emilly jeffri Talks Going Indie, Murder Mysteries And All Things Whimsy
Written by Daphne Bryant
All images provided by emily jeffri
From nostalgic horror to Tragic queer Love affairs, 19-year old and UK-based musician emily Jeffri’s storytelling knows no bounds. Her creative genius and contagious passion for all things camp set her apart, and listening to her music is one wild, whimsical rollercoaster. Read our interview with the insanely talented jeffri below!
Q1: Tell me your origin story! Essentially, how did you get into music? Who inspires you?
A: I remember first using Garageband at the whimsy-filled age of 12 and being utterly CONVINCED that it was a videogame. I continued to think it was a pointless videogame for months, playing the default piano on my iPhone 6S until eventually, my brain finally kicked in and I realised you could save your progress. A life changing discovery! From then on, you could not get me off of my phone or out of my room ever. I was constantly trying to recreate my favourite songs, doing everything I could with the little knowledge I had to make them sound as similar to the originals as possible! I LOVED it, but my lack of headphones meant that everyone else in my household absolutely hated it [laughs]. Eventually, I was given my dad’s old iPhone 8 for my birthday that, at the time, ran considerably faster than my iPhone 6 (which would repeatedly crash and drive tweenager me absolutely insane). It was on this phone that I began making my own original songs. My most popular tunes were made on that phone, including‘ WHERE ARE THEY NOW???’ and‘ DO YOU REMEMBER ME???’! I took a lot of inspiration from the artists whose songs I had tried recreating growing up, such as Daft Punk, M83, Justice and Lady Gaga. The EP that came out last year was my first body of work that wasn’t solely made on a phone - I worked a lot with a producer called Paul Whalley and he has taught me so much and introduced me to the whimsical world of analogue synths. I think that I will release a few phone-made tracks again this year as not only do I love making music that way, but it sends a really important message to people that don’t have access to fancy equipment and software. Anybody can make music! I never had the funds to be in a studio until last year and, while it is so much fun, you absolutely have all you need on a phone too. I feel like I’m starting to sound like an advert but I really would be nowhere without Garageband.
Q2: If you had to come up with a brand new genre for your music, what would you call it?
A: Scratch music! I love tinny, scratchy sounds that clean your ears out. If I could name my genre of music, it would be called Scratch.
Q3: Next month you will be releasing your first independent single since 2023! What was it like leaving your record label, and what excites you about going indie again?
A: AAAAAAAAAAAAA. I’m so excited. I’ll be totally honest with you, leaving my record label was incredibly hard both emotionally and financially. My initial deal with them was quite good but unfortunately, when it was time to renew my deal with them, this new deal they offered me was absolutely abhorrent - I would’ve honestly preferred it if they had just dropped me. Declining that deal so last minute put me in a real rough spot, but my fans really showed up for me. I released some custom, hand-bleached merch and they bought so much of it! I’d never sold merch before so I wasn’t sure if they would be interested and I was super super anxious but they have almost sold it out! Not to mention the influx of supportive messages and comments - they are really here for the long run and it means the world to me. Now [that] I’m independent and slowly getting back on my feet, I can’t wait to give them the most authentic and whimsical music I’ve ever put out. I am so unbelievably excited for this year!
Q4: You’re someone who thinks a lot about your branding as a musician. What kinds of time periods or aesthetics are you hoping to tap into this year?
A: Eeeeek! Campy, whimsical, 1920s, etc. I have a million different pinterest boards and I just cannot wait for all of the looks I have planned to exist! I will say though, if I am inspired by something else at any point in the year, I am going to allow myself to totally change creative direction despite having planned ahead. This is one of the beauties of not being signed, baby!
Q5: One really cool thing about your live shows is that you run murder mysteries alongside the concert itself. How did you come up with that idea and what have the fan reactions been like?
A: It is the most fun thing in the WORLD. We first ran this idea at my headliner in London at the end of 2023 and I was SO nervous that it wouldn’t work out. Essentially, there is a murderer picked WAY beforehand at all of my gigs and, before the show begins, I meet with this murderer and hand them 15 red cards. The murderer’s objective is to hand all of these out throughout the duration of my show without getting caught! If you’re given a card by the murderer, you don’t have to play dead or anything, you simply just cannot tell anybody who gave the card to you! Not only [does it add] a really fun social element for my fans and gets them all chatting to one another, it also allows me to properly have a conversation with some of my biggest fans too! It’s also so funny hearing their game plan beforehand and then watching them hand out the cards as I perform. So far every single murderer has gotten away with it and not ONE has been caught. So far...
Q6: How does being queer play into your artistry?
A: I recently spoke about this in another interview and I’m still not quite sure how to explain it. I have always made inherently campy music, particularly last year when my whole project revolved around a forbidden lesbian couple from the 1980s. I only truly accepted myself as a lesbian and came out at the end of summer 2024, even then I jumped back into the closet a few times out of fear. I think I have always known that I am gay but because I felt I couldn’t openly accept it for so long, it bled out and escaped into so much of my art instead. I mean, I released a song at the beginning of last year called‘ VERSE’ which is literally about a lesbian couple who can only commune with one another through reading aloud carnal, erotic and romantic bible verses at church because their parents had forbidden them from ever speaking outside of the nave. And I“ wasn’t a lesbian”?! I fear the closet wasn’t even glass, it was made out of hot air, there were literally no barriers LMAO.
Q7: How do you think the music scene in the UK differs from other parts of the world?
A: I think that the UK music scene is full to the brim of whimsy. We’ve always adored a super scratchy bop, Charli XCX today, Calvin Harris’ early work from a few decades ago, Fatboy Slim, Aphex Twin, the list goes on. While other countries in Europe are probably better known for the genre - shoutout France for giving us Justice and Daft Punk ANDDD M83 - I think the UK have always been lovers of a scratchy dance track. I am here to offer up some more scratchy dance tracks with a touch of whimsy and so, so much camp.
Q8: What would you tell someone who’s about to listen to your music for the first time?
A: Eat something really sour, maybe buy some poppers, cover yourself in spray-on glitter and go for a run in an empty street in the middle of the night. If you put enough glitter on it will float around you as you sprint along the dimly lit path. If going out isn’t an option, spin around in your bedroom - I will not judge you, this is a safe space.
