New Music & Video Release - Indie-pop artist Em reflects on living life to the fullest on new single Love to Be - May 2025

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Artist Name: Em

Release Name - Love to Be

Release Date - Friday 16th May 2025

Genre - Indie Pop, Pop, Folk

Label - Independent

AMA-nominated audio engineer Emily Wheatcroft-Snape has today released ‘Love to Be’ - a new single from her highly regarded solo project, Em. 

‘Love to Be’ is an uplifting, indie-pop ode to living life to the fullest and marks a new chapter for the multi-talented, Tāmaki Makaurau-based Emily, who alongside her esteemed reputation as one of Aotearoa’s leading engineers and producers, has been releasing her own music as Em, since 2020. 

The new song gives fans a taste of a bigger, upcoming project from Em and sees the talented all-rounder reflecting on life. 

The in-demand engineer was in the thick of releasing 2024’s debut album PHASES and hadn’t had a day off for a month, when she let off some steam by starting something new. “I loved being busy but I did feel pent up. I was thinking about the impending summer. I wanted to get out of the studio, get out of the house, try new things, experience the world, put in the effort,” she says.

It’s this sense of restless summer energy and the excitement of connecting with friends, that radiates from ‘Love to Be’, which leans more into electronic drums and dance music than Em has on previous releases. 

“The process of merging folk-style guitars with a programmed drum beat and my layered vocals - and the eventual live drums too - was a hard balance to find, but I am obsessed with the end result. I think it reflects my desire to play with style and genre, and push myself as a technical practitioner while still keeping the emotion and world building I strive for in all of my music.”

It’s all captured in a fun music video made by Sports Team, which is the creative partnership of Callum Devlin and Annabel Kean. “I wanted the video to reflect my desire to take myself less seriously as I grow older. It references Britney and 90s fun pop stars. Also, Annabel expressed her wish to have a CGI dolphin in a music video - and who am I to restrict her creative vision?”

With her engineering hat on, Emily has received back-to-back (2024 and 2025) nominations for ‘Best Engineer’ at the AMAs for her work with longtime collaborator Amelia Murray AKA Fazerdaze. She has also worked on notable releases from the likes of Lorde, TEEKS, TE KAAHU and Tiny Ruins. 

Meanwhile, her solo project Em has gone from strength to strength, with her 2022 EP UNDERGROWTH; and her debut full-length album, PHASES, receiving critical praise. 

“If you listen to Clairo, Girl in Red or Feye Webster you’ll enjoy this album. PHASES feels like a mirror to yourself while following her skin deep that grows as you listen to it”

Now, with ‘Love to Be’ out in the world, the focus is back on Em and paves the way for more new music in 2025. “The litmus test for the new project I’m working on is that it should feel good while sitting in the sun,” she says. 

Check out ‘Love to Be’ here!

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