Emily Barker: Fragile As Humans

Emily Barker has been living in the UK for the past 21 years and has finally returned home to her home state WA. Emily Barker has been producing and making music since she can remember and this new album, Fragile As Humans, marks the first time she has released music with some of it being written in WA. Emily has released somewhere from 9-15 albums depending if you’re counting the collaborative projects she’s worked on.

Emily Barker joins Breakfast’s Pam Boland, to discuss their latest album, Fragile As Humans, and their music journey, both in the UK and now back home, in WA.

“I think about drama when I am writing songs, drama in the narrative or even the melody as well and how you shape a melody. It’s sort of instinctive and then you get to the editing process and think about that scope a bit more.”
Producer Luke Potashnick surrounded Barker with microphones at The Wool Hall, an impressive sixteenth century stone building converted into a studio by Tears For Fears in the early ’80s. Emily has stated that her relationship with Luke as a producer has been like no other. Luke turned into a quasi-editor pushing Emily to constantly re jig or rethink, tone and lines. Fundamentally shaping songs like Loneliness where he removed the band aspect of the recording to support the lonely motif.

“For me, the beauty of music is when you go to a show and can relate to someone performing or singing.”

Emily’s track ‘Nostalgia’ which was released in 2008, received acclaim and was featured on a BBC award winning show ‘Wallander’ starring Kenneth Branagh. This album delves further into Emily’s psyche, capturing the turbulent last 3-4 years of lockdowns in the UK and WA. With lots of time to reflect and lot’s of time to write, Fragile as Humans, features some of Emily’s most raw emotions, translated into cinematic folk tales.

Listen to Fragile As Humans on Emily Barker’s Bandcamp and visit Emily Barker’s Instagram for more information on upcoming shows.