Coney Island, Delia Derbyshire, Baroque tonality, “Victorian grime,” Microsoft’s forgotten Encarta ‘96 encyclopaedia, Rebel MC and alternative time signatures: welcome to just a few of the colourful sonic landmarks in E.m.m.a.’s world and her debut album Blue Gardens.

To the outsider it’s perhaps not immediately apparent the connections between say, Coney Island and Rebel MC, or Encarta ‘96 and Delia Derbyshire, but as you immerse yourself into E.m.m.a.’s vivid sound palette they begin to lead you down a winding path of fantastic vistas. Her story begins several years back: around ’05 she was mostly absorbed in the US rap of Big Pun, Fabolous and Jadakiss before having a “what the…?!” epiphany with " target="_blank">Skream’s Midnight Request Line. “I realised that there was something going on that I wanted to be a part of,” she says.

But from fairly well trodden beginnings her story quickly diverts into unexpected realms. She met Sully and began sending him the grime she’d been making, albeit with her own twist: “I thought if I made it funny and did more historical references to eras from the past, such as a Victorian highwayman rather than a south London rudeboy, people wouldn’t necessarily be able to criticise me because I was taking the piss.” While her interest a quasi-humorous “Victorian grime” style would wane, a pattern of musical creativity driven by a vivid inspiration sources was emerging.

“American Nostalgia, Point Break, American high schools, bubble gum, picture houses, Coney Island, Hollywood, proms, Long Island, picket fences, boardwalks, Baroque tonality, Wendy Carlos, Delia Derbyshire, Jeff Wayne, Westerns, sci fi, spaghetti western soundtracks, Encarta ’96: genuinely these are in my mind,” she explains. “I just think the idea of the monopoly the Encarta encyclopaedia had on knowledge is ridiculous in the context of the present day. I’m not ashamed to say it’s my muse.”

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via Echo Empire