Emma Black is a UK cellist and singer-songwriter who learns her craft as a busker in Amsterdam and Berlin. She lives on the streets of major European cities and begins writing songs about life on the margins of society.

Her career spans around 15 years and she builds a reputation through emotive live performances and an unstable, genre-crossing songwriting style. She appears alongside artists including The Indigo Girls, Hugh Masekela, Salif Keita, Sleeper, Oasis, The Zombies and Dr. Feelgood.

In the mid-1990s, she turns down major record deals with her band The Immigrants. She then continues living outside conventional music industry routes, including time in a two-wheeled catering truck near Manchester and on the Llyn Peninsula in Wales, where she grows vegetables and travels. During this period she alternates music with conservation work and plays small shows to listeners around Europe.

Recording

Black develops a loyal following before recording her debut album, Where Dark Horses Roam, in 2007. Paul Hemming, associated with The La’s and The Lightning Seeds, produces the album. Her music is described as drawing from country, blues, pop, jazz and folk, and she is invited to perform on radio in the UK and the Netherlands. A BBC review describes the material as “stunningly honest”.

Style

Black’s songs are presented as difficult to classify, with a focus on direct storytelling and strong emotional performance. Her work is linked in the Manchester country music scene with acts including the Happy Mondays and the Deadbeats.