Gerrit Mathee and Emma de Goede in conversation outside Abbey Road Studios. PHOTO: EMERGER
The South African alt-pop duo EMERGER, comprised of vocalist and pianist Emma de Goede and multi-instrumentalist and composer Gerrit Mathee, caught the attention of music aficionados both locally and internationally when their debut album, Bloom, was featured on the Apple Music South Africa’s New Artist Spotlight in July 2018.
The pair, originally from Cape Town, are both music graduates of the University of Cape Town (UCT). Mathee with a BMus in Classical Composition, and De Goede with a BMus in Jazz Performance.
“You had to choose a stream (or a major) in our degree. I chose Classical and Emma chose Jazz, we were still allowed to take electives from other streams though,” says Mathee. “Which meant that I took some jazz subjects and Emma took some classical subjects, so our knowledge really overlaps and works well together when we make music.”
Since July, their music began making waves amongst South African fans of the alt-pop and electro-pop genres, having been recently featured on South African review websites such as GeoGravity, and here’s why:
The album opens with the catchy “Hindsight”, an upbeat and summery piece showcasing a wall of layered synths and guitar, supported by a consistent hip-hop beat. It’s vibrant and intense and catches the listener’s attention right off the bat.
From “Hindsight” the album launches into “Break & Fall”, a considerably more subdued piece while still maintaining the intensity of “Hindsight”.
The duo working on one of their songs in studio. PHOTO: George Hugo
“The rhythmic components almost sound as if they were inspired by Drum and Bass,” says Joseph Hacker, music lover and Electro-pop/Alt-pop fanatic. “I love their syncopation, rhythmic flair, and the way they use subdued synths really helps to amplify the vocals and influence the darker tone of the song.”
The third track on the album, “Urban Wilderness”, provides a change of pace from the intensity of the first two songs. “Urban Wilderness” is my personal favourite. It’s a feat of artfully constructed musical engineering.
You can tell that intense thought went into the interplay between guitars, synths and the dreamlike timbre of De Goede’s voice which takes the listener on a nostalgic journey of Cape Town.
“‘Urban Wilderness’ is written from the perspective of not being in Cape Town and longing for it,” says Mathee, in reference to the time they spent in London which serves as the inspiration for the song. “It’s such a beautiful place, there really is nowhere else like Cape Town.”
It’s easy to see how much the duo love their city because “Urban Wilderness” makes you feel that longing and that love. “Urban Wilderness” is the last song that listeners can find for free on YouTube. The full album can be found on Bandcamp, iTunes, Deezer and most other platforms.
“I’d love for Bloom to make listeners feel the same way they do after watching a powerful movie,” says Mathee. “The credits have finished rolling but they don’t want leave their seat yet because they aren’t ready to let that feeling go and step into the mundane world again.”
De Goede hopes that because their music is pop, it will attract the majority of listeners, and that listeners will appreciate the work that went into it. “We wanted it to be accessible,” she says. “At the same time, however, we want people to take notice of all the nuances in our sound.”
EMERGER describe their music as “cinematic” and their efforts to make it so are plain to see. Bloom has a deep complexity to it, layers of jazz, hip-hop, classical, electro and pop components that come together to create a true listening experience, so much so that you can almost visualise each piece. The album has the same feel as a good book, each song like a self-contained chapter that, when combined with the other pieces, gives you a complete story.
The album ends off with “Hindsight (Reprise)” and “Urban Wilderness (extended version)”. Bloom’s cyclical nature parallels the theme of the duo’s lives in Cape Town and their longing for the coastal capital when they’re traveling.
Wherever they’ve been, they always come back to Cape Town. Similarly, when the album brings the listener full circle by repeating variations of two of the songs, it makes you feel as if you’re back where you started, except your experiences and perspectives have grown. You’ve grown. You’ve bloomed.