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Singer Emclay talks battling anxiety in newest single, ‘Sorry, I’m Venting’
Emclay is an artist whose words and poignant themes resonate with her fans in a visual and visceral manner.
At one point in time, we’ve all been in the feels. Regardless of our backstory, there’s a moment where we experience doubt or uncertainty, which, in turn, causes us to be our hardest critic.
Subsequently, as a human race, we’re forced to go through multiple changes that can either make or break us. Emclay, a genre-bending, singer-songwriter, understands our inner struggles because she’s also experienced them.
“Sorry, I’m Venting”
Her newest track, “Sorry, I’m Venting,” scratches beneath the surface of feeling down in the dumps. At the same time, however, Emclay provides listeners with words of encouragement, saying, “Might have lost myself lately, but I know I’ll save me.”
Additionally, Emclay showcases introspective lyrics that unveil her troubles with letting go along with the demons she’s been fighting. When further detailing her emotions, she belts out the lyrics with passion, “Got this noise in my head/Doubting my mind/Sometimes I can’t breathe.”
“During this challenging time we live in, music like this helps to get us through it all. We are all facing some sort of genuine existential struggle at the moment. While we can feel isolated, overwhelmed, anxious, outraged, and unsure at times, ‘Sorry, I’m Just Venting’ roots us in knowing that this is all part of the human experience. Most importantly, it reminds us we are not alone,” Emclay told us.
Poignant themes
The ambient pop offering, led by a beating drum, touches on challenging topics like mental health, body image, dependency, confusion, self-doubt, and anxiety.
Not to mention, Emclay expresses to audiences worldwide that it’s okay to feel overwhelmed with these emotions in today’s society, all while giving them a shoulder to lean on.
Because of her full transparency, one person feels less alone. “Sorry, I’m Just Venting” is said to be her most personal song to date.
“This song just came to me. I wrote it in a session or two, and that was that. I was in a super anxiety-ridden loop in my head at the time, and I tried to get it all out of me and onto the page. Once I started writing, I couldn’t stop. It felt like a stream of conscious word vomit. It was super therapeutic. In life, venting to someone can make you feel better. As I kept writing, I realized that that was what was happening, and it felt so good to get it all out,” she says.
A visual interpretation
The song is assisted by a plethora of visual interpretations that were curated by different artists. The first picture, crafted by Sarah Russo, displays three drawings of cartoon-like statues.
While one of them holds a flower and has their right eye crossed out, the other two are seen exchanging thoughts through a black line. If you look closer, you’ll also see what seems to be a crowd of similar figurines looking at the trio. The words on the picture read, “Don’t look now.”
Sarah says,
“Emclay’s ‘Sorry, I’m Just Venting’ is an ode to the times. During a time when I am stripping down everything I knew and believed in, to face some extremely real and challenging truths, the song creates a safe space for me to feel the confusion and hurt while embracing the process of it all.
From the first time I listened, I knew this painting was going to be different. For a long time, I had clung begrudgingly to traditional painting and drawing, never feeling like it represented how I saw the world. This year, in particular, I stripped away those fine art “rules” like our world’s false truths to reveal what lies beneath.
I want to note the influences of some of my favorite artists, Pablo Picasso and Jean-Michel Basquiat, two artists who were revolutionary to me in the visual arts realm and evoked powerful political, social, and personal trials and tribulations that transcend time. The future is uncertain but never have I felt so connected and free to face it.”
A different interpretation
The second and third image, created by Molly Coyne, sees a girl with blonde hair and hands over her ears. The words “IMPOSTER” are embroidered in red.
Molly’s second painting shows a girl covering her eye as a huge green insect-looking monster hovers over her with the words, “Who do you think you are?”
Molly says,
“The chorus immediately resonated with me, especially Emclay’s lyrics, ‘got this noise in my head, this doubt in my mind.’
At my lowest of lows throughout the pandemic, I have felt like my head is Nothing but a loop of these lyrics, gradually getting louder and louder until I can’t hear anything else. The biggest doubt in my mind? Being an imposter. Who AM I without my art? And what’s the point of it all at a time like this!?
The second image I came up with is what I picture my anxiety monster looks like. You know the one. We’ve all got one. And my monster put me in a dark place towards the end of March. I’m so grateful Emclay shared, “Sorry, I’m Just Venting” with me.
Putting pen to paper and translating the mess of images in my head to these two pieces was incredibly therapeutic and just a reminder that in times when the darkest of the dark takes over, ART IS ESSENTIAL at helping us express our feelings and process grief.”
Additional interpretations
The last images, made by Kat Kempe, show a collage of different pictures and a collage of red and blue backgrounds.
Kat says,
“Creating these pieces was an outlet I was unaware I needed and was incredibly cathartic.collegethe collage has fairly obvious meaning, the song led me to ponder how often I vent about the state of the country and my anxiety that stems from it. The four tiled pieces is a representation of that; of our flag, the red white and blue, our ‘American values’ and how they are bleeding, in all the wrong directions.”
Emclay, whose real name is Emily Claman, got her moniker from friends. Her musical journey was unintentional.
Previously, she was pursuing a career in dance, and after a bad injury, Emclay turned to writing and singing as a form of expressing herself. “Nothing in my life ever felt so correct. I’ve been making music ever since,” she adds.
You can see the rest of the images below: