Providence Singer/Songwriter EMELINE Makes Her Debut as a Solo Artist

“I like to let my subconscious lead both lyrics and melody and then get technical afterward,” says Emeline Easton, the “deeply rooted” Providence-born singer, songwriter, actress, and musician, now based in Los Angeles. Known as EMELINE, she recently released a music video for her song “6-Foot-Deep” – a satisfying mix of vintage-gothic and 1950s culture. In a parallel visual representation, the video portrays EMELINE assuming the images of bygone eras as a way to come to terms with her own story through gallows humor.

“This was a very personal story and writing ‘6-Foot-Deep’ started almost like a therapy session with my producer Oscar Neidhart. He made me feel really comfortable in the room, so opening up felt fluent and we just let the song write itself,” EMELINE explains. “There are sarcastic undertones within the song and video, but it’s also genuinely sad because I did feel almost like a ghost in the world for a while as a result of those experiences. I wanted to dramatize my feelings and transport my story into a different era.”

In making the video EMELINE worked with stylist Cassie Wise using an authentic wardrobe from the 1950s. “I liked telling the story of a woman not being heard in that setting and era since it was even harder for women to stand up or leave situations back then.” The song carries hints of acts like Phantogram or MIA in style, mood, and texture; instrumentation is minimal, allowing the words to breathe throughout each hypnotic, almost mantra-like verse before pulling back to a simple melody and chorus.

With punk-rock sensibilities, EMELINE speaks plainly about her takes on the way things are and the way things should be and, after giving a listen to older tracks like “Hush,” it becomes clear that this discomfort with the status quo is not new territory for EMELINE; the same urgency and commitment can be heard opening up for Elizabeth Warren at the Boston Women’s March in 2017 or creating new music in the kind of solitude only offered by a pandemic.

“It’s wild to think that the Women’s March was four years ago. Our country has been through so much,” EMELINE recalls, “but I do believe there is more hope for us than ever with Donald Trump finally out of office. It’s my responsibility as a cis white person to help uplift the voices of those that are more marginalized than mine and to be continuously actively anti-racist. We are amidst a revolution, and revolutions cannot slow down.”

With the world of touring on hold and the year 2021 upon us, EMELINE plans to release her back-catalog as a series of singles with self-directed videos. EMELINE says, “Right now there is an opportunity to be creative in different kinds of ways. I would love to do a virtual release party. In the meantime, I’ll be in my bedroom making the music and dreaming up shows for future times when it’s safe to get back on the road.”