Ainjel Emme
Ainjel Emme |
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Ainjel Emme (born September 28, 1978) is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Austin, Texas.
Background
Born in Oakland, California, Ainjel Emme (pronounced "angel em") spent her early childhood in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, and Venice, California before settling in Austin, Texas in 1991. She has maintained residency between Austin and Venice for the past two decades, but considers herself to be an Austinite. Though she is known primarily as a vocalist and songwriter, Emme is also an accomplished guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, drummer, and producer. She is a DIY musician and has never been signed to a recording contract. In addition to producing and releasing her albums on her own record label, Ainjel continues to manage all aspects of her career to this day with the help of family and fans. She is currently living in Los Angeles, working on her second album Songs To Pass The Quiet Hours with musician / engineer Rob Black. The CD has been set for release in 2009. She is also gearing up her first tour to support the new record. Her live performances have been recommended by Music Connection Magazine and the Los Angeles Times
Ainjel was dubbed a musical savant in preschool. Her class donated a piano to her household after she baffled her teachers and parents by successfully attempting to peck out "In The Mood" by the Andrews Sisters on the classroom piano, having never touched one before. She was able to fashion complex harmonies at an early age and often performed on stage with her mother, an aspiring folk singer. She received her first guitar at age seven. After a few basic lessons from her mom, Ainjel gained the rest of her education by ear - playing along with her favorite records. She cites Neil Young, Karen Carpenter, Stevie Wonder, Elliott Smith and The Cure as her biggest influences.
A self-professed "wannabe recordist", Ainjel attributes her fascination with audio engineering to guitarist / inventor Les Paul. When she received her first tape recorder, she also discovered that Les Paul built the first multi-track recording machine. She started writing songs and experimenting with multi-tracking by bouncing between her tape recorder and home stereo. Ainjel continues to construct her own home recordings today, often releasing them through her official site or MySpace.
Professional Career
Ainjel set her sights on a music career in her late teens. She dropped out of school, stayed behind in Austin when her family moved back to California, and started performing her original songs in local cafes and on street corners. During one street performance, a band that was recording nearby stopped to listen and invited Ainjel to cut a live acoustic demo at their studio - her first studio recording. She befriended many local musicians and was often invited to sit in on jam sessions and shows.
At seventeen, Ainjel moved from Austin to Los Angeles in hopes of landing a recording contract. Crippling stage fright prevented her first few projects from getting off the ground, but her Los Angeles based acoustic trio, The Usual Tragedy, enjoyed some local popularity in the late 1990s. Ainjel found drummer Rich Sherwood and bassist Vanessa Klug through a local newspaper. The band worked up a repertoire of over 30 songs, appearing on public television and garnering acclaim on the LA coffeehouse circuit. During this time, Emme released home recorded cassette tapes that she has indicated may be remastered and released in the future.
A reclusive artist who preferred staying home and working on her 4-track over attending social functions in hopes of meeting VIPs, Ainjel quickly became disillusioned with Hollywood. Battling depression, she moved back to Austin. She stopped performing and took on a series of day jobs. In 2000, she was hospitalized after a suicide attempt and soon returned to Los Angeles to resume writing and recording music. She moved back to LA with bassist Gabriel Garza and formed Gasper with Usual Tragedy drummer Rich Sherwood. The band spent a year developing and recording material, but ended up disbanding when Garza had an emergency that required him to move back to Texas. Ainjel purchased an eight track reel to reel and continued to develop new material, determined to release her first album. Fragments of these recording sessions ended up on her debut album, which was recorded at Willie Nelson's Pedernales studio after Ainjel returned to Texas in 2002.
Heartache Is Boring
In late 2003, Emme 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. The album was also a pick for the "Top 10 CDs of 2003" from Austin's 90.5 KUT-FM and an Honorable Mention in the Austin Chronicle's Best of 2003 issue.
Accomplishments / Other Projects
Ainjel has performed in-studio at KUT-FM, KLBJ-FM, and KOOP-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)". She has also appeared on multiple public access shows in Los Angeles and, through a series of performances videotaped in her kitchen, is garnering a fan base on YouTube.
AE 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.
Ainjel has accompanied a number of musicians on stage and in the studio, including Scissors For Lefty, MC Werdplay of Blestenation, Johnny Goudie, Brian Ray (guitarist / bassist for Paul McCartney), Tony Scalzo (of [Fastball], David Philp (of UK Punk legends the Automatics, Deborah Falconer, and Shandon Sahm (son of Texas legend Doug Sahm). She is also a part-time member of the LA all-female AC/DC tribute, Whole Lotta Rosies, occasionally subbing for rhythm guitarist Trudi Keck on the road.
AE performed at Coachella and Lollapalooza in 2005 as a drummer and percussionist with avant group MASS Ensemble.[1]
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 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, one of the first artists at IAC with to receive that honor.
In August 2007, Emme contributed 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.[2] 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.[3] 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 Hello Kitty.[4] Ainjel Emme is a featured performer on the compilation, "Hello World", recruited by songwriters from Cherry Lane Music. The album will be released Sept 29 on iTunes (exclusively) and then on Oct 7 at Walmart (also exclusively).
Film, Soundtracks, and Scoring
Ainjel Emme and her music 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 Dan Peterson's Have Love Will Travel, which made its debut at the Cinevegas Film Festival in 2007.
Most recently, Ainjel completed her first original film score for the Manifesto Productions short feature, Walking Shadow. She attended the film's premiere in New York City in October 2008.
Soundtracks
• RightCentric: A Snapshot of Todd V. Wolfson
• Walking Shadow
Discography
Albums
- Songs to Pass the Quiet Hours (2009) - in production
- Heartache is Boring (2003)
EPs
- Burst and Scatter: Quiet Hour Demos Vol. 2 (2009)
- Walking Shadow (2008) - unreleased
- They Promised You America: Quiet Hour Demos Vol. 1 (2005) - out of print
Collaborations
- Ryantology - Werdplay (of Blestenation) - to be released in 2009)
- "V" is for Viagra: The Remixes - Puscifer (acoustic guitar, backing vocals)
- "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)
References
- ^ ""Whatever: At Coachella, you pick the festival you came for"". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved on 2008-12-15.
- ^ ""Puscifer on the Billboard Charts"". Billboard.com. Retrieved on 2008-12-15.
- ^ (December 12 2007). ""Winners Advance to the Hot Pursuit's Semifinals"". Spin.com. Retrieved on 2008-12-15.
- ^ ""SANRIO, Inc. Announces the Arrival of ‘Hello World’ for the Holidays"". Sanrio.com. Retrieved on 2008-12-15.