Hi Terry, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
I’m good thanks! It’s been a crazy time lately, but I am feeling blessed to be working on and releasing new music.
Can you talk to us more about your latest single “Wish You Were Here”?
The song is a re-record of an old song of mine from 2012 called ‘Here’. It has always been one of my favorite songs I’ve written and to play live. The song has evolved so much over the past 10 years in different ways, especially in live settings, whether with different players backing me or completely solo. Lately I’ve been relating to the song’s themes again, so thought it was time to give the song a fresh production and a new release.
Did any event in particular inspire you to write this song?
It was originally a break up song about living in a town called Leighton Buzzard in 2012, but in 2022 it has become more of an anthem for a few friends and family members that we sadly lost due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Any plans to release any sort of video for the track?
Possibly but can’t say or not if I have plans for that at the moment. I feel the song has a great sort of wide eyed melancholic cinematic feel to it, that could suit visuals or a film or TV sync, so maybe a video could be a good thing to explore! I have just been going with my gut feeling at each stage on this whole new single release so far and the first step was to drop the audio.
How was the recording and writing process?
It has been a bit of a different process to the usual ways I’ve recorded in the past. My guitar, vocal and glockenspiel parts for the track were recorded in a studio in London but the rest of the instruments were recorded remotely in Stroud by Lukas Drinkwater at his fantastic Polyphonic Recording studio, with some mixing and other bits done remotely via Australia too.
This was originally due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Lukas working from Australia for part of the year, but as the lockdowns lifted, we realized it was quite a fun, quick and interesting way to work, so have carried on in the same manner with more tracks, with a few zoom calls to chat things through.
What role does Hertfordshire play in your music?
I moved here around 5 years ago now and the nature, wildlife and some of the historical characters that have lived in the area have proved good for inspiration. The small town I live in now is sort of in the middle of a triangle of places where very interesting philosophical writers from history including Francis Bacon, John Milton and William Penn once lived, so I am feeling their influence bearing down on me from some kind of astral realm perhaps.
The flat block that I live in backs on to a small river and woodland and we see all sorts of interesting creatures that have filtered into my more recent musical works. The artwork for ‘Wish You Were Here’ was inspired by one of a family of Muntjac Deer that live in on the opposite bank of the river and often pay us a visit.
What is it about the 70s that you find so fascinating?
70s fashion and music have definitely inspired me alot. It seems like coming out of the 60s, the music industry exploded even more. Some of the music of songwriters like John Denver, Cat Stevens, George Harrison, Carole King, JD Souther and others put out in the 70s have really influenced my music. We went for a little bit of a 70s vibe with ‘Wish You Were Here’ but have been told by some lovely fans of mine that it sounds a bit ‘timeless’ too if there can be such a thing.
Does the new single mean we can expect a new album– how’s that coming along?
Lukas and I are working on more tracks in a similar remote manner at the moment but it’s still too early to know if they will form an album, an EP or more singles. It’s an exciting process and we’re keeping things fresh and inspired at each turn.
What else is happening next in Terry Emm’s world?
Now the single has dropped, hopefully relaxing a little bit before we work out where to go next with the project.