Unfiltered Canada is BACK with another episode featuring Canadian alt-pop artist, Emi Jeen.✨🍬 With this video series, we chat with some amazing Symphonic artists and get a closer look at everything they’re working on, personal stories, passion projects and so much more. Read the full interview with Emi Jeen below…
Unfiltered Canada: Full Interview with Emi Jeen
Alejandra Marroquin (A):
Let’s talk about your background for a minute. We know you have a background in opera, which brings a unique dimension to your pop rock style. How do you leverage your classical training to create a distinct sound in the alt -pop scene?
Emi Jeen (EJ):
Actually, it’s funny because I am from a super small town, French Canadian, like super small town. And when I started, I had no teachers except a classical teacher in opera. And at first, it took me a really long time to apply the technique to what I’m doing right now, which took me forever to be honest. But I think it now I can use it, like in my song Fight It, I’m doing some opera sounds, and I think it brings a unique twist to the pop rock scene, which I love using at times.
(A):
That’s so amazing. As a songwriter, vulnerability is often a central theme in your music. How do you navigate opening up through your lyrics and performances, and what do you hope listeners take away from them?
(EJ):
For me, music is a therapy. To be honest, in my real life I think I’m holding on to so many emotions. I keep them inside and I bury them. And then through my music, I’m able to release them. And that’s the same thing that I want for people when they’re listening to my music, that they release emotions and feel certain emotions and let it go. And it’s the message as well that’s important for me. So it’s really for me, it’s therapy, and I hope it is for the other listener. And it’s very important for me to like release this. I think without music, I would be kind of lost… So, thank God I have this.
(A):
That’s so great, because as a listener, I can tell you music is still therapeutic for me and it’s awesome that we have like singers and songwriters like you that are doing this for us because it’s hard sometimes to like put a name to your emotions and when you know that someone is doing it for you it’s just so, so releasing and so liberating.
(EJ):
When I get messages that a song really was felt by someone intensely and it helped them through something, that’s like, I did my job. I’m like, that’s it. And when I release a song, for me, I hold it. I hold this song like my little baby. And then when it’s out in the world, I feel like now it’s for everybody. And now it’s like, and for someone, it’s maybe their wedding song or it’s their breakup song. So, the message and the emotion through music is just so beautiful.
(A):
Is it hard sometimes to convey your emotions and to expose them and open up to the world when things are really personal for you?
(EJ):
Yeah, I mean, there’s certain stories and experiences from the past, and things that happened in the past that I kind of like, I wasn’t ready yet to talk about it in my music. I think in the future I will be able to open up even more. But I feel like, yeah, there are certain stories and things that happened that I feel like I’m not ready yet… but I will. So it’s just, yeah, it is a challenge sometimes for me.
(A):
So, congratulations on the US tour! What are you feeling as you’re embarking on this adventure? How do you prepare for this new chapter in your career?
(EJ):
Right now, I’m in New York. We just finished show 11 of the tour. We are doing 28 shows across the US. We did a lot of drive there for the last two weeks. And it’s so amazing. I think because I was in the girl band before and I was doing tons of shows abroad, I think that really helped me to be ready for this tour, like to be able to be in my suitcase all the time, to get sometimes ready in the car, as well. I’m someone that really, really practice a lot and rehearse a lot before tours and shows. And I’ve been, for the last two years, I’ve been practicing as much as I can. When I have an hour, I’m gonna do the show. I was doing it in my living room, I was doing it in the studio. For me, it’s very important to be really ready.
So rehearsing is something that I did a lot. And I feel that like that got me super ready for this because I feel that like it goes fast. Like it’s just like quick soundcheck sometimes and you’re like on the run and you’re driving everywhere. So it is tiring. So you need to be like, really your show needs to be ready. So you need to be warm up as well, like I do warm ups all the time, every show, every soundcheck.
I do warmups before, and I’ve been doing warmups like five times a week even though I’m not on tour. Like it’s really important for me to be like healthy as a vocalist and as well, like some, like lots of water and I’m avoiding like dairy example, cause it’s like increasing mucus. And so it’s like, there’s tons of things that I kind of look out for. It’s like an athlete, like you need to be, if you want to do like the Olympics, like you get ready.
So it’s the same, it’s totally the same. And it’s been really nice. As soon as like, when we can, we just chill and sleep. If people are like, oh, it’s rock and roll… you party all the time. Not really. Like for real, we are really focused on what we have to do. And if we want to be ready and able to deliver a show every night, because everyone, every city deserves the best of what we can do. You need to be rested and healthy until when you can, when you have two seconds, you’re like, okay, I do enough. That’s it.
