Ainjel Emme
Ainjel Emme |
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Ainjel Emme (born September 28, 1978) is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Austin, Texas.
History
Born outside of Oakland, California, Ainjel Emme (pronounced "angel em") spent her early childhood in the Bay Area, New York City, and Venice Beach, California before settling in Austin, Texas in 1991. She has maintained residence between Austin and Venice for the past two decades, but considers herself to be an Austinite. Though known primarily as a vocalist and songwriter, Emme is also an accomplished guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, drummer, and producer.
In late 2003, Emme independently produced and released her first album, Heartache Is Boring (currently out of print but available through iTunes). Heartache Is Boring received critical acclaim from local and national press, including The Austin Chronicle and BUST Magazine. Her song "Set Up for a Fall" was awarded "Pop Song of the Year" in 2006 at the Independent Artists Company. The album was also a pick for the "Top 10 CDs of 2003" from Austin's 90.5 KUT-FM. Emme's live performances have been recommended by Music Connection Magazine and the Los Angeles Times. She has performed in-studio at KUT 90.5 FM, KLBJ 93.7 FM, and KOOP 91.7 FM in Austin, and has made multiple appearances on local TV station FOX 7, including FOX's annual Christmas special in 2003 (performing John Lennon's "War Is Over (If You Want It)".
Ainjel was a headliner two years in a row at Ladyfest Texas in 2003 and 2004. She was also a speaker on Ladyfest's Women In Music panel.
Emme performed at Coachella and Lollapalooza in 2005 as a drummer and percussionist with avant group MASS Ensemble.
The song "Set Up for a Fall" won Pop Song of the Year 2006 at the Independent Artist Company. It was also #1 on the KIAC Big 50. "Long As It's Sweet", "Easier", and the new vocal-only demo "We Are Going There" have also reached #1 on the Big 50. "Long As It's Sweet" was a finalist for Indie Song of the Year in 2005. Emme was inducted that year into the IAC Hall of Legends.
In August 2007, Emme contributed backing vocals and guitar to two tracks on the debut album from Maynard James Keenan's new side project, Puscifer. The album, "V" is for Vagina, was released on October 30, 2007 and debuted at #25 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Billboard Indie charts in its first week. The tracks Emme contributed to are "Momma Sed" (on acoustic guitar and backing vocals) and "The Undertaker" (on backing vocals). A Puscifer remix album, entitled "V" Is for Viagra. The Remixes, was released on April 29, 2008.
On October 30, 2007, SPIN Magazine editor Doug Brod, Cursive's Tim Kasher, and Perry Farrell selected Emme to advance to the Quarterfinals at SPIN's Hot Pursuit Contest.[1]. On December 3rd, Emme was one the eight acts--and the only solo artist--to advance to the Semifinals of the contest. She ultimately did not make it to the finals.
On December 3, 2007, Music Connection selected Emme as one of their picks for their "Hot 100 Unsigned Artists of 2007".
In February 2007, "Easier" and "Fight All Night" (a digital-only track released through Emme's MySpace and IAC pages) were both nominated for Indie Song of the Year. "Easier" beat out a song by legendary Who guitarist Pete Townshend to win the competition on April 6, 2008.
In September 2008, Sanrio announced the first-ever music album featuring songs inspired by the iconic Hello Kitty. Ainjel Emme is a featured performer on the compilation, "Hello World". The album will be released Sept 29 on iTunes (exclusively) and then on Oct 7 at Walmart (also exclusively)..
Emme is currently shuttling between Los Angeles and Austin, Texas, working on her second album. Details on the upcoming release, entitled Songs to Pass the Quiet Hours, have yet to be announced.
Film, Soundtracks, and Scoring
Emme appeared in the documentary RightCentric: a snapshot of Todd V. Wolfson by Austin filmmaker Jen Garrison, which was screened at the 2004 South by Southwest Festival. Her songs have been featured in a number of independent films, including Todd Livingston's supernatural comedy, So You've Downloaded A Demon, the Desperate Housewives stoner spoof Desperate Hippies, and Dan Peterson's Have Love Will Travel, which made its debut at the Cinevegas Film Festival in 2007. Most recently, Emme completed her first original film score for the Manifesto Productions short feature, Walking Shadow, set for release in 2008.
Discography
Albums
- Heartache is Boring (2003)
- Quiet Hour Demos Vol. 1 (2005) - out of print
- Songs to Pass the Quiet Hours (2008) - in production
- Walking Shadow (2008) - unreleased
Collaborations
- "V" Is for Vagina - Puscifer (acoustic guitar, backing vocals)
- Knock Yourself Out - Shandon Sahm (lead guitar, backing vocals)
- Self-Titled EP - Sheboygan (drums, backing vocals)