Buoyant and bright, Stella Emmett’s sophomore single “Done W U” is a breath of fresh air basking in the freedom of breakup.
Stream: “Done W U” – Stella Emmett
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/499980015?secret_token=s-GNIwU” params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=true&visual=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]I wanted to create a song that was both spacious and energized.
A light, airy jubilation fills the space surrounding Stella Emmett’s sophomore single: Buoyant and bright, “Done W U” is a breath of fresh air basking in the freedom of breakup.
i’m so happy i made the choice
that i made
to be done with you
i’m so happy i made the choice
that i made to be through
it’s a revolving door that i’m
not gonna walk through anymore
and i’m so happy i made the choice that i made
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Done W U,” a frothy feelgood song perfect for an easy-breezy summer’s day. Opening with a big swell of breath, Stella Emmett slowly deflates over the course of her new single, replacing tension with relief as she rejoices in a relationship’s end and the accompanying hope and possibility she can now have for her future.
The artist moniker for upstate NY songwriter/producer Stella Kortchmar, Stella Emmett debuted her “official” first single “Calvin Klein” a year ago (the release followed a 6-track 2017 EP entitled Picnic, which first introduced her emotive voice and imagery). “Done W U” arrives as the second single off the artist’s upcoming debut album Admirer, which was co-produced with Mike Dvorscak (together Kortchmar and Dvorscak form the production duo “beachball”) and is set for an August 23 release date. The record is set to feature such guests as Half Waif, Blue Ranger, and Devoye, but for now its current two offerings display the breadth and extent of Kortchmar’s talent as an individual and as an artist.
you can watch me
in your rearview
you can live with
all the regrets that you
keep to yourself
you can watch me
in your rearview
you can do what
what you want too
i’ve got no stake in it
“I see ‘Done W U’ as an early aughts sitcom theme song about a fictional breakup,” she tells Atwood Magazine. “A lot of my songs are about uncertainty or having kind of complicated feelings about something or someone. But when I heard the first demo of the track that would become Done W U, I thought, “What would it be like to write a song that is just very much dripping in confidence?” Like this character has made a choice to leave someone behind and it’s not bittersweet, it’s not tragic, it was just a very straight-forward thing that needed to happen.”
But I’m so happy I made the choice that i made
to be done with you
I’m so happy I made the choice that I made
To be through with you
Cuz it’s a revolving door that
I’m not gonna walk thru anymore
“Done W U” radiates swagger and self-empowerment. The bitterness that might otherwise accompany Stella Emmett’s words is drowned out by the warmth in her music, and the excitement in her voice. This song is as much about the act of letting go, as it is a statement of looking forward. Porous instrumentation – from lilting synths to calimng drum patterns and subtle, low-in-the-mix vocal harmonies – helps the track exude that smile-inducing shine.
“My songs tend to have a lot of space in them, and this one is no different,” Kortchmar reflects, “but I wanted to create a song that was both spacious and energized. I’m really proud of the way ‘Done W U builds’ towards this celebratory, unashamed ending. The whole song is meant to feel like a late afternoon party.”
And indeed it does. Shortly after the two minute mark, “Done W U” expands to fill our ears with delight. Vibrant harmonies and bouncy keys help the track to evolve into an expression of all-out euphoria as the artist extols her relief through vivid visual imagery:
And I’m so – I’m so happy now
Put me on parade
Put me on a pedestal
Continue with the charade
Call me a flower then pick away my petals
I’m no longer afraid
Call me a beauty
It doesn’t suit me
How bout
You don’t
Call me at all
In practice, Stella Emmett’s music sounds like something one would label as “indie pop”; however, the artist and producer describes her electronic-leaning pop work as “IkeaCore”: “This wasn’t necessarily my intention, but listening back to Admirer now, I feel like I made it to serve as a daily life soundtrack for people. I wanted to create an album that was at once deeply personal and about my actual life, but also a sort of sound palette people could put on at parties, or listen to on the train, or listen to while cooking dinner or even while shopping at IKEA, thus the descriptor “IkeaCore.” It’s an easy listening album that comes from moments in my life that weren’t always easy.”
It’s an easy listening album that comes from moments in my life that weren’t always easy.
“Done W U” is one of the happiest breakup songs we’ve ever heard, a palpable ecstasy of freedom reveling in chapter’s close and a new one’s beginning. Stella Emmett beams as she unburdens herself of toxic weight: She’s free, and this song is that freedom personified — whether or not it’s based on a real relationship!
Stream “Done W U” out now on Atwood Magazine, and stay tuned for more coming soon from Stella Emmett: Her debut album Admirer is out August 23, 2019!
Stream: “Done W U” – Stella Emmett
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/499980015?secret_token=s-GNIwU” params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&visual=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]— — — —
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? © Joseph Charles Viola
