paris as a scorned, female and then turning into a mourner’s lament. Quite awesome. And she speaks Spanish, if you like that, but being as I live in Florida, hearing Spanish fails to excite me.

Check Emma out. Definitely, definitely worth a spin and your ear. She’s up and coming, and needs to be the one and only Emma.

Happy Monday. - lovethemusicreviews.com


"Fresh, Bold, Funny and Strong"



From sunny Orlando, Florida comes a girl who was grew up with a piano; first classical and later she choose for jazz. But she only started writing songs seven years ago. She spend some time in California were she really found her inspiration. A place that, I also believe, must be the musical heaven in the States...
And after putting together an EP and doing some gigs in coffee shops and small venues, she's ready to make a debut album. She took 2 producers from each coast and recorded a part in Pasadena, CA and most of it in her home town Orlando, FL.

"A Reason To Stay Up All Night" is the result and it's a new fresh wind in the music business. And I know what you're thinking. It's another woman with a sweet voice and a piano. I can tell you, after playing it five times on day one –and not getting fed up with it- you're wrong. The musical influence she puts in her songs and the literal pieces in her lyrics, distinct her from the rest. Let me give you a guide through her album and through the night…

For me it's a concept album and the title track hits off perfectly. With a waltz she explains you how you can spend the night. To be alone and longing for love. Or just start the dance with your loved one.
With "Caught" she directly tells you how the album –and the night- evolves. A sweet tango in music and lyrics, builds up a sexy tension.
Then suddenly she cuddles up like a "Pet" and tells you what she likes and wants. She is direct and doesn't beat around the bush. Under that sweet voice lays a self determined layer of lust. It's not perverse but sexy.
And when you're feeling cozy, a masterpiece hits you in the face. She takes Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, puts her own lyrics on it and for the chorus she plays a jazz tune. Fantastic fusion! In "Stay With Me Tonight" she shows again her directness. "I've been same girl all along/too independent, proud and strong." Even [though] she hates to be needy; she'll ask to be tucked in.
And then, naked with only voice and piano, she tells her lover that's she's ready to exceed her expectations.
One important aspect of all these coziness, cuddling up and building up expectations is humor. All has to be fun. Enjoying in what you give and what you get. Fooling around, teasing.
"Part of Your Mudra" is one of the funniest, sexy –with a pinch of erotica- songs on this album. A Mudra, for those who don't know what it is, is a Buddhistic gesture of the hands. "I want to be part of your Mudra/only if it's a carnal one/But in bed I don't want a Buddha/ I want a Genghis Kahn." It sounds funny, but deadly serious!
I think that her lover couldn't handle this emancipated woman and by lack of strength himself he threw her out…A bit crushed, but still a bit in love, she keeps her humor in the song "I Don't Like You Either."
As strong and independent as you can be, love still makes you naïve. When it's over, it isn't; always hoping that everything is come out right. The only problem you have is that you can't defend it on your own. It's always annoying when you have to answer on the question that you're in denial which you're not!! So she gives a little cry for help in another fine simple jazzy song called "Support For My Argument."
And in a high pitched voice she takes in "For You" a bold statement.
"They say that there's a person per person/and I don't know if that's thru/But I know if I was with somebody/I leave him for you."
And again she uses a different style of music. After a jazzy song we have a classical with acoustic guitar and piano.
And of course a great album needs a great finale. Not in orchestral way, but a strong piano runs through "Come Here To Me (The Ice Cream Man Song)." She metaphorically tells us that she doesn't want to chase the Ice Cream Man for a treat. No, he has to come to her! As her voice fades nicely away and after her the piano, we fall to sleep as the sun rises…
A wonderful and delightful album. From a girl who's strong in her mind, voice and musical skills. It's lovely how she mixes classical parts with jazz. And in her lyrics she plays with words and the listener. She grabs the bull by the horns and tells him directly what she wants.

Therefore this great debut is fresh, bold, funny and strong. Just what it needs to be. You have to stamp your name on the map and tell the world: Here I am. This is exactly what she does and hopefully Emma is even better on stage.
- Kritje (from Belgium)


Discography

A Reason to Stay Up All Night
Alice In Wonderland (5 track EP)
Florida Music Festival Compilation CD (2004)

Photos

Bio

I started concentrating seriously on music when I turned seven and my piano teacher said, "Although Emma is a real sweet girl, her older brother has all the talent." Needless to say, I have been passionate about working on my music ever since. I've played everywhere from beachside coffee shops and the Central Florida Veg Fest to the Florida Music Festival (where a reviewer described my gig as one of the "most impressive acts of the night") and Virgin Megastore.

I have had loving write-ups in the Orlando Weekly, Unsigned, the Magazine and blogs around the globe as well as been voted one of the "20 Coolest People in Orlando for 2008" by aXis Magazine.

I released my first album "A Reason to Stay Up All Night" (available on iTunes, Virgin Megastore and my own website) and look forward to my songs securing a place in the playlist at wine tastings and candlelit dinners.

My most prominent influence is Sting. But my love for classic jazz greats- both performers and writers (Thelonious Monk, Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Connick, Jr., George Gershwin, Cole Porter) definitely adds its tone to my music. I also love great songwriters: Randy Newman, Paul Simon, Emily Loizeau, George Michael etc. In one friendly review, the writer says, "Her songs, imbued with a swaggering and conscious sexuality, are unmistakably feminine. Even when she's not singing about love and longing, it's still there, clasped between the chords and her warm vocals."

I've had the wonderful experience to play all around central Florida including:
Florida Music Festival
Central Florida Veg Fest
Central Florida Fair
Virgin Megastore
Baldwin Park Steakhouse
Infusion Tea
Dandelion Communitea
Tatame
Drunken Monkey
Austin's Coffee
Natura Coffee and Tea
Orlando Public Library