Erika M. Anderson

This article is about the singer-songwriter. For the actress, see Erika Anderson.
EMA
EMA performing at the Berghain in Berlin on May 5, 2011
EMA performing at the Berghain in Berlin on May 5, 2011
Background information
Birth nameErika Michelle Anderson
Born (1982-01-28) January 28, 1982 (age 42)[1]
South Dakota, United States
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer-songwriter
  • guitarist
  • visual artist
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • electronics
  • bass
Years active2006–present
Labels
  • Night People
  • Souterrain Transmissions
  • Matador
Websitewww.iwannadestroy.com

Erika Michelle Anderson (born January 28, 1982), better known by her stage name EMA, is an American singer and songwriter originally from South Dakota, who presently lives in Portland, Oregon. She fronted the noise-folk band Gowns, from 2006 to 2010, releasing one album, 2007's Red State.[2] After Gowns disbanding, she released her debut album Little Sketches on Tape in 2010 on Night People, an independent music label founded by former Raccoo-oo-oon member Shawn Reed. In 2011 EMA released her second album Past Life Martyred Saints, which received positive reviews from Pitchfork Media,[3] Drowned in Sound,[4] and the NME.[5] After releasing her debut album, EMA was named "New Band of the Day" by The Guardian,[6] and "Artist to Watch" by Rolling Stone.[7] In 2011 she performed "Endless, Nameless" for Spin's twentieth anniversary tribute to Nirvana's album Nevermind.[8] Her song "The Grey Ship" was used on an episode of Adult Swim's Off the Air, and in the 2014 Carter Smith film Jamie Marks Is Dead.

The album The Future's Void was released on Matador Records in 2014.[9] She made her network television debut performing on Late Show with David Letterman on August 26, 2014.

EMA released her fourth studio album, Exile in the Outer Ring, on August 25, 2017 through City Slang. The first single was "Aryan Nation" and dedicated to the people of "heartland America", where she is from.[10] The single was inspired by the British skinhead film, This Is England.[11]

In 2023 it was announced that Anderson had joined Sarah Register and Vice Cooler to form Thrash Palace.[12]

  1. ^ "EMA on Twitter".
  2. ^ Breihan, Tom (March 9, 2011). "EMA". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  3. ^ Neyland, Nick (May 10, 2011). "EMA: Past Life Martyred Saints". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  4. ^ Skinner, James (May 5, 2011). "EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  5. ^ Chester, Tim (May 4, 2011). "Album Review: EMA – 'Past Life Martyred Saints'". NME. IPC Media. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  6. ^ Lester, Paul (April 14, 2011). "New band of the day – No 1,005: EMA". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  7. ^ Keyes, J. Edward (May 17, 2011). "Artist to Watch: EMA's Spellbinding Noise-Folk Confessionals". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  8. ^ Marchese, David (July 19, 2011). "FREE ALBUM: SPIN Tribute to Nirvana's 'Nevermind'". Spin. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  9. ^ Richardson, Mark (10 April 2014). "EMA: The Future's Void | Album Reviews | Pitchfork". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  10. ^ Bowe, Miles (April 19, 2017). "EMA announces new album Exile In The Outer Ring, shares 'Aryan Nation'". FACT. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  11. ^ Malt, Andy. "EMA announces new album, releases This Is England inspired single". CMU. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  12. ^ Breihan, Tom (2023-08-16). "EMA, Vice Cooler, & Sarah Register Form Supergroup Thrash Palace". Stereogum. Retrieved 2024-07-04.