A Conversation with Emily Brown

About this Episode

Take a deep dive into the songwriting process with Berkeley, Ca.-based singer/songwriter Emily Brown. Emily walks us through the making of her latest album A Fish of Earth, which is bursting with lush orchestration, strong melodies, and haunting instrumentation. It is an inspired album, with musical nods to Glen Campbell, Loretta Lynn, and gorgeous musicals like The Sound of Music. The album is made even stronger by her personal-yet-relatable lyrics focused on relationships—relationships with romantic partners, with parents, with expectations, and with religion. She credits her collaborators with the broad, bold sound, but her voice and spirit are at the album’s core. In a sense, A Fish of Earth is a brave album: it is a marked departure from her earlier work as she willingly relinquished much of the production to her collaborators. The resulting sound is broad, ornate, and rich, but also evocative and dynamic. Emily discusses her songwriting process with a refreshing candor and humble nature. So sit back and take it all in, and welcome Emily Brown to For Songs