29 Mar 2024
UsernamePassword

Remember Me? | Join | Recover
Click here to sign in via social networking

Emily Rice - EP Review: Auhua

06 May 2021 // A review by Kev Rowland

Over the last few months Emily Rice has been building up to the release of this EP, and of the six songs included on Auaha (which means to shape, create, form, fashion), four have already been released as singles, and I have reviewed three of them myself, so the EP feels already very much like an old friend, but for anyone yet to come across Emily and her work then this is a wonderful place to start. I first came across Emily and her husband in the wonderful folk duo Aro, but here her music is far more dance oriented as she brings in lots of different styles such as soft jazz, RnB, dub, and even a little touch of folk, but always with her wonderful vocals front and centre. Emily has a beautiful clean style that is never forced, always pure and clean, so no matter what is happening with the instrumentation it is always grounded.

For someone like myself who tends to avoid many of the musical styles she is utilising, as to be honest I am simply not a fan of those genres, the result is quite a revelation. It is the way she combines these elements with her voice that makes them so compelling, so that the worn-out piano on Playing Darts becomes a thing of beauty, with delicate horns assisting in making it special, while she harmonises with herself, layering her clear and emotional vocals on top. This is slow and comforting, wrapping the listener in a blanket that is quite removed from the more overtly dance-driven Careless.

It is the last two songs on the EP which for me are the standout numbers. Red and Blue contains the  multi-layered vocals I have come to expect with Emily, but here there is also a complex arrangement with real instruments, plus finger clicks. This all makes it feel less electronic than the others, and although it is still firmly in the soft jazz/RnB style, as always it is her wonderful vocals that takes this through. I can imagine this being sung by her and Charles, just with an acoustic guitar for accompaniment, but here it has been made much richer with some delicate basslines and some gentle chords from the electric guitar. Kanohi ki te Kanohi is the last song, and can be translated as “face to face, or in person”. Here she brings together all the different elements of the EP, plus Te Reo, and with her multi-layered harmonies it is almost as if she is taking the style of Aro as a basis and moving it in a very different direction indeed.

The six songs are all worth discovering individually, but as an EP this set should be in the collection of every lover of wonderful vocals and songs, whatever the style.

Rating: ( 5 / 5 )
 

About Emily Rice

Emily Rice is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter from Tamaki Makaurau. Twice finalist of songwriter of the year while studying at pop music school, Emily has gone on to release three EP’s of music since 2012, live and perform across Europe, collaborate with countless fellow musicians and is one half of a two time Silver Scrolls finalist bilingual duo Aro.

Emily’s songs have evolved with each new project, moving through different styles and always integrating vocal looping, sprinkles of jazz and a touch of saxophone.

Her new sound is best described as chill DnB/RnB-pop and she’s releasing her new EP Auaha; a compilation of songs she wrote during Aotearoa’s level 4 lockdown in April 2020 in early 2021.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Emily Rice

Releases

Auaha
Year: 2021
Type: EP
Dusk
Year: 2019
Type: EP
A Little Salt
Year: 2016
Type: EP
Find Me Here
Year: 2015
Type: EP

Other Reviews By Kev Rowland

Gig Review: Crushfest @ The Tuning Fork, Auckland - 07/07/2023
07 Jul 2023 // by Kev Rowland
So it was down to Tuning Fork for the first night of the second Crushfest festival. Tonight was going to be Wellington and Auckland bands, and then some of the same will be playing at the second night in Wellington next month.
Read More...
Rain - Single Review: Love and War
15 Jun 2023 // by Kev Rowland
It has been quite a while since I last heard from Wellington-based singer songwriter Cathy Elizabeth, and back then Rain was seen solely as a studio project with Cathy being accompanied by Thomas Te Taite, who provided all the instrumentation including digital drums. Now they are a full band who have been performing live, and it is the first time they have recorded as such, with Thomas now, just providing acoustic guitar (plus engineering and producing etc.
Read More...
Lost Vessels - Single Review: All This Time
01 Jun 2023 // by Kev Rowland
I must admit I was not that impressed when I first saw Lost Vessels play at Crushfest, something they later admitted to me was the worst gig of their career, but since then they have improved in leaps and bounds. This has been noticed by others on the Auckland circuit as they are getting more opportunities with better support slots, and I was not at all surprised when they won the Ding Dong Lounge Battle Of The Bands in November last year.
Read More...
Unwanted Subject - Single Review: Sons of Savages
28 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
I have caught Unwanted Subject in concert a few times over the last couple of years, and while they have been getting better each time I have seen them, I must admit that nothing prepared me for this, which right from the off is a monster. I have never heard them quite this is aggressive, nor as polished, and this multi-sectioned single sounds almost like a different band as they have pushed their metal roots to the max in this metalcore beast which sees them mixing and blending different genres to create something quite special.
Read More...
Gig Review: Stray Dogs @ AUX, Auckland - 26/05/2023
28 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
So it was back to Ding Dong Lounge on a Friday night for one of their infamous Emo nights, which tonight was a three-band bill with Stray Dogs having an extended set, supported by Altaea and then up first we had Blindr, a band new to me. Blindr are a quartet featuring Bill Caldwell (vocals, guitar), Blake Woodfield (lead guitar), Jack Power (bass), and Charlie McCracken (drums).
Read More...
Gig Review: Turkey The Bird @ The Ministry of Folk, Auckland - 27/05/2023
27 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Back up to Auckland Guide Centre in Mount Eden tonight for my second consecutive gig (Sol suggested it was a turkey sandwich as I am at Vader tomorrow) to see Taranaki’s finest, Turkey The Bird at The Ministry of Folk. Before that we of course had Hoop, who are Al Baxter (vocals, guitar, harmonica, banjo, mandolin), Nick Edgar (vocals, guitar, ukulele, flute, harmonica), Emily Allen (violin, viola), Glenn Coldham (bass) while tonight Gary Hunt was filling in for drummer Rusty Knox.
Read More...
This Silent Divide - Single Review: Beautiful Creature
25 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Here we have the latest single from Wellington-based melodic hard rock quartet This Silent Divide, entitled Beautiful Creature. I really enjoyed their Tall Stories EP, and they played a great gig at Dead Witch towards the end of last year, and this would have been recorded at about the same time.
Read More...
Gig Review: Emily Rice @ Your Local Coffee Roasters, Pukekohe - 24/05/2023
24 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Earlier this week I had a message from Emily Rice asking me if I lived in South Auckland. When I responded I did, she asked if I would be interested in coming along to an event she was putting on in a coffee shop in Pukekohe to celebrate the release of her new single, Warenoa.
Read More...
View All Articles By Kev Rowland

NZ Top 10 Singles

  • WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS (WAIT FOR YOUR LOVE)
    Ariana Grande
  • BEAUTIFUL THINGS
    Benson Boone
  • END OF BEGINNING
    Djo
  • LOSE CONTROL
    Teddy Swims
  • TEXAS HOLD 'EM
    Beyonce
  • STICK SEASON
    Noah Kahan
  • PRAISE JAH IN THE MOONLIGHT
    YG Marley
  • CARNIVAL
    Kanye West And Ty Dolla $ign
  • SATURN
    SZA
  • LOVIN ON ME
    Jack Harlow
View the Full NZ Top 40...
muzic.net.nz Logo
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report a ProblemReport A Problem