Emi McSwain, The Industry and Authenticity - What the FOLK is Up?
The folk scene is something relatively new to Emi McSwain, a senior songwriting major at Boston’s Berklee College of Music.
Before becoming acquainted with folk, McSwain’s musical résumé consisted of childhood Christmas musicals, marching band and a fierce love for jazz. Her discovery of folk music happened by pure chance—after turning 18, she spontaneously purchased a ticket to see her first ever 18+ concert. The headlining band happened to be the Boston-based folktronica duo Tall Heights.
McSwain cites that night as an epiphany, saying “That literally skyrocketed my interest. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to do music at the time, but that was just the biggest eye-opening (or ear-opening) experience. I didn't even know music like that was possible.”
Never before had music made McSwain feel so vulnerable. Folk music opened up an outlet for her emotions that no other genre had previously offered. She notes, “The reason [why] I gravitated toward folk music is because there's such an authenticity of the people performing their music.” Folk music will always be there to hold space for people in times of need. “You can listen to [folk music] in whatever mindset you are in. I like having the space within the music. The ambience and the thoroughness of the sound [...] very easily transports you to somewhere else.”
As a songwriter, this style resonated with McSwain. At Berklee, songwriting majors are principally taught how to write “commercially viable” songs. When it comes to writing folk music, McSwain feels as though “you don't have to sell yourself short to make it accessible to people.” The wide range of stylistic influences within the genre has allowed artists to create music that they feel is most true to themselves. They do not have to appease the industry by creating the next big hit—one can create songs that feel right to them, and people will hopefully resonate with that sincerity. McSwain continues, “I just feel like there's a sense of person as well, not just artist.”
And while McSwain identifies as a newly realized “folk person,” she has already noticed the stark difference in pressures that come with writing folk music as opposed to composing music for the broader industry. Authentic creation alleviates many demands from the industry to create the next number-one hit. “Folk music doesn't have to be commercial. You don't have to sell yourself short to make it accessible to people,” she explains.
Fame is not the end goal for McSwain. She professes: “I don't want fame, I just want a community.” Instead of tending to a large fan base, she hopes to foster deep connections with those around her. After graduating from Berklee, she hopes “to meet as many people that live as many different lifestyles and have different upbringings and perspectives” as she can. As an artist, McSwain seeks to use her music to bring people together, especially after these past two years spent in isolation.
McSwain is as much of a consumer of the messages of folk as she is a maker of them. And while the journey of discovering her sound and path as an artist is ongoing, folk music will always be a way for McSwain to dig deep and reconnect with herself.
If you want to keep up with Emi McSwain you can follow her on Instagram, view her website and check out her Berklee Two-Track concert as well as listen to her new single, a cover of The Beatles’, “Blackbird”, here: