Where Acoustic Turns Electronic: In Conversation with emory

Photo by Austin Cieszko

Emma Wellons makes music the way she’s always lived with it: curiously, instinctively, and without hierarchy. Performing under the name emory, the Los Angeles-based artist and producer has built a world where hyperpop, folk, indie and techno coexist – often within the same song. It’s a sound shaped by early beginnings playing drums in church at age ten, years of experimenting with whatever instruments and software were within reach, and a willingness to let things be messy before they become clear.

After graduating from NYU Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, emory moved to LA with friends, where her creative practice has continued to evolve alongside touring as a member of Lorde’s band. Her debut single ‘tooth’, released in autumn 2024, introduced emory as an artist unafraid of emotional openness or sonic contrast, eventually becoming her most-streamed track to date. Since then, songs like ‘moth’ have clarified a process rooted in transformation: recording something deeply acoustic, then bending it into something strange, electronic, and alive. 

The same ethos carried into her visuals. The video for one of her latest songs ‘dirt’ was created by analogue animator Julia Fernandez, who built 300 individually shot tiles, and captured it slowly over three months using only natural sunlight. It’s a painstaking, gentle process that mirrors emory’s relationship with music now – one that values patience over urgency, curiosity over perfection, and softness as a form of confidence. 

We spoke to emory about how she continues to refine her sound, how she’s less interested in landing on a genre and more about staying open, letting her instincts lead, and seeing where they take her next. 

Photo by Austin Cieszko

You started your music journey when you played the drums at age 10. What made you decide to continue playing and ultimately study music at NYU? 

I was just loud and already obsessed with music. Drumming felt really grounding, in the same way going for a run does – you’re expressing yourself physically in a specific way. I picked up a few other instruments in middle school and high school, and I didn’t realise producing was even a job until then. I was such a nerd about it, using my computer to make things, saving up money to buy little synths and trying to make entire songs out of it.

At the time, I was just a teenager frustrated that my music didn’t sound like what I was listening to. Looking back, I’m so grateful I spent so much time being bad at producing. I’m still not always very good but none of that time was wasted and it shaped so many of the technical skills I use now. I went to NYU primarily for music production, played drums for people in New York, and just tried to learn as much as possible. I actually miss school in a way, and I try to emulate that now because learning is the best thing ever. Music felt exciting to pursue because you’re always learning and you can never know everything. 

What was the shift like moving to LA with your friends after graduating? 

I thought I’d get more work and that’s definitely been true. New York is intense – I went to school there for so long and I love it. I think it’s the greatest city in the world, but it’s also expensive. I was ready for a change and an environment shift.

I really wanted to collaborate more and produce for other people which I found harder to do in New York. People are collaborative there, but everyone’s blazing their own path. Living in New York is actually what started my artist project and it wouldn’t exist if I hadn’t lived there. I also wanted to try making money with music, which sounds boring and capitalistic, but everyone in LA is trying to build something. I had lived in Nashville, New York, and I wanted to try LA. 

Your music covers multiple genres from hyper pop, indie rock and even electronic. What draws you to bringing all of these sounds together and how does that process evolve? 

I’m still figuring it out, honestly. I’m such a music fan. Before making music for my own project, I went down so many genre rabbit holes for other people, DJing, producing, and I hit a wall where I wanted to make music for myself but was excited by too many things. 

When I was younger, I felt like I had to choose one sound, and whenever I did, it felt wrong and constrictive. It also depends on what I’m interested in at the time. Recently, guitar has become a big part of my writing, which I resisted for a while because I was so focused on electronic music. But melodically, guitar unlocks something for me potentially because it’s what I’m most comfortable with. 

At the same time, I’m obsessed with analogue synths, drum machines and vocal processing. Early on, vocals felt too vulnerable to be central, but experimenting with how processed and flexible they could be changed that. I try not to police myself and if something sounds cool, I follow it. Sometimes that means letting a song like ‘dirt’ stay simple and not overworking it. With my last few songs, I’m starting to understand what cohesiveness actually looks like for me. 

