Tusks is the stage name of Emily Underhill, an English singer and electronic musician from London. In our exclusive interview, Tusks shares insights and excitement about hitting the road.
Hello Emily, while I am writing this interview I have your Spotify playlist playing in my headphones and it warms my soul, where do you get the inspiration to create such wonderful music?
Hello! Ah, thank you that’s really kind. A lot of my music is inspired by everyday life – love, losses, politics, society – but I normally find it comes out in the form of music when I can escape and be alone in nature for a while. A lot of the album was written alone in the middle of nowhere in Devon.
Can you share a little about your journey into music? What drew you to electronic music and songwriting?
I learned piano from a young age but never liked the more conventional and classical ways of music learning. When I had the option to study music tech at college at 16 and got my first Mac, it just opened up my eyes and ears to this whole other world of musical possibilities and I just fell in love with the more experimental & electronic side to music. It feels endlessly creative to me and even though I’ve been dabbling in it for half my life I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface
How did you come up with the idea of your nickname, Tusks?
It’s from the Fleetwood Mac album – Tusk. My parents only listened to a few bands really when I was growing up but Fleetwood Mac was one of them when I was searching for a Moniker I came across their album Tusk and it just felt right
What artists or experiences have had the most significant influence on your music style and are there any non-musical influences that impact your music, such as literature, film, or visual arts?
I’m getting more and more into reading and find that beautifully written fiction really inspires me. I guess it creates that inner world of rich emotion and tells a story in the same way that music does. I also find film and imagery super influential for the same reason. Films like Poor Things or Melancholia; where you’re just transported to this other world for a few hours and it’s so beautifully shot. They really move and inspire me.
You are going on a European tour with the Dutch Anjunadeep duo Tinlicker at the end of February. How did you guys come together?
Through my wonderful agent Rob 🙂
How do you prepare for a live show, and what can fans expect from your performance?
I’m still in the working out stages of this live show as it’s all new music from the new album, with a new setup. But it’s super synth-heavy and a mix of Lofi and Hifi sounds through 404’s, pedals, and effects. We’re going to try and generate the biggest sound we can from the 2 of us on stage with a couple of synths and a drum machine…
Do you have any pre-show rituals or before you take the stage?
Haha – in my 20s it was a generous glass of red wine but perhaps I’ve grown out of that now. It’s been a while since we toured as we’ve been hiding away from making the album so maybe I’ll have to keep you updated on that
Can you tell us about your latest album ‘Gold’, which goes out in April? What themes or messages are you exploring in your new music?
Gold is an album of contrasts I guess – at the time of writing, I was going through a breakup and then found myself falling in love again with someone else. I was spending my time either in the middle of a busy city unable to have any alone time because of the pandemic and then suddenly completely alone in the middle of Devon with no one around. We wanted to explore that concept a lot in the production and so ended up having contrasts between using super lo-fi and then hi-fi production techniques by putting various elements through loads of manipulated tape machines and a 404 sampler then having other parts of the songs where Tom (who produced and engineered the album with me) used all his expertise getting the best quality biggest sounding drums possible. Ultimately I guess it’s just a snapshot of my life in a moment in time.
How do you feel about the current state of the electronic music scene, especially as a female artist?
I mostly feel super positive. I think even though it’s still hugely a boys’ club and the way the industry works with huge amounts of nepotism does mean it is a lot harder for women, there are just so so many insanely amazing women in electronic music right now showing everyone that the narrative that it is a male job couldn’t be more wrong. I think it gets better every year and people are way more aware of their biases now than they were 10 years ago. We still have a long way to go but I do feel positive.
Thank you for your and LoudLife is excited to see you in Roxy on 2nd March with Tinlicker!
Thank you!
