Time and again, people make the same comment. They say they’ve rarely heard any artist quite like ethereal singer and multi-instrumentalist Emily Wells.
The performer labels her music a mix of neo-classical and pop. But at times, it sounds like a rich mix of New Age, jazz and electronic edginess.
“Actually, I’m not looking to stand out,” said the 36-year-old Wells, speaking by phone from her apartment in Harlem in New York City. “You shoot for something (musically), and you just do your best to move toward it.
“But you don’t always know what’s going to come out.”
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Locals music fans can get an idea of Wells’ unique style and creativity when she performs a free concert highlighting one of her newer works, “This World is Too _____ For You,” a one-hour presentation commissioned by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music Series. The performance, one of the Columbus Area Arts Council’s pop-up events, will include her father on French horn, plus a cellist and a percussionist.
The artist who has played worldwide wrote the group of songs over the past 18 months. Some parts sound classical. Some parts sound pop, enhanced by her smooth jazzy vocals. And some parts offer a definite rock flavor.
“I want to play this (work) as much as I can,” she said. “I want to keep it alive.”
She figures such branching out could extend her musical reach beyond the club scene that she has known.
“I love playing in clubs and all that,” she said. “But I would like to expand into more collaboration.”
In the local concert, Wells herself will mostly play violin, a synthesizer with a sequencer, and work with a drum machine. She grew up in Indianapolis, where she began distributing her music on cassette tapes as a teen. In those days, the classically-trained violinist listened to composers such as Brahms and Beethoven and pop artists such as Tori Amos and Bjork.
Her overall influences range from Nina Simone to Bob Dylan and Neil Young.
In the past, Wells has worked with violin, cello, viola, analog synthesizers, live sampling and acoustic drums to create a layered sound. National Public Radio has called her music “extraordinary, presenting a sort of ambient gospel-folk music that’s immersed in secular desires and experiences.”
Kathryn Armstrong, the arts council’s executive director, called Wells “an exceptional artist who is authentically sharing her creativity with the world.”
Last year, in the realm of unorthodox artists, the arts council organized a concert of Columbus native and experimental rock artist Henry Kohen, known as Mylets, a budding artist in the musical hotbed of Austin, Texas.
“Fostering creative talent as well as live music continues to be an important area of focus for the Columbus Area Arts Council, and we intend to introduce new artists to the community every year,” Armstrong said.
iTunes editors once said that the artist is a “virtuoso musician, and she dabbles in electronica, shades of folk and jazz, even classical and hip-hop, creating interesting tableaux and textures that are by turns airy and luminous, and spare and haunting.”
The local show marks her first live performance in months. She has been holed up in her apartment, mixing music for a new disc featuring the chamber orchestra work she will perform here. Wells acknowledged that she needs the live interaction.
“Without it,” she said, “I don’t know if I would be able to sustain this type of work. Going live gives you back so much.”
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Who: Multi-instrumentalist and singer Emily Wells, who has performed worldwide, presenting her music that she describes as a mix of neo-classical and pop. The concert will be a presentation of Wells’ work, “This World is Too _____ For You," commissioned by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music Series.
When: 7 p.m. Nov. 16.
Where: The Commons, 300 Washington St. in downtown Columbus.
Admission: Free, but organizers are encouraging attendees to offer a $10 donation.
Information: artsincolumbus.org.
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