A bright and feverish outpouring of frustration, British singer/songwriter Emma Kupa’s “Nothing At All” is a fresh emotional upheaval that helps us release our pent-up anger and tension in as cathartic a way as possible.
Stream: “Nothing At All” – Emma Kupa
There is so much to be frustrated and angry about right now. Take your pick: From COVID-19 lockdown and quarantine to continued, systemic racial injustice, to social unrest and upheaval, political turmoil, and more, 2020 is shaping up to be a truly torrential year full of stress, instability, chaos, and maybe – just maybe – some progress? Nevertheless, things feel pretty hopeless right here, right now – and it’s all I can do to keep together and soldier on each day (this is while fully recognizing the sundry privileges I have, and too often take for granted). Music is my go-to outlet for expressing these emotions, and Emma Kupa’s latest song is a near-perfect vessel for channeling all that, and more: A bright and feverish outpouring of frustration, “Nothing At All” is a fresh emotional upheaval that seeks not to quell, but rather to release our pent-up tension in as cathartic a way as possible.
Gotta stop looking around
Gotta stop looking around
I’m gonna close my eyes now
I’m gonna close my eyes
You can’t keep talking like that
You can’t keep carrying it round
You can’t keep talking like that
You can’t keep carrying it.
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Nothing At All,” the lead single off Emma Kupa’s upcoming debut solo album It Will Come Easier – set to release September 18, 2020 via Palo Santo Records (US) & Fika Recordings (Europe). Hailing from Cambridgeshire, Emma Kupa is no spring chicken to the music world: The songwriter and frontwoman for the former Pitchfork-praised UK band Standard Fare (who amicably parted ways in 2013), Kupa has had her voice (and bass) in innumerable music projects for over a decade. Most recently, she has split her time between a burgeoning solo career that truly took off in 2015, and fronting the bands Mammoth Penguins and The Hayman Kupa Band (which she does alongside Darren Hayman).
Emma Kupa currently fronts Mammoth Penguins, and The Hayman Kupa Band alongside Darren Hayman. She initially made her name with Standard Fare, whom called it a day at the peak of their success in 2013. Her insightful warmth, eye for lyrical detail and powerful, idiosyncratic voice has made her a firm favourite amongst fans and critics alike.
It Will Come Easier arrives in the footsteps of Kupa’s 2015 debut EP Home Cinema and her 2017 single “In The Office” / “Fast Charlie,” all of which are worth your attentive ears and open mind. Kupa introduces her new project with a show of radiant, unabridged inner unrest and turbulence channeled through fiery banjo, fervent overdriven guitar, buoyant melodies and lush, soothing vocal harmonies.
What am I supposed to do?
What can I even do?
Absolutely nothing, nothing at all.
Gotta stop looking at you
Gotta stop all this eye contact
What am I trying to prove?
What the hell is that
It’s not like anything’s changed
It’s not like anything’s changed,
so why am I trying. Why am I trying?
“The song is about being stuck in a situation with someone that can’t go anywhere,” Kupa tells Atwood Magazine. “It feels frustrating and confusing and you feel lost because you don’t know what you can do about it. In fact, the only thing you can do is nothing and let it move on without you. The song is a channel to express those emotions.”
She may not have known what 2020 had in store for us – how could she possibly have known?! – and yet, Emma Kupa’s music perfectly speaks to this moment’s universal heart-on-sleeve frustrations. We are itching to resume normal life, but we cannot; we so desperately long to be with the ones we love. At the same time, today there are protests – most of them peaceful – in tens, if not hundreds of cities throughout the United States, where respectful law-abiding citizens are exercising their right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances. Maybe there’s something else entirely going on in your world that’s causing you tension; no matter what the cause is, we need relief – we need a way to let those feelings out, lest they tear us apart. In a dazzling six-minute performance, Emma Kupa and her band grant us that respite; from their gorgeous breakdowns to the ways in which they so calmly harness space and the complementary aspects of their individual instruments, the group create a mesmerizing wall of beautifully restless music that dazzles the ears, warms the heart, and soothes the soul.
What am I supposed to do?
What can I even do?
Absolutely nothing,
nothing at all
Stream “Nothing At All” exclusively on Atwood Magazine, and let it all out – if only for a little while. Emma Kupa’s debut solo album It Will Come Easier is set to release September 18, 2020 via Palo Santo Records (US) and Fika Recordings (Europe).
— —
Stream: “Nothing At All” – Emma Kupa
— — — —
Connect to Emma Kupa on
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Discover new music on Atwood Magazine
? © James Wolf
:: Stream Emma Kupa ::
