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With her bittersweet voice, edgy guitar riffs and innovative arrangements, Emily Asen is bringing a new pulse to the veins of folk music. Dealing with the struggles of love and art, her songs are universal and intimate, nostalgic and unexpected.
From the beginning, Emily was fusing genres and blending sounds. Brought up in Fairfield, Connecticut, listening to Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry, Emily remembers taking a jazz progression taught to her by a cousin and immediately transposing it to her cello. When she picked up her first guitar at age 15, Emily drew influence from Led Zeppelin and Ani DiFranco.
Energetic and ready at 18, Emily entirely self-recorded and produced her first EP, Love Junkie, inspired by the eclectic soundscapes of Zero 7 and Dido.
With twelve years of classical cello training in her back pocket, Emily has already graced the stages of Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood and Lincoln Center. Eyes closed and moving with her instrument, Emily caught the attention of the other players with her unusual intensity. Not afraid to bear her heart, sometimes stripping it wide open in tracks like "Love Bruise" and "Sounds Like it Feels," Emily brings the same unabashed passion to her songwriting and performances today.
By the age of 19, Emily had built her portfolio of songs and started performing regularly in New York City's Sidewalk Café, The Bitter End, Bowery Poetry Club, C-Note, the Red Lion, and the International Music Festival. In November of 2004, Emily released the Traffic Signals EP, a recording of six songs that brought her folksy songwriting into the realm of pop rock production and electronica.
Not afraid to experiment and push the limits of your expectations, or her own, Emily continues to encounter new instruments and new styles, master them and make them uniquely hers. The new record, the Avalanche EP, features Emily's signature acoustic guitar surrounded by an orchestra of sound including her own cello, mandolin, piano and electric guitar parts. The album also features a guest appearance by Ben Taylor (son of James Taylor and Carly Simon), who contributes soulful vocal harmonies to the title track. Ranging from the organic, ethereal quality of Beth Orton to the raw lyricism of Joni Mitchell, the Avalanche EP is an example of Emily's own neofolk movement, which bridges the gap between acoustic folk rock and contemporary sounds.
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