Meet Emma Noren | Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emma Noren and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emma, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
This might sound a little ridiculous, but I feel like giving up isn’t an option for me when it comes to music. I’ve done it for so long and it’s the thing that makes me the happiest (besides my friends and family and pup), but there’s also this irrevocable need to keep doing it, regardless of how it makes me feel. I do get incredibly discouraged and I almost WISH i could just quit because having a dream that feels too big can be a little torturous sometimes. But even when I’m trying to write something new and everything I’m coming up with is awful or I play a gig that I don’t feel good about afterwards, it just doesn’t feel like quitting music is something I could ever do. Regardless of whatever level of success I achieve (or don’t achieve) I think I’ll still be playing guitar in my living room when I’m eighty years old, trying to write something I think is cool.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Hey there. My name is Emma and I’m an introverted 26-year-old from Northern California and I write indie rock music to process my feelings. The results are songs that are pretty vulnerable, sometimes embarrassing, and always truthful, with heavy bass lines and drippy reverb mixed in.

For me, music started off as my eight-year-old brain’s way of trying to cope with undiagnosed anxiety; it was a way I could feel in control. My childhood was truly wonderful, but for some reason I was just one of those kids who had a lot of feelings and didn’t know what to do with them, and music felt like this beautiful outlet I could grab ahold of. Now as an adult it’s the thing I go towards whenever I feel like I need to work through something, and the coolest part is that I get to share it with others who amazingly, can relate to it too. It feels like this weird super power and it brings me a ridiculous amount of joy to be able to connect with really cool humans through the songs I write.

I’ve been playing music since I was 8 years old. My dad wrote his own songs on his guitar when I was growing up and got me my own guitar to share with my little brother when I was eleven. I remember thinking it was the coolest thing that a song was something you could make. I probably should have had a therapist as a kid but instead I would hole up in my bedroom and write songs about my crush or my cat or this thing that happened in school that day and it became a space where I could process everything i felt and every piece of my life. The songs I wrote were pretty awful and dramatic but it didn’t matter because I loved it so much. Truthfully, I still do the same thing now, hole up in my room and write about everything that’s in my brain. As far as challenges go, music isn’t the easiest industry to exist in; there’s a lot of competition and not much money to be made. I’m a really small artist and it’s challenging sometimes not to compare myself to others who are more successful than I am, but comparison is such a creativity killer and also not a fun thing to feel, so that’s something I’m still learning and working on letting go of. It’s also such a small thing compared to all of the amazing people I’ve met through music and the many talented artists I’m able to witness, not to mention there’s no better feeling than having someone say they connect to my art.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned through writing and performing music (and it sounds so cliche to say) is that just showing up as myself and being vulnerable is really important. I thought I would have to become this different, way cooler version of myself and write edgy songs in order for people to pay attention to me and my art. It was a source of cognitive dissonance for me for a long time because I didn’t feel cool, I just felt really awkward. But after COVID hit and I started performing solo again for the first time after two years in lockdown, I would get so nervous to play in front of people that I finally just started telling everyone that I was terrified and somehow, that worked. My housemate calls it “endearingly anxious” and I’m trying to lean into that – just showing up, terrified, but without a facade. Just like music, I think vulnerability is kind of magical.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
San Diego has so many great spots, this is a really fun question to answer. First, I’d probably take them to Dark Horse or Coffee & Tea for coffee in the morning and then to the dog beach so we can watch my dog Flapjack run around in the ocean and bark at other pups (she thinks all the dogs in the water are drowning and she thinks barking will save them). Then Cantina Mayahuel for palomas and chips and salsa because it’s one of San Diego’s gems. Polite Provisions or Oculto 477 for specialty cocktails. Madison on Park Blvd for dinner and live music. We’d for sure stop by Carnitas Uruapan, my favorite burrito spot – the owners are super kind and their veggie burritos are huge. Bread and Cie would be first choice for fresh bread and croissants and then we’d go to Kate Sessions park and read books. Also, the estate sales in San Diego are the best out of any city I’ve been to so far, so for sure we’d be doing some estate sale hopping. We’d swing by Soda Bar for a show and then go to Black Cat for a proper dive bar/cheap beer/pool table experience. There’s a spot in National City called Zappy’s Pizza that has large pizzas for $5 and my friends and I would get takeout from there every week during COVID, so we’d pay them a visit too. Underbelly for ramen, cause it’s amazing. Verbatim Books for cozy armchairs and lots of novelty books and zines to read. Bahn Thai for incredible Thai food. Oscar’s in PB was one of the first taco places I went to when I moved to San Diego and it holds a very special place in my heart, and their ceviche is amazing. I’m sure there’s more I’m missing but that’s a good place to start.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My shoutout is for my partner and drummer/manager, Becks Free. They are the ultimate cheerleader and a killer drummer, and could not be more supportive and integral when it comes to my music and existence in general. I’m so lucky to know them.

Website: www.emmanorenmusic.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmanorenmusic/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwYk6DEdXDcFsRDVuIDk9wQ

Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/59qKHNjYO5R7wlmYmCnvCY?si=YKVv8QptTXKIIFy8LG45PA

Image Credits
Cat Coppenrath (VoodooEyePhoto) Kylie Meyer (Strange Exposures) Troy Paul Bloom