Emei
By Han S.
Emei has unveiled her highly anticipated EP, ‘RABBITHOLE’. Featuring two brand-new singles, this body of work was heavily inspired by the classic film Alice In Wonderland as Emei leads us through a tale of love, friendship, young adulthood, mental health, and more. Dubbed by Spotify as an “Artist To Watch” in 2024. tmrw caught up with Emei to learn more.
1. Your music in three words? “Chaos, brain dump, and energy.”
2. What message or feeling do you hope people walk away with after listening to your music? “I want people to feel like it’s okay to be a mess sometimes and also to feel less lonely. It’s always so special to meet people who say that they relate to my songs or that I’m writing songs about their life, but it kind of works both ways. When people say that my songs are relatable, it makes me feel less lonely, so that’s what I would like for them to feel as well.”
3. When you’re not making music, what’s something surprising you love to do that helps fuel your creativity? “I am a gym rat, and I feel like people don’t actually know that about me. It’s always so helpful for me to go to the gym and go hard for like an hour and a half. It frees up my brain from anxiety, and it just feels good. It kind of clears my pathways for the creativity that comes through.”
4. How do you balance creating music that’s true to yourself while also staying in tune with what’s trending in the industry? “I think I listen to a lot of music, old music, new music, and I feel like just by listening to music, that is already keeping myself in tune with what’s trending in the industry. Beyond that, all I’m focused on is just making music that makes me happy and makes my brain happy. So, I think priority number one is always making stuff that I’m proud of, regardless of what’s happening in the industry.”
5. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned about the music industry that no one told you before you started? “I think it has to be that following your intuition is always the right answer, especially as an artist. You have to just listen to your instincts, let your creativity flow, support that, and not try to direct it in ways that aren’t true to yourself.”
6. What advice would you give someone just starting out their music career? “I would definitely tell them, if they’re trying to be an artist or a songwriter, to write as many bad songs as possible. I felt like I wrote maybe three or four hundred songs before I got to a point where I was genuinely really proud of the stuff I was making. It’s really important not to be scared of writing bad music. You have to write all of that stuff before you get to the good stuff, and you have to just have fun while doing that. So yeah, just write as many bad songs as possible.”
7. What stands out to you as the main differentiator on your current music from your previous work? “I think the main differentiator for this EP, compared to my last EP, is the world-building element. I was really intentional about the journey I wanted this project to take the listener through, and it feels like it’s really for the fans, but also for the inner part of me. It’s been so much fun to explore the visual world that comes with that.”
8. What does tomorrow mean to you? “Tomorrow means a clean slate. Tomorrow means new music and more exciting things to explore. And yeah, tomorrow just always feels really hopeful for me and like a fresh start. That’s how I like to think about it.”
9. What does your new Rabbithole EP mean to you? “It feels like therapy to me. It was one of those projects where I was going through writer’s block when I first started it, and I had to step back and tell myself, you know what, everything falls into place the way it needs to if I just let myself follow my intuition. And my intuition really led me to this project. I think it’s more vulnerable than my past projects, and it’s a little darker. I was scared to make music like this, especially in a time where fast-paced, energetic stuff is what goes viral on the internet. I’m really proud of myself, and I feel like this project opened a whole new world for me. It feels like growth—that’s what this project is.”
10. What do you want your fans to take away from listening to this project? “I want them to just fall into the world of this project. I really want them to watch the visualizers we made to go with the songs. I also want them to find pieces of themselves in this world and find meaning in the songs that fit their lives. Hopefully, they’ll find songs they can sing to themselves in the shower, in the car, and that can help them in any way possible. Yeah, that’s what I want.”
11. When will we get a chance to hear these tracks live? “You will get a chance to hear these tracks live on tour next year, on my Rabbithole Tour. It goes from the beginning of February to the beginning of April. It’s two full months, and I’m so excited. We’re playing thirty-seven cities, so go check it out and buy a ticket now.”
12. How is Emei looking to conquer 2025? “So much more music, so many more shows. I am not planning on slowing down anytime soon, so definitely keep an eye out. There’s going to be a lot more super soon. Thank you guys so much for your support!”