(A):
Congratulations because you really seem to have the discipline to put it all together and to be really professional. So that’s really good.
(EJ):
Thank you. Yeah, it’s been, it’s been super nice and meeting people on the road is my favorite thing. So I’m just very happy.
(A):
You get to connect with fans and people from all over the country, the US. How has that experience been for you?
(EJ):
It’s been so rewarding. It’s been quite amazing because sometimes you don’t know how people are going to react to your music. And I’m opening, so I’m supporting Kelsey Carter and Helen. And you don’t know, sometimes it’s her fans and I’m meeting new people and they don’t know me. So some know me as well, but like it is… you don’t know. And it’s been so great for real. Every person was amazing. Everyone I met is just beautiful. And it’s been like the connection has been super strong. And I can’t wait to be back already. There’s some cities I’m like, oh my God, I like I have to go back. And there’s another tour coming up in June. Actually, I’m in Europe. I’m doing 16 dates with Charlotte Sands. So it’s super cool as well because musically we’re like pop rock, super power women. So it’s going to be cool. And we were doing like the UK, France, like Germany, we’re going in Switzerland and Italy. So we are doing 16 days in June as well. So that will be also fun to see maybe the comparison between US and Europe. So that will be fun to see different cultures, different languages. And I’ll be able to use my French when we’ll be in Paris. So that will be fun. And it’s been really like the best time ever.
(A):
That’s going to be so amazing for your career. I’m so happy for you. So we know that you’re planning on releasing eight songs in eight months, right? That’s quite ambitious. So what inspired you to undertake this creative challenge and how did it influence your songwriting and production process?
(EJ):
It’s 2024, equals eight and eight is my favorite number. So I was like, because it’s in the infinity and it’s just like an equal balance. I’m a Libra and it’s like a balance as well, like number, and it’s part of my logo too that I have. You can see it here, and there’s like number eight here. So it is, um, it is quite a beautiful number. And I was like for 2025, I was like, Oh, It’s like the number eight, like why don’t we, and we talked with my manager, we were bouncing ideas. It was like, yeah, wow, like eight songs, a song a month, every eight of the month during eight months. That would be a challenge. I was like, yeah. But we are currently doing it and we are, we just released the third song and we are about to wrap the first EP of the project. It’s called Razzle Dazzle. So there’s two EP of four songs. So eight songs in total. And it is quite a challenge to be honest. Deliver every month everything and they were all pretty ready like the songs but I was there’s some couple songs that I needed like to finish the mix and so it is like a lot of discipline to kind of pace everything and to send to distribution at the right time and promote as well so it is it is challenging but we are doing it and and it’s fun like it’s been fun because like I was I knew I would tour.
So for me with my tour, we’ll be able to release this while touring. So it is super fun to do.
(A):
That’s great and really ambitious, but like you seem to have it all down. Looking ahead, where do you see your sound and artistic expression evolving in the future after the tours and are there new influences or creative themes you’re drawn to exploring in the future?
(EJ):
Thanks, thanks. Oh, there are so many… I feel like, for me, I was influenced all my life with pop and rock music. So it is hard sometimes to just pick one genre. I like songs that are, sometimes I like doing a little bit more pop and sometimes I like a little bit more rock. And on stage, I love giving lots of energy.
So for me, it is important to kind of touch both. I feel like I will probably do a couple more ballads and a couple more like more raw songs as well, like to showcase more of the vocals. Cause I feel sometimes in big productions, it’s kind of varied, but yeah, I will probably stay in the pop rock alternative pop style, but probably do a couple of songs more raw, like acoustic guitar and just like strip it down as well. I feel like I would love to do a stripped down album too at one point. So it is, but I haven’t done any full length album yet. And I feel like that’s coming up next in 2025… I’ve been putting aside some songs that I wrote recently that I’m like, okay, this one’s probably not for the eight project, but probably for the album. So yeah, it’s coming 2025 probably.
(A):
That’s amazing. Yeah, we’re just like really eager to see that, but I have a one final question and it’s more of a lighter question not that much about your career, but if your life story was turned into a movie… Which actress would you want to play you?
(EJ):
Ooh, that’s a good question. Oh my God. I mean, a really, really, really talented actress is Emma Stone. And she’s, I think it would be her, like she can do it all. She can be funny. She can be super vulnerable. She’s super talented. And she was in La La Land as well, so she can act like musically as well. I feel like she’s something amazing, and I feel that she could do a really good job. And we do kind of look alike a bit. Yeah, she’s so amazing she’s like, wow…
