Popdust

Emergency Tiara Talks New Single and The Importance Of Empowerment

A Q&A with the group's lead singer.

Emergency Tiara is not your everyday New York pop ensemble.

Just one listen to their latest single, the retro and catchy gem, "Lighthouse," will make that immediately clear. The band's front-woman, Juri, agreed to answer a few questions about the group's sound, vision, and influences. If you are unfamiliar with Emergency Tiara, it is high time to change that.

So, the first (and obvious) question I have to ask: what is the story behind the name, Emergency Tiara?

I want everyone to get the chance to have a moment where they're released from their daily stresses and acknowledge how special they are individually. So place a tiara on your head and remember that you're a beautiful one and feel like a prince or princess.

Your new single, "Lighthouse," manages to emulate a quality of sound that has been lost to modern recording capabilities, both in some of the backing track and the vocals. How do you manage to resurrect this quality?

One of the many things the ET family (including myself) love and enjoy is live instruments and live recordings. And big thanks to my super talented ET fam! We managed to record "Lighthouse" with all live instruments using vintage microphones. Background vocals are provided by my dear friend, Darcy Callus, another uber-talented musician that I get to work with! We actually used the demo he sent us as a guideline for me to re-record the parts, 'cause he sounded so good!!!

What initially led you to gravitate toward the old-time classics and doo-wop influences that seem to have influenced your signature sound?

I always loved standards and still listen to them a lot. Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Peggy Lee have always been my Idols, so I think the influences are coming from there.

Are there any contemporary artists that you greatly admire or draw influence from?

Yes of course! I love Janelle Monae, Solange, and Lizzo! All the beautiful and strong lady artists!!!

What do you hope to accomplish with your music? What do you hope people get when they listen to you?

Happy and empowered! I hope my music helps everyone to remember how important they are to the world!

Dustin DiPaulo is a writer and musician from Rochester, New York. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from Florida Atlantic University and can most likely be found at a local concert, dive bar, or comedy club (if he's not getting lost somewhere in the woods).

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Eerie 90s Flashbacks: Troi Irons' "Strangers"

Worth a listen, but not quite there.

Courtesy of © Jhana Parits

The intro to "Strangers," a new single by Los Angeles-based singer Troi Irons, instantly calls to mind a deep cut from one of the best albums of all time: Ok Computer by Radiohead.

Yes, it's this music critics opinion that a special ring of hell is reserved for plagiarists, but I am nevertheless of the opinion that a knowing quotation of another's work is perfectly acceptable — laudable, even.

However, while I'm tempted to be similarly charitable to Troi Irons, the main instrumental hook of her new single bears too strong a resemblance to Radiohead's "No Surprises" — a track from their hit 1997 album — to be judged anything but thinly disguised re-appropriation.

After hearing the whole track, it's clear that Radiohead's third album is far from the only 90s-era object in Irons' jewel box of musical influences. But the whole affair sounds so hyper-sincere, angsty and self-absorbed, it's tempting to think that the musicians her work evokes - Alanis Morissette, Liz Phair, Trent Reznor, the list is long - are being conjured as objects of ridicule.

Musical satire is a rare commodity these days, but Irons' "Strangers" is simply a musical anachronism, one that'd be almost refreshing if its emotions were more convincing. Nevertheless, the song has potential, and Troi Irons is an artist worth watching.

Strangers

Matt Fink lives and works in Brooklyn. Go to organgrind.com for more of his work.

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