Emaline Delapaix
Country of origin:
Australia
Type of music generally:
Ethereal, alternative pop
Status:
Most recent release, With Every Beat (2020)
See also:
Emaline Delapaix's websiteEmaline Delapaix's Bandcamp site
Comparisons:
A touch of Tori Amos, a higher-voiced Annika Bentley, Sam Brown, Lily
Covers/own material:
Own; occasional cowriting
General comments:
With simple clear instrumentation and her high, crisp voice, Emaline Delapaix shows her talent as a songwriter. Her songs all have a certain delicate strength—something to do with the way she combines her yearning vocals with just enough musical support to enrich without overwhelming them. Her songs are catchy and her instrumentation inventive. (sophiagurley@hotmail.com)
Recommended first album:
Either
Recordings:
- the reins ep (2001)
- slowdown (2002)
- everyday ordinary ep (circa mid 2000s)
- Sketches (2010)
- Between Breeding Seasons (2012)
- Exorcism (EP, 2015)
- Songs from the Road, Vol. 1 (EP, 2017)
- With Every Beat (2020)
the reins ep
Release info:
2001—self-released—RR001
Availability:
See website for availability
Ecto priority:
Recommended
Group members:
Emaline Delapaix—vocals, backing vocals
Ambika Taylor—piano, clarinet, accordion
Claire Fischer—guitar, viola, backing vocals
Sara Oliver—violin
Guest artists:
Amira Pyliotis—guitar on 3 tracks
Delia Poon—double bass on 1 track
Anna Crowley—cello on 1 tack
Produced by:
Siiri Metsar & Emaline Delapaix
Comments:
This ep has a surprising amount of staying power for a set of only five songs. "Look Closer" is lively and catchy—a great welcoming introduction to her work—the kind of song that immediately resides in your head. "Slow Down" is restrained and a little more abstract but draws you in and shows more of the range of Delapaix's vocal abilities. "Reins" is abstract but yearning and deepens the emotional tone through strong shifts between vocals and strings. "The Way I Like" is a catchy, memorable heartbreaker of a song, and "Crying Song" is a lively closing track. (sophiagurley@hotmail.com)
slowdown
Release info:
2002—self-released—RR002
Availability:
See website for availability
Ecto priority:
Recommended
Group members:
Emaline Delapaix—vocals
Guest artists:
Amira Pyliotis—acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Ambika Taylor—piano, hammond
Sara Oliver—violin
Claire Fischer—viola
Rachael Samuel—cello
Stephanie Andrew—cello
Tony Floyd—percussion, sounds, drums, djembe, tambourine
Fiona Nemeh—bass
Delia Poon—double bass
Produced by:
Emaline Delapaix and Dave McCluney, 1 track by Siiri Metsar and Emaline Delapaix
Comments:
This version of "slowdown" reminds me a little of blackgirls in the fast, urgent, weaving vocals and in the essential nature of the strings; it's very unlike the restrained one on the reins ep. "Creation" is another quick, urgent song, but more straightforward in the presentation of the vocals. "Reins" also appears on both EPs; this version is similar to (the same as?) the reins ep version. In the mostly guitar-based "high" Emaline's voice sounds rather like Lily's; in fact, this entire tune reminds me very much of songs on Lily's Running for the Sky. "Rainyday" is a lively, pretty, lilting tune. Overall this is a lovely ep. I wish it were longer—I would have loved to hear a few more tracks. (sophiagurley@hotmail.com)
Further info:
Email emalinedelapaix@emalinedelapaix.com
Thanks to Sophia Gurley for work on this entry.
