Interview: New NYC talent Embaci

Embaci is an 18-year-old singer-songwriter from Brooklyn who interweaves her lilting voice’s commentary on body and feminist politics with shattered, metallic off-rhythms. She’s also a friend of politically minded sound collagist Elysia Crampton – who invited her to perform at RBMA’s NON vs. N.A.A.F.I showcase at Tropical 128 in May of this year. Harley Brown caught up with Embaci after the show for an episode of RBMA Radio’s The Slice to talk about recording vocals in her parents’ bathroom, her first gig and more.

Do you live at your parents’ house now? Did you grow up in a musical household?

Yeah, I still live with my parents. Kind of. My mom put me in many things very young just to see what I would like and what I didn’t like. I think music and sound has always been around me, but it wasn’t like there was anyone else in my family that was a musician. I feel like, at the same time, I like the idea that music and art is generalized, anyone can do it, everyone does it. We all do. I think at the same time I didn’t, I did.

Do you remember your first artistic experience?

I’m not quite sure. In terms of putting something together when I was in 5th grade I wrote a graduation song. Typically there would be drums, bass and guitar, but I wanted kids to play congas, I just was very into orchestrating things.

I was always studying different types of music. I went to an art school, so I studied classical there, and then I was getting into jazz as well. I think in my junior year of high school I was thinking, “What type of music do I want to express about who I am and what speaks to me?” It was about a year ago when I started making music for myself and others.

What did you use initially to start making music?

I didn’t even have a mic for my computer, so I just had to use the computer or a recorder, a thing that you would use to record something, like maybe a journalist would use. My mom had something like that, and then my keyboard, and then Garage Band. I made “Tides” with that.

It’s interesting how you can hear the echo on that song. You can almost imagine that you’re recording it in an actual physical space. Where did you record that?

I recorded it in my bathroom.

Why did you pick your bathroom?

It’s the place where it’s the most quiet in my house.

Not your bedroom?

I have a deck, so the bathroom by the deck, there’s no sounds there. When you’re closer to the ground, there’s honking and other stuff.

When did you know that that song was finished and ready to be posted?

I was home one day and I was playing around with the chords, and I just did it. It was all improv, so it was one take, and then I just did a little bit of harmonizing over. I put it out the same day.

What are the lyrics that you’re singing?

It’s, “Sometimes I get a little bit more upset by the changes.” That’s one of the lyrics. The tides and how they change I feel like is similar to life and evolution. Evolving is what I connected to. I was thinking about that while singing.

I’m interested in your singing style, because on “Tides” you take a much different tone than on something like “Frequency.” You sound very Björk-like, almost, with the atonalities that you’re taking and the way you hold syllables. What singers did you try to emulate when you were learning how to sing?

I’ve always been learning different styles. I think with “Tides” I didn’t feel as comfortable in my voice. Now, when I sing I’m more free. That’s something that helps. Growing up I listened to many different singers like Sade, Björk, Nancy Wilson, Renée Fleming.

I did a lesson with this woman and she would make me sing songs that I couldn’t sing. She would make me sing a song that was very, very low or very, very high to accept the flaws in my voice, because I think I’ve always been trying to perfect things. She was like, “Just don’t even think about it, just sing. Even if you can’t sing it, think of a note you can’t sing and still sing it.” When I was recording that I felt very powerful. That’s also something that Björk has: She has a very strong, a very noble sound in her voice as well.

When you performed at Tropical 128 [as part of the Inter-Zone party during the RBMA Festival New York] was that your first time performing publicly?

Yeah, I had performed, but I felt like I was always performing things that weren’t a good expression of who I am. I’ve sung other people’s songs, or I’ve worked on other people’s music, but for Tropical I performed “Tides” and that’s my song. I would consider that my first performance before anything else.

Were you nervous?

I was nervous. I was the last person to perform, so that’s 4 AM.

You had eight hours to get nervous.

Yeah. I was right after Elysia Crampton and she’s amazing, so everyone was already turnt, and then I performed “Tides.” I feel like it kind of brought everyone back down, which is good for going home. It was a really beautiful show. Actually, I couldn’t get in at first because I’m 18. I saw all these random people and I’m like, “Okay, I have my equipment in there.”

How did you wind up getting in?

My mom came with me, so I had a guardian.

I saw on your Tumblr, there was a GIF of you rolling your eyes at AP literature. I take it that’s not your favorite class?

I hated that class, just because it was very ... I didn’t like that class because I felt like there’s so many other books we could have read. That sucked.

What are some books and writers that you like to read?

I read Their Eyes Were Watching God recently and I really liked that book because I feel it connected so much to what’s going on in terms of people who are black in America right now. Also being a woman and considering the way that you’re viewed. In one part of the book the main character says her grandmother told her the black man’s burden is put on the black woman, and even now, I always think about that.

Listen to The Slice on RBMA Radio here every first Wednesday of the month at 11 AM EDT.