Feature Artist: St. Emerald

With their recent single release (18th September 2020), ‘Head Over Heels‘, Melbourne, Australia’s St. Emerald are taking the Australian Music Scene by storm.

The question we hear you asking is.. what is the story behind this young, exciting and innovative band? What has brought this mix of sounds together to create the sound that is St. Emerald?

We spent some time digging into what’s behind the mask of the band.. what makes them tick and what has inspired the creation of their songs.

Who are St. Emerald?

St. Emerald are made up of four band members, Nathan, Liam, Josh and Cam and are based in the Eastern Hills of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Nathan has told us that “the four of us have known each other since about 2014 – through church and school circles mostly. Nathan, Liam, and Josh played quite often together in the church and youth music teams, and eventually in 2018 decided to throw their hand at writing a few songs and playing together. That was in September of 2018. Later in December, Cam was invited along by Liam to join, completing the lineup.”

The band then worked together writing their EP and began the recording process at Box Hill Institute throughout 2019.

Couch Mag was told “We played our first gig in February this year, at 12 Bar in Belgrave, and five weeks later released our debut EP. Since then we have been navigating lockdown alongside our fellow Victorians, releasing ‘Head Over Heels‘ during this period – on September 18.”

Inspiration for ‘Head Over Heels’

“In a way, I was probably inspired to write out of a place of hope – writing about something I hadn’t experienced, something I wanted for myself. ” says Nathan.

The track was inspired by a number of songs, and predominantly “Don’t Lose Your Love” by Ivan & Alyosha and many people have compared the track to “Hey There Delilah” by the Plain White T’s.

“The song means a fair bit because it was the first original song we ever sort of workshopped together after Nathan showed it to Josh and Liam back in 2018. Our first ever studio experience was to do with Head Over Heels too, even though the finished product was recorded solely in my bedroom. So this song has sort of been around since we formed as a band, and it’s nice that it is finally seeing the light of day!”

“I think it’s just a really hopeful song. The song talks about the purities of love; love at first sight.. “We didn’t care about each others scars” talks about seeing past someone’s scars and their baggage and seeing what’s underneath.”

“Just before the instrumental it talks about how meeting your “chosen one” can flip your entire perspective on love. So, I guess if anything, the message is not to just settle for a partner you find bearable – but find the person that really makes you feel alive, and brings the best out of life and you.”

What does the future hold for St. Emerald?

“2020 has been an interesting year for the band, as many other artists would have found too, but in 2021 we are really excited to hopefully play as many live shows as we can, and ideally release a few singles and a new album.”

The Covid-19 restrictions have caused delay for many musicians, but St. Emerald are ready with two albums full of songs, ready to record once they have the green light to head into the recording studio.. They have plans to have some of the singles released in early 2021.

“A lot of our future work looks a lot different to what we have put out, but we think it still has the “St. Emerald vibe”. Even with this current single, and our first single “Sienna” there is a huge difference in the sound and they were written only a few weeks apart. “

“We were lucky enough to get that February gig in this year before everything closed up, but that’s our only actual live experience so far, and we can’t wait to grow in the live performance arena.”

Final messages to aspiring artists

“Trying to avoid, cliche – just create what you want to create. Don’t do something or change your path because someone else wants you to. We were originally advised against releasing an 8 minute song in our first EP – but we didn’t really care because we liked the song and we wanted to show people what we had and what we could do.

Art can be whatever you want it to be, so don’t be pressured into creating something that doesn’t properly represent your artistic intent or you’ll regret it down the track. “

Where to find St. Emerald