Q&A: meet Emalia, Sydney musician who packs a punch full of flavour

Sydney musician Emalia has gifted us something tasty. She has delivered an absolute cracking new track that again shows off her insane talent and versatility. Her new single Suga Rush is a depiction of those rollercoaster type relationships. A ride that keeps trying to throw you off but for whatever reason, you keep getting back on. 

Her third release for the year is fuelled by her powerful RnB vocals that, although strong in sound have a resonate softness to them. She helps lead the way forward for the new neo-soul sound coming out of Australia and New Zealand. Her music has a huge International appeal that is sure to catch the eye of many. Suga Rush is the kind of song that you dance to in shower, channeling all the twerk gods and asking them to bless you with the power to shake. 

Emalia draws inspiration from many in the industry but takes her learnings and turns them into individual brilliance. She reminds us of a Normani and Summer Walker lovechild. Her tone is goals, pure soul.

We caught up with our Sydney slice to talk about her tasty new track, dating etiquette and some convenient life hacks. 

Check out all the feels below through a snippet of our conversation:

Hey Emalia! So when did you know music was the path you wanted to take?

I was one of the lucky ones that always knew. I genuinely don't remember a time in my life when I wasn't focused on a career in music. At five years old I walked into my first singing lesson, and when my coach Nella asked me why I was interested in starting lessons with her, my sassy little response was that I was going to be the next Beyoncé. Overly ambitious I know, but I had my sights set from the get go.

Tell us all about your new track ’Suga Rush’, how does it feel to finally have it out in the world?

 Suga Rush is about a rollercoaster relationship. It's when you're thrown off the ride at every sharp turn, but you keep coming back for another round in an endless cycle, because the thrill of it is way too addictive. It embodies that feel good 'rush' moment. It feels amazing, I've been super excited about this one for a long while now and am loving being able to share this new phase of what I've been working on with everyone. 

Staying with the sugar theme, what’s your favourite sweet?

 Anything chocolate. Chocolate can do no wrong.

Your tone is such a punch of flavour, is there anyone who you draw inspiration from?

Thank you! I feel like these days I drench myself in anything RnB. I don't want to copy another artist's sound, I try to put my own twist on RnB, but I am super inspired by the artists I grew up listening to like Beyonce, Rihanna, Aaliyah, J.Lo. At the moment I'm really loving what JoJo, Kehlani, Kiana Lede, Summer Walker, and Ella Mai are doing. The songwriter within me also can never go past a good Taylor Swift or Ed Sheeran track, the way they tell stories is next level. They always make a banger. 

Okay so, we’re going on a 2 month holiday… What's our itinerary?

 Oh, this is a tease!!! I definitely miss travelling at the moment.

 I'd say our first stop is LA. Every time I go I never really get to sightsee as I'm often in a four walled studio haha, so I would love to do some more touristy things and explore. Then we'll be headed to Orlando Florida, for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter of course. A quick pit stop in Miami, on the way to Mexico. I'd love to see Portugal, and visit some family I've never met there. 

I've always wanted to see NY too, so we'll be going there next for coffees in central park, Broadway shows, endless shopping, and loft apartment Airbnb’s. A short trip to Vancouver, I hear it's absolutely beautiful there.  

After that, the next month would be spent in Europe. London, Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, Tuscany, and then finish off in Greece exploring the islands and all the ancient historical sites in Athens, Rhodes and Delphi. It'll be a jam packed 2 months that's for sure!  

What was it like to do Triple J’s like a version?

 I feel so blessed that I was able to do that, and while sharing such an important message. It was so fun to be able to do it with such an awesome crew of artists. Taka Perry is phenomenal, A.GIRL slays every time, and Gia Vorne's vocals are insane.

Okay, real talk, have you ever backed doored it on a date or tried to, If not how would you do it?

 I actually haven't, I would feel way too bad! I don't think I ever would either (unless he was being an absolute creep, in which case I would call someone I trust for back up and call him out on his behaviour). If we aren't vibing, I think it's best to just be honest about it. I would hate to leave that person wondering and analysing what they did to make me jet. I will admit I've ghosted after some dates before, but I don't think it's the nicest way to handle that kind of situation, so I try to avoid it at all costs. 

What was the last thing you lied about?

 If I told you, it wouldn't be a very good lie 

What’s your number one life hack you’ve learnt over the years?

I learnt this one recently, and it blew my mind that I'd never known about it before. Cheese knives usually have a little fork looking thing sticking out on the end of them, and the whole purpose is to use that to grab the piece of cheese off the platter once you've cut it rather than using your hands. Honestly life changing. I enjoy a whole new kind of cheese snacking experience now!

Okay so we will be 100% joining Emalia’s low key trip around the globe, a stop off at the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is more than ideal. Sign us up please!

Check out Emalia’s track below or head to our Sunday’s R 4 The Soul 🎷playlist to hear more songs like this one.

By Samuel Seedsman.