“If you want to pause and savour time for a bit, Softly Loudly is the place to be.” SoulReserve
“A beautiful collection of songs” Jazz fm
“An impressive collection…sure to resonate; the restraint of the playing only makes this more poignant.” Yorkshire Post
“Nothing short of amazing..really resonates with its time.” BBC Radio Bradford
“Beautiful!” BBC Radio Leeds
Softly Loudly was recorded in Yorkshire during various stages of the 2020 lockdown by:
Emma Nabarro-Steel – Music/Lyrics/Vocals/Piano/Guitars/Body Percussion etc
Adam Nabarro-Steel – Bass/Mixing/Mastering/Glass-Tinkling
Neil Hooton – Drums/Table/Bin & Bucket
Debbie Harris – Additional Vocal Harmonies/Wine-Pouring
Artwork is by Mia Nabarro-Steel
Softly Loudly / Gallery
We don’t have tons of joyous recording pics because we were in lockdown for most of the time. But here are a few!
About
Emma has released several recordings of jazz and original music, as well as composing music for arts and commercial productions. She was born in Nottingham, began songwriting at an early age, learned piano and other instruments as a child and studied Music and English at Leeds University. She works from a professional home studio on music, audio and narration. When not in lockdown, she is the keyboard player/vocalist in the band, Flying Funk. She lives in beautiful Yorkshire with her partner and two daughters. The best place to follow her for news is currently Instagram @emmavoicestudio.
“Yorkshire’s Ella Fitzgerald” – Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4
“A fine singer who floats a song lyric without using her grip on it.”- Manchester evening News
“Her own deeply expressive tone and delivery attracted plaudits wherever she has played.” Yorkshire Evening Post
Read about each new track – includes player so you can listen while you read. (Headphones recommended).
Self-Love and Ladybird Books
If you happen to be spending the 14th of February in South Korea, you might be inclined to give a man the gift of chocolate. And if you are Finnish, you won’t be doing Valentine’s Day but Ystävänpäivä – ‘friends day’! We grow-up with so many customs surrounding love and I started thinking about the … Continue reading Self-Love and Ladybird Books
Over to you!
I decided maybe it wasn’t my turn and I needed the creative energy of others. This week I’ve received the generous gift of freshly penned poetry from two opposite sides of the globe. And bang! The intersection of this serendipitous pairing (geographically somewhere around China) is magically, right here for you to enjoy.
{ S o f t l y L o u d l y }
Hello! Thanks for popping by. Softly Loudly is an album recorded in 2020, releasing weekly between 1st Jan – 19th Feb 2021. Here you can read a little about each song, beginning with the most recent track. Grab your headphones too, as you can listen while you read, Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: this is my disclaimer
Music is something I seem to ‘lean in’ to the discomfort of, although it still scares the bejeepers out of me. Most of us have something we want to be braver at and learning about other people’s true colours (even beige) is always a joy to me. Although it’s not always easy to jump in with both feet, a little heart-on-sleeve wearing once in a while, goes a very long way.
Marie Kondo – A Single Thread
Some songs decide to grow outwards in all directions. The new track ‘Marie Kondo’ sprouted lots of little stories. The kind that connect you in a hidden way to the people you can’t be with: a cohort which recently includes pretty much everyone we know.
Or…We Could Just Stay Here
How lucky we are to have such an infinite array of choices, even at the moment when we see our lives as unusually restricted. Far too many have lost loved ones this year, and though it’s at immeasurable cost, this surely deepens our experience of what it is to be alive.
