SHORT INTERVIEW SERIES : Emem Archibong introducing Air you breathe

1. What is the story behind your latest release?

My latest release “air you breathe” was written as a result of my realisation that God sees even in the darkest times. He sees my struggles, my triumphs, when I have been misunderstood and when I had been celebrated.

There is a story in the bible where Hagar, a slave girl in Abraham’s household is taken advantage of. It results in her running away and in a desert place, an angel appears to her and she realises that God sees.

We are going through a turbulent time in the world right now and I believe that this song serves to remind us that God who we may not know sees and he cares for everyone of us. All we have to do is call on him in our troubles and he will answer. He will be there.

2. Do you think that the faith is important in your songwriting process? How did it come to you?

Faith is the cornerstone of my songwriting process. The concept for my songs, melodies and even lyrics sometimes come to me unexpectedly whether in a dream, in a moment of quiet contemplation or otherwise randomly and I have to be ready to capture it and develop it further with time

For me, my gift of songwriting and musicality give me faith that my God is real. I really cannot take credit for the songs I write. They are always divinely inspired.

3. How work for you recording process, is something that you made on your own?

The recording process for me has many steps. The first step is recording the rough idea, developing it then recording a demo to send to the producer.

After the production is done, we record the lead vocals and backing vocals. The song is then mixed and mastered by the producer.

4. How would you describe your sound?

My sound is a commercial pop and rnb sound with lyrics of deeper levels of meaning.

It is reminiscent of contemporary christian music artists e.g Hillsong, elevation worship, Cece Winans etc

5. What’s one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?

I have learnt that my uniqueness and authenticity is my superpower

When I was starting out, I would emulate my favourite artists at the time and even had people complimenting me that I sound like Whitney Houston or Toni Braxton.

As I have grown in my gift, I have realised that the goal is to have my own unique sound both in the way I write and how I sing.

6. What tools or software do you rely on in your studio?

I normally have a sound engineer and producer who deal with the technical aspects of the recording process

The system he uses to record my vocals is reason 8.1

7. What’s one song from another indie artist you love right now?

“Follow you” by Eric Reverence

8. What’s next for you? Any upcoming releases or shows?

I plan to release more of my songs as singles in the near future.

9. Where can our listeners follow your music?

All my songs are available on all online music stores including Spotify, amazon music, iTunes, napster, emusic, cdbaby

Below are my social media handles