Interview: Emma River
Photography by Jonathan Adjahoe
I am a Norwegian singer/songwriter based in Los Angeles. I started singing and playing piano when I was six and was active in my local choir. I conducted the local youth choir at 16 and started realizing music would be my career. I have a Bachelor from Berklee College of Music in Vocal Performance and moved to LA to pursue my dream as a singer/songwriter, performer, and vocal arranger right after that. I’m also a worship leader at "California Worship Center". I write and co-produce my songs, mostly with my husband Esteban Obando, and I have fallen in love with the singer/songwriter, folk, and soothing genre. Aside from writing music, my big passion is vocal production. You can hear that’s one of my trademarks in my songs, and I also work with other artists as a vocal producer. On July 28th I released my 7th single, and it’s gonna be a part of my first EP, which I am to release this fall 2023.
What inspires your music?
I would say other artists inspire me to write. If I am in a dry spell with my writing I tend to go to a concert because it always encourages me to go write afterwards. Lyrically I feel that anything can inspire me; it can be a sentence I heard in the sermon on sunday, a line I read in a book, or a thought I have had for a long time- that I am finally putting into words. Nature and things around me are also some things I am big on when finding a common thread or metaphor for my lyrics.
Who are some of your influences?
Right now I’m listening to Victoria Canal, Lizzy McAlpine, Tori Kelly, Jacob Collier. Mariah Carey I have always loved since childhood.
Photography by Jonathan Adjahoe
What are some of your favorite memories from your career?
Hm, that’s a good one. One of the more recent ones would definitely be when Stevie Wonder was visiting my church and I happened to sing on the worship team on that Sunday. Felt pretty surreal, haha. Recording my singles and coming up with the arrangements together with my husband are also very fond memories for me. Starting a song and seeing how it gradually comes to life is such a nice feeling. In 2016 I had my single played on the local radio station back in Norway, and the same song also got to semi-finals at the International Songwriting Competition.
Which of your projects do you love the most?
I think “Flowers in my hair” at the moment. I released it during the pandemic, and all the promo pictures and all had to be very planned. We did an outdoor photoshoot in the Malibu canyons and the photographer was wearing a mask. It is just a strong memory to me right now. The lyrics in the song are very close to my heart, and I felt that I was revealing a lot of my inner fears and thoughts. The song had a string arrangement that added a beautiful texture to the song, and I received really nice feedback on the track.
Who are some of the collaborators who helped you create your favorite works?
Definitely my husband Esteban Obando (@indigofm). As mentioned, we co-produce my songs, and we often write the lyrics together as well, or I write them 80% and then he fixes my grammar, haha. English is not my first language, so my sentences can sometimes make a lot of sense to me, but not to others.. Esteban is also super creative and talented with instruments, so we have a lot of fun when we are recording the songs. My mixer is Matt Sim (@mix_by_matt_sim), and he is amazing at what he does. He has mixed my last few tracks, so he knows my preference and style by now. I also want to give a shoutout to my photographer Jonathan Adjahoe (@jcka_photo), who always takes the most beautiful pictures and captures the vision I have for each song release.
What are you most excited to bring to your fans next?
My EP! It has been a goal of mine since college to make an EP, so I am very excited that it is finally happening. I chose not to do it earlier because of how the music business has been the last few years, and that releasing singles and getting more followers has been the smarter choice. I am collecting 3 already released tracks, and then there will be two new tracks that come out with the EP.
What are your goals for this upcoming year?
My goals are to have a successful EP release, to upload more YouTube content (acoustic versions of my songs), maybe make a professional music video for one of my singles, and to perform again! It’s been a long time since I have had shows, because I have been focusing on the writing and releasing, so I am excited to have rehearsals and get out there!
How can your fans and our readers best support you right now?
You can support me by listening to my new single “Home”, adding it to your playlists, and by following me on all my social platforms. Follow me on Spotify (hit the follow button + click the heart button next to the songs), Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube, Facebook, and spread the word to other music listeners 😁✌️My handle is @emmarivermusic. Also, be on the lookout for my EP and send me a DM so we can connect! Thank you for your support.