See Emily Play… Play again! Interview with Sheffield artist who returns to the stage this month

About ten years ago, Emily Ireland was a rising artist on the Sheffield music scene (check out our Exposed In Session interview today). After some memorable local shows, including a couple of shows with the Tramlines and stints supporting bands like The 1975 and Catfish and the Bottlemen, everything seemed set for See Emily Play to achieve more great things in the music industry. However, due in large part to experiences of sexism and misogyny in the industry, Emily decided to take a break from music.

Now, Emily feels that enough time has passed, along with some encouragement from fellow musician and friend, Drew Friel, to get her back into music. Exposed’s Amy Britton caught up with Emily to talk about her latest release ‘Gentle Persuasion’ and her upcoming charity concert at the Hallamshire Hotel for S6 Foodbank.

Like many musicians, Emily’s interest in music began thanks to her parents. “Music was always a big part of my home life growing up,” she said. “My parents played vinyl records and I was allowed to stay up late on Friday nights watching Top of the Pops.” This led Emily to pick up her father’s guitar at age 12 and write her first song.

But it wasn’t until she watched a life-changing Live Aid performance that Emily decided it could be a career. “I saw The Who perform on TV at Live Aid,” she said, “and I remember being absolutely blown away by it. I thought that was the best thing ever, and I think that was the thing that really made me want to perform music.”

Being a 22-year-old woman in a male-dominated scene wasn’t easy for Emily in the early 2010s, and while sexism is still rife, there have been strides to make the music industry a more diverse place. After a meeting with producer Rob Whiteley, See Emily Play returned to the studio to record new music, alongside new single ‘Gentle Persuasion’, which was recorded and produced by her brother Tom.

When asked what inspired the song, Emily said: “I recorded the song with my brother in our parents’ basement in 2019. I was 27 at the time and had just read a book called ‘Persuasion’ by Jane Austen, which is, also about a woman who is 27 years old.

“It has this tone, which is very appropriate for the 19th century, that she’s been shelved and it’s the end of her life and she has to figure out what she’s going to do next. There is also a love story about a past love coming back, but they can’t have a second start. The song is a little bit about ‘Persuasion,’ but it’s mixed with my own life and traces the parallels between the two.”

Since she spent her ten-year hiatus working as a legal historian, it’s no surprise that much of her music is inspired by history and classical literature. “I’m an expert on angry wives suing their husbands in the 18th century, basically,” Emily joked. “More recently, I’ve started writing songs inspired by the people I study and research. I tried to write songs that weren’t just based on my own perspective on my own boring life!”

The only question Emily stumbles upon is the album that changed her life. I sat in silence for a minute as she mentally ran through the discography that shaped her career. She eventually ended up on Ben Folds’ second album Five, Anything and always Amena CD that was given to her by her uncle.

She said: “It was the first time I heard what was essentially rock music but with a piano. It was the first time I felt that playing the piano could actually be cool! It made me feel like I could play the piano and still be a rock star.”

“I’m committed to that.” Credit: Bettina Bautista

As for her upcoming gig at the Hallamshire Hotel, it’s sure to be a special one as it’s See Emily Play’s first show in around ten years and in aid of a great cause. The concert will span Emily’s entire career with a mix of tracks from her earliest musical endeavors to her more recent creations.

However, the show has a unique twist, with audience members being asked to donate food instead of paying for a ticket. “It’s all in support of S6 Foodbank. The idea is that instead of tickets, punters are asked to bring a donation of food or toiletries for the food bank,” she said, “It can be a can of tomatoes if you feel the gig is worth R50. It might be some olive oil if you think the gig is worth £6.”

There’s also a new EP in the works for Emily, meaning this isn’t the last we’ll see of the singer this year.

“I’m committed,” she beamed. “I recorded an EP with Rob Whiteley. Is called Still playing and the first single is called “Yoko Ono Was 7 Years Older Than John” which will be released in July. And I hope to do more gigs in Sheffield in the future!”

See Emily Play will be performing at the Hallamshire Hotel on Wednesday 19th June. You can keep up with Emily through her social media: Instagram / Facebook.

Find out more about the vital work done by S6 Foodbank here.