A WORD W/ EMMA DUFFY!

This week, I had the pleasure of catching up with one of my friends, Emma Duffy. We talked about her single “chokehold”, releasing on November 11, 2022. Here’s what she had to say during our time together.

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Q: How did you get into music? What has inspired you to make music?

A: “I’ve been writing songs since I was 6 years old; it’s always been a passion of mine. I really started getting into it over the summer. I was interning at a record label called Weirdo Workshop… and my friend had met this producer named Jared at Polychrome Ranch. I started researching some of his stuff, and I was like I really fuck with this guy. So I messaged him on Instagram saying ‘Hey, I’m a friend of Dee’s, I’d love to work with you, maybe we could set something up’, and he said ‘Any friend of Dee’s is a friend of mine, come in any time’. I sent him the earliest clip of “chokehold”... and he was eager to help me work on the song, and we’ve just been working on it since then”.

Q: What inspired “chokehold”?

A: “I had been talking to this guy since January of this year, and we had hooked up once. We were talking and he said that he would like to date but he’s just not there yet. I told him that I was honestly in the same boat, and we should just take it as slow as we can. He then proceeded to ask me if he can talk to other girls. At first I was like, ‘Yeah of course we aren’t together so it’s fine’, but when I told my roommate the story she told me that ‘If he really liked you he wouldn’t ask to talk to other girls. It’s one thing if you’re not ready, but it’s another if you just want to mess around’. I knew that I would rather have him be upfront with me rather than just lie, so I un-added him on everything. I was at a point in my life where if I don’t trust somebody, I’d just remove them from my life completely. A couple months later I saw him at a bar, and he showed up with this girl who looks exactly like me. [My friend and I] ended up sitting on the curb outside of the bar… and I had a panic attack. To bring a girl that looks like me… a little weird. I sat down at the piano the next day, and I thought I could either make this super sad song, or use the girl as my inspiration. I decided to write that I still had a chokehold on him after seeing this girl”.

Q: What’s your creative/writing process? What’s your favorite part of writing/recording?

A: “For years, it would just be to sit down and write; everything came to me naturally. At the time I was writing “chokehold”, I had been working 70 hours a week between 2 jobs and an internship, on top of school… so instead of being able to just sit down and write, I would have like 30 minutes to myself, and I couldn’t [finish the song]. It was written in little fragments. The mentality of the song is super cocky, bad bitch, ‘You want me, you’re obsessed with me’, and that’s not how I am. I had to make sure I was in that head space when writing the song, so it was very hit or miss. Now when I write, I’ll think of just one word that could be cool for a title, or would sound good in a bridge, and I’ll work my way around that. As for recording, I went to Polychrome Ranch to work with Jared. It’s about an hour and a half away in Hendersonville… Nashville has a lot of inspiration, but being away from all of that for a second really helps. Jared helped boost my confidence, and he was really good at not giving up on me. He let me take creative control with a lot of it”.

Q: How does writing help you deal with your emotions?

A: “Writing definitely helps me process a lot of this stuff. Typically, I just have so much going on that it cancels each other out and it’s just radio silence [in my head]. I won’t necessarily be over [any situation], but after writing, I at least know that my feelings are out. They’re not bottled in me anymore, so I can start to work on getting over it. There are some situations that I’ve been in where I’ll write like 10 songs based on one guy. It’s not because I’m obsessed and can’t get over him, but it’s good shit to work with”.

Q: How would you describe the music that you make/hope to make? A: “Typically my writing is more pop, sometimes country. What makes “chokehold” so unique from the other songs I’ve written is all the angst that’s behind it, which is why we thought it would be such a good song to put out first. There’s enough ‘umph’ in it where you’re like ‘What the hell is this?’ and it grabs people in. A lot of the stuff I write is a mix of pop you hear on the radio and bedroom pop. I’m working on two songs at the moment, and they’re more drawn out pop, so “chokehold” is definitely an outlier”.

Q: What career would you be pursuing if it wasn’t music?

A: “Working with kids. I used to be a swim teacher and a lifeguard at YMCA, and it was my favorite thing. Obviously there are ups and downs in that field, but at the end of the day, my two passions are kids and music”.

Q: Who would you want to collaborate with in the future? Who inspires you?

A: “I’ve been obsessed with Lauv for a really long time. I also really love Nessa Barrett’s style. Obviously Taylor Swift has been a huge songwriting inspiration. There are so many people I can’t just think of a few”.

Q: If you were an instrument what would you be and why? A: “Realistically, it’d be a piano. I think that’s the instrument that I’m drawn to the most. Even if you play acoustic guitar, it’s still a strong instrument when you’re strumming softly. To me, the piano is very soft and delicate, and I just like it a lot. I also played the oboe for like seven years, so if I had to pick another instrument, it’d probably be that”.

Q: What kind of music do you sing in the shower/car?

A: “It really depends on my mood. The past few days, I’ve been listening to a lot of Megan Thee Stallion. For the longest time, I would strictly do sad Taylor Swift songs during late night car rides, just because they’re so easy to belt. Sometimes I just put all my ‘liked’ songs on shuffle and see what I enjoy the most”.

Q: Anything else we should know? Any performances coming up? What does the future look like?

A: “I would love to start performing. I have to get a band together first. I do want to make sure I have a good foundation, even if it’s small, so that I know that I’m not shit. I do have a song, called “sick”, that my roommate has been producing and we’ve been working on getting it out. I’ve got another song called “Holy Mary”, which is kind of like being haunted by the ghost of your past. I’ve got a friend who owns a label, and I’m going to send that to him. It’s very play it by ear and see how it all goes”.

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Stream “chokehold” now! Follow Emma Duffy! She’s the coolest!

LOVE YOU ALL SEE YOU NEXT TIME XOXO

Soph <3

November 11th, 2022. By Sophia Cook.