Emily Kopp – Making Sense Of

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) What is the sound and feel of your new EP Making Sense Of?

A) It was kind of something that came to fruition out of a couple of years of touring with previous releases. This kind of sonically is a fair look into how we sound after a couple of years of honing together and melding as a band. It’s kind of a live presentation of how we are.

Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music?

A) The main producer on it is based in Nashville. We co-wrote everything together. So, while we were writing, we had a lot of the production in mind. I didn’t want to bring in too many oddball elements. It is a live band playing and I really wanted to bring that out. He produced it, but I definitely had a say in how the instrumentation would be.

Q) Where did you find inspiration for piecing together the music and writing the songs?

A) The lyrics were one element of it. The co-writing thing was really interesting. It’s something I am doing more recently. I started writing more and more after my second release and co-writing more. Lyrically, there was that element, but instrumentally the other aspect was how do I hand someone an EP without cautioning them, “This sounds really great, but wait until you see a live show.” So, I think it came together in a really natural way. The band who recorded on it is not my touring band, but it came together in a way that was really natural and what was happening naturally as far as how the co-writing was going. Instrumentally it just made sense to do it this way and I also pulled from a lot of records that I was listening to, different artists that I was really digging on. I wanted my tone to some elements of this record and some elements of this record.

Q) What kind of fan feedback have you received to your new music?

A) People are really liking it. I think it is mostly because it’s like pop-rock, but still has all these other elements that my previous EP’s had. These are a little more relatable though because they are somewhat chant-y and people can sing along to them. They are definitely more commercial in a sense.

Q) How did you decide on the order of the songs?

A) We just thought about in a way that we would put together a set list. How would you want your set to flow? Why do you choose to put certain songs first? I’m sure it is because as performers you want to evoke emotions and take them on a journey. With four songs, it was pretty simple to make it flow.

Q) How did the concept for your single “Chasing Streetlights” come about?

A) It’s pretty simple. It concept came about initially because of budgetary needs. It was not a big budget to have a full blown produced staged music video. It kind of worked out to my benefit because I had this unused tour footage and b-roll footage from years and years of travel. So, I decided to take all of that and edit it all together myself. I got really creative and got in video editing mode. I think the song worked perfectly with the footage because it ended up narrating the story of the video.

Q) Will you be touring or doing any upcoming live performances?

A) We did a little bit of touring while it was still being mixed. We did have a huge going away party out of Orlando, which is where I have been based for a few years. We had a huge going away slash live recording. We recorded the whole EP (basically a whole set) and filmed it. That’s the big performance we have for that record.

Q) What do you hope people take away from listening to your music?

A) It’s funny because I don’t think you ever start writing music with the intention of writing it for other people. It is just kind of a self indulging thing and it is my release. A byproduct of that is people being affected by it and using it to cope or feel good. It’s a song that puts their baby to sleep. Something a friend texted me the other day was, “The only music that puts our son to sleep is your EP.” I sent it to them early. Honestly, I just want people to feel good. If that is what ends up happening, then that is an amazing feeling. At points being a music feels a little selfish, so you get to feel a little bit selfless and like you are contributing a little bit when you hear that people feel connected to what you are putting out into the world. That’s a really special feeling.