Interview with Emma Rugg (4/4) By Steve Rudd

(1/4), (2/4), (3/4), (4/4).

What did you do when you eventually returned to England? Did you set straight to work on editing down the footage in order to see if you had enough quality material fit for public consumption? I spent a lot of time writing new material. It was nice to be able to play my guitar again and I had missed it. I also spent a lot of time playing my piano when I got back. I went to The Netherlands for a while and returned with a 1938 vintage typewriter I had bought for 20 Euros at the Waterlooplein Market in Amsterdam, I worked on building a studio computer with my friends. I set about making the video, at first not with much direction, just throwing together whatever would work to see what happened. The results were pleasing; the footage I had shot was good and included some great encounters with many interesting people and places, along with performances of our songs.

Do you enjoy the process of editing, or do you view it as a time-consuming chore to be endured? It is a time consuming process but it is also enjoyable. I didn't think for one minute at one point that I'd be able to get my head round some of it but I think I have surprised myself. I have learnt two versions of the same editing software, and getting up-to-date with the new tools and features was scary sometimes when everything was so new. There were days upon days where I'd get up and it would be a relentless effort to get some clip or title sequence sorted. By the end of the project I was tired of hearing Henry's and my own voice every day for eight or so hours. I was like 'shut up already!' It was funny.

It can also be a very rewarding process and I'd definitely do this again. I like being able to see the results. I think, for what it's worth, that I have created a video that I am really happy to release.

You are now poised to unleash the freshly re-finished documentary in bite-sized episodes on your 'YouTube' page. Why have you decided to release your documentary in this way, and will fans be able to obtain copies of the entire documentary on DVD? I will be releasing the entire film on my YouTube channel - EmmaRuggTV. I think it's great to be able to post something on my channel that documents our tour. In regard to the film being released on DVD, for now the film in its entirety will be posted online. If it becomes apparent that there is demand for a DVD, who knows?

Have you used 'YouTube' in this way on previous occasions in order to actively promote your music? I have videos of older performances on my YouTube channel. There are also a few videos that have been posted by other users. After the Tour Film is released I will continue to post more videos.

The nature of your 'Directions' tour documentary is unique in that it focuses as much on the people and places you and Henry encountered as it does on your music. What inspired you to aim for such an entertaining balance in terms of content? I loved our encounters with all those different people you will meet in the film. As they share their stories, there is such genuine warmth about them. I wanted to include them as much as the places we visited and the other experiences we had. My choice of content in the film reflects our personalities a lot, I think. It is quirky and can be funny in places, and of course there is our music too. We weren't really trying to go for anything specific when we were filming. Everything is literally just how it happened at the time.

While the songs that featured on 'Isolated Impression' were explicitly organic in that they revolved exclusively around your voice, guitar and subtly hypnotic piano melodies (with the drum-backed 'Grand Designs' and 'Prelude to the End' being exceptions) you opted to work with a full band when recording 'When I Looked at You' for your 'Oceans/Depart release. What form wilkl your next batch of songs take? Are they likely to be stripped -down affairs of the heart, or are they destined to weild a multitude of complex arrangements?

I think that you can expect both. Some of the songs I have been writing are a lot darker than those featured on previous releases. There are also songs that could work in a number of ways. It just depends how they turn out in the end or where I decide to go with it when it gets recorded. Everything is crazy right now: I have so many songs, so many pieces of paper to sort through, so much stuff in my head to write about. It seems to come together in a very organic way, there is no process, I don't sit down and write songs where I'll maybe think, 'Let's write the music, then the lyrics'. As a result of that I have a lot of ideas, scribblings, finished songs, half-done songs, songs about to happen. The songs have definitely changed, there is a natural progression and they don't sound like they did a few years back, things have moved on.

You are currently competing in 'The People's Music Awards' with your 'Oceans' song. How does the competition work, what is the prize and how can people vote for you? The Peoples Music Awards is the first annual awards to be held for unsigned artists. My song 'Oceans' has been entered into this year's awards under Best Female Artist and Pop categories.

The TPMA includes guest judges from the music industry who can give valuable feedback on the songs that artists have uploaded. After voting, there is an awards event where artists in the final will perform and the winner is announced. You win a fabulous award and the honour of being the winner of course! Please (pretty please with sugar on top) vote for me - Listen to my song 'Oceans' and vote for it at http://www.thepeoplesmusicawards.com/emmarugg

When will the first episode of your 'Directions' documentary go online and how can people find your page if they are not already signed up to 'YouTube'? The first episode will be posted online on the 20th of July via my own YouTube channel - EmmaRuggTV (http://www.youtube.com/EmmaRuggTV). The full 12 episode series will be posted over a duration of six weeks.

What doe the rest of 2009 hold in store once you have unleashed your documentary? As always, working on new material, piano, live shows, more videos, new projects... watch this space! Finally, what is the best way for people to stay up to speed with new Emma Rugg releases and live dates? Join my mailing list - email your name / details to info@emmarugg.com Official Site: www.emmarugg.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Emma-Rugg/63817107679 Myspace: www.myspace.com/emmarugg Twitter: www.twitter.com/EmmaRugg YouTube: www.youtube.com/EmmaRuggTV

Copyright \ufffd Steve Rudd 2009

thisisUll.com Featured Writer Steve Rudd
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