You’ve said in previous interviews that being gentle is the most attractive quality a person can have. Do you think that gentleness is also translated into your sound? 

Definitely. I was thinking about that idea a lot with these last few songs. Lyrically, I feel more inspired by concepts like that than by straight narrative songwriting, which I struggle with. I’m more comfortable starting with a feeling like gentleness and asking what that sounds or feels like, then letting the writing become story-esque around it.

Sonically, too. I’m less scared to make weird music than to write personal words, so I love playing with the tension between gentleness and abrasiveness. The colouring of sound is something I think about constantly when producing, and I’m lucky to be able to explore that and bring friends into the process. 

Photo by Elijah Wells

Your single ‘bends / dirt’ just came out last month. What was the process of writing it like and how did the collaboration with Julia Fernandez for the music video come about?

I’d been trying to write away from my computer. I’m very producer-brained and want to make weird sounds as fast as possible, but that often comes at the expense of songwriting. ‘dirt’ was written two years ago in my friend Rose’s apartment in Brooklyn in spring 2023. I finished it earlier this year and tried to be really patient with it – not diving too deep into production too fast. 

It was the first time I really committed to every lyric being thought through. My best friend Ben retrofitted this acoustic baritone guitar, and I spent so much time writing with that. With ‘bends’, I did something similar at the beginning of this year. The songs are different, but I love country music and electronic music, and with these songs I was really trying to mix folk and electronic elements.

As for the ‘dirt’ video, I play drums in Rose’s band, and at her album release show in New York, Julia was doing set design (cardboard clouds, things hanging from the ceiling). Before the song was even finished, I reached out to her about making a video and mentioned ceramic animation. I also asked what her wildest dream would be, and she immediately came back with this idea of millions of tiles and weeks of work.

That evening, I also met Izzy (who did the ‘bends’ video) and was honestly shocked by how lucky I am to know such incredible analogue animators and artists. The fact that both of them wanted to make analogue animation videos felt like such a gift and it ended up a total win for all of us. 

How do usually you approach building a visual identity for your project, and where do those ideas usually start for you?

‘tooth’ was my first real attempt at a music video, and there’s a lot I’d do differently now, but I made the song so quickly that I didn’t overthink it, which helped. My friend Weston is an incredible videographer, and that video leaned more into narrative. 

For everything since, I’ve been more interested in conceptual ideas. I love when a setting feels like a character – sometimes even more than me – probably because I don’t love being in front of the camera. I’m lucky to have friends with incredible creative instincts and huge banks of inspiration, so I’ll often start with something simple like, ‘What if we did this here?’

Some ideas are instinctive like shooting in a meat locker because it felt cool and others are more intentional, like the ‘moth’ video. For that one, we wanted the setting to carry meaning and avoid narrative as much as possible, combining something industrial with something organic, just like the song blends electronic and folk elements. I really trust my friends’ creative eyes – friendship is everything and I’m incredibly lucky. 

Photo by Evan Roberts

Between releasing your own music, touring in Lorde’s band, and building a clearer sense of self as an artist, what feels like the next thing you’re excited to explore or lean into? 

I ask myself that every day. I feel like a sponge right now. Touring with Lorde has been unbelievably inspiring and that whole camp is filled with the most talented, kind, and sincere people. It’s influenced me sonically, especially in terms of electronic texture, performance, and exposure to incredible gear and music.

For my own project, I’m excited to just make things. I was working as a barista before touring with Lorde, and now having downtime to focus purely on music feels like a gift that might not last forever. I want to hunker down and make music with the people I’ve met this past year.

Sonically, I’m leaning further into what I started last year – exploring electronic music and how it translates live. I loved putting together my recent live video and want to keep developing the emory live show. Visually, too, I’ve been talking with Julia and other close friends about what a long-form emory project could look like. I’m excited to put a more complete body of work and figure out what emory sounds like as a full thought – mostly just playing more music with my friends and writing for myself. 

To keep up to date with emory, follow her on Instagram, and listen to her on Spotify, Apple Music and SoundCloud.