EMA
DJ | Producer | Promoter | Label Manager
'Flame city population EMA' - one of the comments under EMA’s mix for District 8 which combined a glut of garage, dub and grime in the space of an hour to shine a light on the vibrant tones of sound-system culture. Going through the comments alone on EMA’s Soundcloud is an entertaining activity in itself with the consensus being that of listeners grappling for track IDs. The likes of 'oh jaysis yes', 'sweet mother of mercy' and 'wan' are also littered throughout her mixes, marking points where EMA’s unparalleled selection of dubs, breaks, bass-heavy cuts and vibrant DnB send the listener down a throbbing tunnel of wonk.
Having started her journey in DJing six years ago, Emma aka EMA’s sound mutated between deep house, disco and early UK bass before moving to Berlin in 2016. Immersed in the city’s club culture, she laid the groundwork for coming into her own as an artist and explored a plethora of sounds from leftfield to dance-floor friendly 4/4 tracks.
Recording one mix per month and uploading it straight onto Soundcloud, Emma’s alias began to float around online, later leading to gigs at Griessmuehle and Ziegrastraße 11. But once she returned to Ireland last year, the chance to play a Boiler Room set in Pygmalion cropped up and things snowballed from there. Almost overnight, her profile grew significantly and led to gigs all over Dublin, alongside guest mixes on Rinse FM, Noods, Melbourne Deepcast and more.
As well as her SAUCE show on DDR, EMA wanted to bring something different to Dublin’s soundscape and launched Woozy in February, just a few months after her Boiler Room debut. The night aims to showcase the best of dub-heavy sounds and invite talent from all over to headline but for now, Woozy events are on hold for obvious reasons.
Despite an upturned event schedule, Woozy launched as a label last week and is due to drop Woozy001 on 4th September. Featuring tracks by Kasmus, Glimmerman and Sputnik One (who co-runs the label with EMA) amongst others, the seven-track VA is the first of more promising productions on the horizon for Woozy.
The below memory goes back to the first Woozy party and is one way to sum up the energy of the event. Remembering it all below, EMA revisits the night and shares what else she has been working and reflecting on since late March…
Where was this photo taken and why did you choose it?
So this was a photo taken at the first Woozy night in Kaizen Bar. The night aims to push dub-heavy sounds and the DJs of modern Soundsystem Culture. I opened up the night with some spaced out chilled dubstep and then onto 130s UK sounds, re:ni took over to headline and blew us all away with her mix. The set seamlessly moved from percussive dubsteppers to DnB with a lot of rare and new mesmerising bass-cuts in there too - the first hour of her mix is actually on the Soundcloud page here if you are interested!
How have you been over the last couple of months?
I’ve been grand, and I know I’m lucky to say that. I managed to save some money and move into the city centre a couple of months ago with my partner and my best mate, so we went from an intense military style lockdown with my parents to a bit more freedom in town which has been nice. Launching Woozy as a label and keeping my monthly radio show going really helped me keep sane!
Earlier this year, you launched the Woozy event series and have just announced the Woozy label to go alongside. What has the experience of running an imprint been like so far?
It’s been so much fun, would love to share in detail what I’ve learned with anyone who was thinking of venturing into launching a label. It’s been costly lol, lots of hidden costs I had no idea about but all in all, incredibly rewarding. The best part is making new connections with amazing artists. Myself and Jim (Sputnik One) who I run the label with want to grow the Woozy family overseas and show-off Irish talent. We have some big plans for 2021, Woozy002 is on the way, and although it may not seem to be the best time to release dance music, we have gotten great support for the comp so far.
As an artist and head of a record label, how do you feel about the future at the moment?
Honestly I’m not looking too far ahead in terms of the DJ side of things, which maybe isn’t as optimistic as I should be, but gigs will come back when it’s safe to, so just have to wait! I am hoping that when venues reopen and collectives and bookers start out again that they have grown and evolved over this lockdown, it would be sad to see collectives still booking all male/white lineups, we need to demand as a scene that this does not continue to happen.
I’m starting a female, non-binary collective with some friends called Skin & Blister shortly, so we can hopefully build a network in Dublin of womxn who want to DJ, run their own nights and start their own labels.
On the days when you’re not feeling motivated to do anything (music-related or not), how do you pull yourself out of that fog?
Have finally taken to meditation, a few 10 minute body scans totally re-sets me. Also hugging my housemates is pretty good for the head.
What has been a constant source of comfort for you throughout this time?
So I didn’t mention it before but cooking out of Every Grain of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop was a lifesaver over lockdown, grew my spice tolerance with Sichaunese peppers too which was a bonus. Also finally started digging into ECM records over the past few months which has been a source of a lot of zen out moments - Timeless by John Abercrombie has been on repeat for me.
Listen to EMA’s latest Sauce show on DDR here and follow her below: