I am a musician and writer. As Emmy the Great I released four albums, with a full discography listed below. Omissions are due to memory loss caused by excessive Internet scrolling.
I was born in Hong Kong and raised in East Grinstead, UK. After years of releasing music, I began using music to access Cantonese, my mother tongue. This led me to return to Hong Kong to live, where I wrote April/ 月音, my fourth album. Last year, the British Library included this album, as well as bilingual videos from its predecessor Second Love, in Chinese and British, their exhibition about British-Chinese culture in the UK.
I love to collaborate, and find new ways of telling stories, especially with songs. I write original songs for film, TV, theatre and radio, most recently a musical called HEEL, along with brilliant co-writers Isley Lynn and Tom Brady. Some of my favourite past projects are collected at the end of this page.
Songs are magical, golden things, the lens through which I understand the world. Through songwriting, I have soundtrack the City of Xiamen’s bid for UNESCO World Heritage status, campaigned for Wateraid, and given workshops in HM Holloway Women's Prison as part of Billy Bragg's Jail Guitar Doors charity. I also wrote music for the Woodland Trust, helping to promote the Tree Charter, a commitment to maintaining Britain's forests and trees.
I hold an EARtification in Deep Listening® from the Centre for Deep Listening at Rensselaer, and I am a proud founding member of ESEA Music, the UK’s first East-and-South-East-Asian music community.
For me, songwriting is a way of telling stories, communicating, forming community bonds, and even healing. It’s also fun. I love supporting people on their songwriting journeys, please do email me if you’d like this for you!
for management, or to say hi, email emmythegreat @ gmail.com
for live bookings email steve @ runwayartists.com
for literary enquiries please contact nicolachang @ davidhigham.co.uk
DISCOGRAPHY
As lei, e:
SPARKY | mui zyu (feat. lei, e) | Single | Father Daughter Records 2024
AFTERSHOCKS | Mantawoman (feat. lei, e) | Single | Tangram Sound 2023
As Emmy the Great:
OUT OF HER MIND | Original Soundtrack (with Graham Reynolds) | Album | Plumeria 2020
APRIL/月音 | Album | Bella Union 2020
MAHAL KITA | Single | Bella Union 2017
RAPIDS | Single | Bella Union 2016
GO FAR (FROM MYSTERY SHOW) | Single | Plumeria 2016
SECOND LOVE | Album | Bella Union 2016
S EP | EP | Bella Union 2015
AUSTENLAND | Original Movie Soundtrack (with Ilan Eshkeri) | Madison Gate Records 2013
THIS IS CHRISTMAS | Album (with Tim Wheeler) | Infectious 2011
VIRTUE | Album | Close Harbour 2011
EDWARD/ FIRST SONGS | EP | Close Harbour 2009
FIRST LOVE | Album | Close Harbour 2009
SEATTLE | Single (with Brighton Port Authority) | Southern Fried Records 2009
GABRIEL | Single | Moshi Moshi | 2007
SECRET CIRCUS | Single | Fear and Records | 2006
Projects and commissions:
A selection of my favourite song commissions, events and ideas made real…
HEEL | Musical | In Development
A new musical about female wrestling, produced by Francesca Moody. I began co-writing Act One with Isley Lynn in 2017, commissioned by Tom Hughes with support from the Arts Council. Francesca Moody Productions commissioned the full musical in 2020, and musical director Tom Brady is now the third member of the writing team.
Song Cycle for an Integrated Self | Song Commission | Kakilang Festival 2023
A set of new songs commissioned by Kakilang Festival around the theme of “de-compartmentalisation”. The festival also curated a live performance at Shoreditch Town Hall, which became the final Emmy the Great show. The challenge we worked with was presenting new music at a final show!
Re-thinking Mid-Autumn | Live Performance and Curated Events | The Barbican | 2020
A series of events around the Mid-Autumn Festival at the Barbican Centre in London, culminating in a full performance of April / 月音 at the Barbican Hall. Events included a paper lantern workshop by Alex Whittaker and Rebecca Strickson, a panel with Jessica J. Lee and Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, and HK Soiree, a Hong Kong online event with Daniel York Loh, Sarah Howe, Daniel Schreiber and Jenny Lau (Celestial Peach). Read Sarah Howe’s liner notes for the event here.
Out of Her Mind | BBC Two 2020
I wrote 14 original songs for Sara Pascoe’s innovative, mind-bending, heart-expanding new sit-com Out of Her Mind, which aired on BBC Two and is available to binge-watch on iPlayer. You can listen to the songs on Spotify and other places, alongside with Graham Reynold’s incredible score.
Destiny’s Child: A Story of Karma in Modern China | Southbank Centre China Changing Festival | 2019
A storytelling show about China, fate and music, commissioned by the Southbank Centre for China Changing Festival 2019. Included contributions from Xiamen musician Dfu.
BBC Christmas Film, Wonderland | Broadcast on BBC Channels Christmas 2018
‘Lost in You’, the closing track from Second Love, was the soundtrack for the 2018 BBC Christmas Film, Wonderland.
A Sailor Went to Sea Sea Sea | Presented and scored, with an original song by Emmy the Great | Broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 20th November, 2018
I presented, scored and wrote the original song that pins the journey of this documentary, Produced by Claire Crofton for Boom Shakalaka Productions. The programme was nominated for a 2019 Prix Europa for Best Music Documentary. LISTEN HERE
The follow up The Green Lady in the Toilets, explored childhood myths and hauntings, and was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 29th December 2020. LISTEN HERE.
Pride & Prejudice by Sara Pascoe | Music and Lyrics by Emmy the Great | Premiered at Nottingham Playhouse September 2017
I was part of the initial creative team for this comic adaptation of Pride & Prejudice. With writer Sara Pascoe and director Susannah Tresilian, I shaped its identity from conception to opening night and beyond. As the composer, I wrote, performed and produced Regency-era and modern score, as well writing music and lyrics for comic songs across a range of genres, from music hall to gospel
"Some really rather captivating songs from Emmy the Great, including one with the Bennet sisters singing: “Don't blame us, you would have done the same.”" - the Times
"Emmy the Great's period-sounding background music is exquisite." - Nottingham Post
"A respectful and successful take on one of the most known novels in English history. It can't have been easy, yet the creatives have managed to make it fresh and fun, whilst raising pertinent questions." - What's On Stage
TEDxNYC | February 2017
Performed music and words on identity at this Jon-Ronson-curated night of TED talks in Manhattan
BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival | March 2017
A piece of music in honour of the Woodland Trust and the Tree Charter, commissioned by BBC Three. For my song, Three Cities, I interviewed members of the Chinese diaspora around the North-East of England about the landscapes they have known and loved in their lives. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08jfjpc)
City of Xiamen UNESCO announcement | October 2017
I was Musician in Residence China for PRS Foundation and British Council. During a month in Ximen, I interviewed local people and wrote music based on the essence of the city. I also wrote two songs for the announcement of a successful bid for UNESCO World Heritage for Gulangyu Island, a unique island on the coast of Xiamen, China . One of these songs, 'Drum Wave Island', was commissioned as the new official song of Gulangyu.
Strangers, a series by Mia Lidofsky | Premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2017 | Available to stream on Facebook Live
I wrote and performed two original songs for the character of 'Emmy' (played by Jemima Kirke) in the Season 1 Finale of this daring new series, and contributed score, co-composed with Luke Rathborne.
Mystery Show, a podcast by Starlee Kine | iTunes Podcast of the Year 2015
I composed score for two episodes of this much-loved, groundbreaking podcast, and wrote, performed and produced the end title song, Go Far.
The song is inspired by meetings with the podcast's creator, Starlee Kine. I wanted to represent her spirit and openness, and the optimism of her project, to help people uncover the tiny mysteries of their lives.
Austenland, written and directed by Jerusha Hess | Premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2013 | Distributed worldwide by Sony Classics
My original songs provide the mood for the lead character, Jane (played by Keri Russell), in her private moments in the film, aiming to underscore her internal world alongside Ilan Eshkeri’s gorgeous score. I also wrote the end title track, Austenland. (I don't know why I always work on projects about Jane Austen!)
The Wanderers, written and directed by Luke Snellin | In production
I collaborated with two Britpop legends, Tim Wheeler of Ash and Graham Coxon of Blur, to write and produce songs for this film by the director Luke Snellin. NME story on the project here.
Mistress England | Written for the Observer's Royal Wedding Special 2012
Original song written for the Observer's coverage of the Royal Wedding. 'A lament for all the mothers who thought their daughters would marry Prince William...'
Sims 4 (EA Games) in-game soundtrack | 2013
Recorded with composer Ilan Eshkeri for in his Sims 4 in-game score. Interviewed by South China Morning Post about the process here