Emma Tomlinson is a Sunshine local artist from Noosa. Her new release “ROSEMARY” is now available in most places online. Emma has taken some time out to answer a couple of questions.
Emma Tomlinson –
Rosemary is a song I wrote and originally composed, produced in Brisbane with James North Productions. It is my single release from my EP AQUARIUS which is coming out soon after! I felt that this song would be an awesome introduction into the style of music I write and want to put out there for the world to listen to. It is about loving someone who thought loved you but were playing around with your head and your heart and had someone else, being ‘Rosemary’. I also use rosemary as a sign of remembrance.
What were you up-to when this song came about?
I wrote this song 2 years ago in 2018 when I was in my second semester of my first year in my Bachelor of Creative Industries and I was studying the course introduction to songwriting. we were asked for assessment to write a song and I started playing around on my piano and came across two chords that was d minor and Bb major chord and then from their everything flowed like liquid. I wrote the song within 30 minutes and then presented to my tutor and asked her to check my work and she looked at me after reading the lyrics and hearing the piano and said “Emma this is beyond incredible what you have written, you need to record this and put it out because you have written some gold here”. I couldn’t believe it honestly the feedback i received… i even received the same feedback from my other Tutor Dr Andy Ward whom not until the year after helped me find true meaning in the song, especially with the name as it was first called ‘DARE DO I PRAY’ and then we looked at the hook if the chorus being ‘My lovers got Rosemary’ and we analysed what that meant and once i found its core meaning it made sense to call it Rosemary and I feel it was the best decision I made considering it elevates the song and its meaning so much more.
What inspired you to create “Rosemary”?
I was first inspired by the remembrance of rosemary as rosemary being a sign of remembrance was a sign that I had always seen in light and dark situations. when I was in highschool, I was in a relationship for 2 years in which I thought was amazing and thought I was in love but at that age I felt I didn’t really understand what true love really was until I realised while I was in the relationship that I was being manipulated, controlled and treated like I was of less importance. Where friends who were girls took precedence over myself most of the time, leaving me feeling unsupported with my music and as a young woman feeling like I always had to impress and prove myself that I was worthy. Once I turned 19 it wasn’t until a week after my birthday that we broke up and later on I realised everything I was so blind to that was happening and couldn’t believe I allowed myself to be so embedded in such a relationship. Additionally I felt that it was a life lesson learnt and made me into a stronger woman, and I remember telling him that because he wasn’t going to change for the better that I was and use was negative as fuel to create the positive and creative. Months I did in both my music and in finding someone who appreciated not only who I was but who I was becoming and to this day I admire them for that so much as that was where I found true love and respect.
What is the intention with this song?
The intention of ROSEMARY is that not to let yourself become something you aren’t. Be who you are, don’t let someone change your colours because they don’t like them. If you respect someone more than they respect you, they aren’t worth your time. Don’t allow yourself to be treated like you are nothing and have some other girl treated of higher power. You are all the power in the world and worth more.
What is your favourite line or lyric and why?
My favourite lyric would have to be the chorus “My lover’s got Rosemary, so sweet and heavenly. Dark clouds begin stray, Maria dare do I pray”. I feel everytime I hear it they feel so powerful and it honestly gets stuck in my head and I can’t stop singing it. So many people who have so far heard it have said the exact same thing where the chorus is so catchy and so powerful yet beautiful that I’ve managed to get it stuck in their head. I feel I can play so much on those lyrics and make them into something both powerful and something so simple.
Does this song have any musical influences?
I would say that in producing this it did at first take some time to figure out the core of what influence I was channeling for the song. At first I was thinking Hayden James or a Flume vibe but then when I actually went deeper into the curation process I found it was very much influenced by Musicians/Artist Meg Mac, Sia and Adele. Those three artist have been a big part of finding who I am as an Artist and I would say to have their influence in Rosemary is incredible.
Any final words?
I hope that this being my first ever single release from my EP AQUARIUS that is yet to still come out connects with so many people on a individual level and I can’t wait for you guys to hear it!
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