aaamusic | On 18, Nov 2012

‘Gently’ sees critically acclaimed Bedfordshire, UK based singer-songwriter Terry Emm follow up this years stark and rocky album ‘Petals Fallen Off The Sun’ with a sweet twinkling magical sound hinting at perhaps 60’s folk psychedelia. Have a watch of the magical animated video for the track created by Mark Charlton, where an animated character of Emm explores an enchanted Christmas forest filled with delightfully odd creatures:

‘The track came out of the Petals… sessions but immediately took a completely different direction’ says Emm who recently performed a session for Bob Harris on BBC Radio 2. ‘Richard Durrant who recorded and produced the track was looking after an amazing electric harpsichord, which makes up much of the tracks different sound for musician friend Howard Beach and we started experimenting with it and it just seems to have been a right place right time thing’, adds Emm.

Lyrically, Emm’s metaphorical imagery passes through imagining Christmas lights in the trees to be the real leaves and starlings ‘probing’ the ground like ‘lovers lips’, whilst his effortless intricate finger picked guitar weaves. The sound in ‘Gently’ perhaps slightly harkens back to Emm’s 2009 pastoral debut ‘White Butterflies’ which bonus B-side ‘The Way You Look’ is taken from where chamber pop strings and Durrants nylon classical guitar work surrounded him.

Although still in his early 20’s and releasing his work independently via Brighton based LongMan Records Emm’s work is racking up credible accolades with admirers like Eliza Carthy, the late Nick Drake string arranger Robert Kirby, treasured poet and Beach boys collaborator Stephen J Kalinich, BBC 6 Music DJ Tom Robinson and acclaimed songstress Judith Owen who invited Terry to open for her on her 2009 UK tour.

At the East Coast Music Awards 2010 in Sydney, Canada, it is reported by the Telegram newspaper that when asked for a recommendation from his side of the pond, Bob Harris who was presenting at the Awards suggested audiences listen to Terry Emm. Emm looks set to continue exploring songwriter and breaking genre boundaries with more music and touring to come in 2013.