Emmeline
“There is no one way to get ‘there’ and ‘there’ is very different for everyone.”
Emmeline is a deeply compassionate and creative singer/songwriter. She has travelled across three continents, and has found herself grounded on the streets of Dublin, where she shares her music with the world through her busking. Emmeline’s covers have amassed millions of views on YouTube, and she published her debut single "A Million Times" just last year. She has undeniable talent and passion for her artistry. Emmeline believes in remaining true to herself and having gratitude for the world in which she lives. She does this by living as sustainably as possible, and remaining connected. She’s an artist and an advocate, with a kind heart and a gentle spirit. Meet Emmeline. This is her story.
P: Please introduce yourself!
E: My name is Emmeline Gracie Rae. I am a singer-songwriter & creative from West Germany with Dominican-Italian roots. I’ve been writing music for a few years and made my debut last May with an Indie-Folk ballad called “A Million Times”.
I grew up in a German small-town, raised by my mother & grandmother and travelled my way around Europe, Afrika & the US a bit, hiking, hitchhiking & now making music on the streets of Dublin, Ireland.
P: Describe or define yourself in your own words.
E: When I started putting out my music on the internet I realized I had to create an artistic vision of myself. I asked myself ‘how do I want to show up in this world?’ and I think the answer to this is gentle, connected and passionate. I am quite the sensitive being and have always been. In German we say “to be built near the water” - meaning someone who is easily brought to tears. In that sense, if I were a house I’d probably be a boat.
I learned how to love and tune into my sensitivity. I am vegan and care deeply about the state of our planet & the beautiful creatures we share it with. I am working on reducing my (plastic) waste and ditching fast fashion for good. I grew up right at a forest and this connectivity with nature has always been there.
I feel like I’ve been living in a crisis with self-identification my whole life & by sharing my art with the world I finally planted my feet on the ground. You don’t have to push yourself out of your comfort zone to embody some type of persona in music, you are whatever is natural to you. To me this means simplicity and connecting with humanity & the earth.
P: What is your favourite thing about yourself?
E: I think I like that I can learn. There have been many moments in my life where I felt totally unequipped and incapable. Studying in the states when I was 15, moving out when I turned 18, hitch-hiking through France and wild camping for weeks after high school. I am grateful that I can learn to be the woman I want to be.
I used to have very limiting beliefs about myself and the things I could be capable of. It doesn’t come down to what I was given when I started, it’s about what I can learn to be, do, build, write, live.
P: What is one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
E: “Stay in your lane”. Someone once said that to me. He wasn’t a significant person in my life and I haven’t seen him since but when I heard this phrase all I felt was relief. The competition game among women in music is ridiculously high - even among the ones who try to support & empower each other. Sometimes it all feels like a game of statistics - who has how many followers, streams, listeners etc… When I decided to stay in my lane, it brought back the focus in my life to my own art, my own being. There is no one way to get “there” and “there” is very different for everyone. But what goes on left and right to us is nothing but beautiful to witness. See it, be there, empower other creatives and then go back to what you have to do to get where you want to be.
P: What does being a woman mean to you?
E: Women can be anything and I will always want & fight for women to have the right to be whatever they choose to be. For me however it means being the intuitive, nurturing and gentle part of this world. I think there is endless power in connecting with our femininity. The patriarchy conditioned us to see all these traits as weaknesses - femininity as fragile. But embodying womanhood, what it means to be in touch with our intuition, to me means feeling grounded, strong and vulnerable at the same time.
P: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say if they were here now?
E: My mother has always been the person I love most. She inspired me every day. She has been doing Tae Kwon Do for 3 decades, training kids, winning international championships. It was her escape from a limiting household when she was a teenager. She spent all her money on classes. She always used to tell me: Talent is one thing. But what you need is fire. This has become my philosophy. To brush away all the insecurities about talent, skillset, equipment when it comes to making music or anything in life. What I hold onto is the fire in my soul that carries me through. I use it to navigate my life through art like a red thread I’ll never let go of.
Emmeline’s new single Lights Out