Norwegian EMMA returns with the viscerally vulnerable "Animals"

"Animals" is a strutting pop song built from bare percussion and pulsating synths, filled with (initially) sultry imagery and an impassioned vocal from EMMA to match.

As the song develops and moves away from prowling the dancefloor and becomes more about being painfully self-aware, EMMA tries to see herself in someone else, someone who stands out from the mass of writhing bodies. Lust, turns to desire, turns to love - "Animals" is about all these emotions, and it's brilliant.

We spoke to the Norwegian to find out a little more.

BEST FIT: Can you tell us about the new single? What’s it all about?

EMMA: "Well, on the surface it’s a song about the animalistic, predatorial nature of looking for love and sex in a nightclub. All the games of territory and status. But as you can hear in the prechorus, it turns into a more fragile story about discovering the one that dares to stand out from the crowd. 'I only notice you because you never dance' is the line where the song originated, describing how you can stand out simply by not following the stream."

You switched your name to just EMMA recently, what was the reason for that?

"Haha, things move and setups change. I still have a great band with me, but as the lyrics grew more personal it became natural to go 100% solo. I still love to write and play with other musicians, but keeping the project identity super simple just makes everything easier."

Who or what’s been influencing your style?

"I grew up listening to a lot of classical music, especially Beethoven, his music moves me to tears with melancholy and beauty. Later on I started playing instruments and discovered harder music such as Rage Against The Machine and Muse, in addition to indie bands like MGMT and Arctic Monkeys. Now I am mainly inspired by strong female artists like Mø, Sia, Tove Lo and Sigrid."

What do you have planned for the rest of the year?

"I have recorded a lot of songs during the cold Norwegian winter, and I will be releasing at least three of them as singles this year. I have some gigs planned too, so it will be a sweet mix of writing and performing. I also recently joined an upcoming songwriter/producer team called DramaKings, so I might be writing hits for some international stars if everything works out, haha. We’ll see!"