- Music
- 10 Nov 23
Live Report: Emileo brings her audience on a musical journey for the Y&E Series
Berlin-born singer-songwriter Emileo brought her distinct, multi-layered acoustic sound to the Y&E Series last night for a soul-stirring, stripped-back set – supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
Born in Berlin in 2000, singer-songwriter Emileo moved to Spain at 16 before heading south to the stunning Morocco. She then went on to win the Sinead O’Connor BA Commercial Modern Music Scholarship of BIMM Dublin in 2020, residing in the city since and on the forefront of emerging Dublin artists.
Despite only performing with a guitar, Emileo’s set proved the singer-songwriter's talent for building a layered, resonant sound, taking her listeners on a journey for last night’s Y&E Series set.
Strumming her guitar, Emileo got right into it as she waited for her audience to tune in. Kicking things off with an untitled tune and plucked strings, the singer’s deeply resonant vocals were stripped-back, yet still carrying a striking, haunting quality and impressive depth.
She switched unexpectedly into English toward the end of the track, singing the lines, “There is peace as I fade into the deep,” with an emotive tone over deep, thick guitar strings.
Touching base with her growing audience, Emileo introduced herself properly. “Welcome to my little home in Temple Bar where I’m playing from now,” she said.
Thanking Hot Press and The Department of Tourism and Culture for the opportunity, Emileo praised the Y&E Series for allowing her a chance to play for people who might not be able to see her live shows in Dublin.
Such is the case for ‘Naked,’ Emileo’s next tune, an ode to her Eastern roots. In the East of Germany. The track is born out of being naked, which is apparently not seen as a sexual act within the East of Emileo’s home country.
Emileo’s light, raspy voice floated off into an airy, dry head voice on the chorus, before returning to a nostalgia-filled bridge. “When we are naked we are free,” she chanted, “We forget our names, what we were called.”
Despite only performing with a guitar, Emileo’s set proved the singer-songwriter's talent for building a layered, resonant sound. She took her audience on a journey through her own background, sharing, “I’m gonna take you into the south a little bit, into Marrakech.”
She prefaced the tune with a spoken word piece on her time in Morocco, submerging her audience in a specific time and place before beginning the delicate, deeply personal tune.
“Watch my wounded heart as it tries to escape,” Emileo sang, bringing to the surface the parts of herself she has discarded in the places she’s loved and lived. She lilted into Arabic on the chorus, kicking in a subtle drum track to push the second half of the tune along.
Next, Emileo pulled out a photo of her grandparents to introduce the next track. The singer shared, “Now I’m going to play a song about my favourite person in the world.
“This song is for my Opa,” the artist said. A delicate lullaby, Emileo performed the intimate family tune in a delicate, native German tongue over sweet guitar notes.
Catch Emileo’s live Y&E Series performance below!
Watch the Hot Press Y&E Series - supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media - live on the Hot Press Instagram (@hotpressmagazine) at 7pm each night.
Catch the following acts performing this week…
Friday 10th: Gary O'Neill
Emerging Kilkenny Songwriter Gary O’Neill has garnered great success with his EP To Those I’ve Missed, a body of work which explores the effects of the relationships with the ones that we love and admire. The first single from the project, ‘Petals’, caught the attention of Hot Press and various stations across the nation, including Tomorrow Radio, LMFM, FLIRT FM, Raidio Na Life and RTE 2XM. The singer has released multiple albums, since moving much of his material offline as he gears up to set out on a new musical journey.
Saturday 11th: Qbanaa
With a name springing from her Cuban heritage, Qbanaa is setting the Irish scene alight with her diverse gifts, made evident off-the-bat with her debut single 'Truth and Desire', which was nominated for 'Track of the Year' by Hot Press. Based in Dublin, she grew up travelling back and forth from Cuba where music and salsa dancing were integral parts of her childhood. Earning a reputation for incredible live performances, Qbanaa has founded the Soul Juice jazz/Soul open mic in Dashi Smithfield – with an ethos of building a community around the Jazz-fusion scene in Dublin.
