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“…..Hearing her sing gives you the feeling you've just stumbled across something very secret, precious and rare”. Clare Bowditch

Emma Tonkin is a singer/songwriter from Melbourne who has been performing her music since the early nineties. She is a captivating songwriter who creates a truly original and charming brand of songs. Far from the land of giant statements Emma Tonkin delights in the opposite of anthems, hers is the world of emotional detail in life.

Funding from Arts Victoria’s ‘Music For The Future’ Scheme in 2004 was a turning point in Emma’s career and enabled the making of her debut album ‘The Anchor And The Albatross’ released in 2007. This is an album that takes you on an intimate ride through an enchanting and fragile world..

At the core of Emma’s music is her intuitive and idiosyncratic vocal style, expressive and delicate. Emma’s lyrically evocative songs are driven by her remarkable voice, combining to create a moving and compelling musical experience.

Emma’s beginnings in the Melbourne music scene began in 1991 as the lead singer in Indie-pop band Xerox Kitten followed by the formation of popular folk duo act Tryst (1994) with Cal Heath. Other collaborations have followed including more recently a jazz recording with the Baartz Freeman Sextet 12 Salutations (2005) and regular work as a backing vocalist for various singer/songwriters around Melbourne, most notably Clare Bowditch. Emma has also done voice over work and has been a regular guest vocalist on the soundtrack for Channel Ten’s ‘Places We Go’ series.

Highlight shows have included Chill Island Music Festival 2007, The Quiet Music Festival 2007 and The Darebin Feast Music Festvial (2006/2007/2008). Emma’s music has appeared on Triple J, Triple R, 3PBS, 3CR, 3MBS , ABC Radio National and Classic FM.

Since January 2008 Emma has found herself involved in a very fulfilling and exciting collaboration with Melbourne’s First Chorus: Band Of Singers, a 25 voice choir directed by Virginia Bott. Two seasons worth of arranging Emma’s songs with 4 part harmonies and self producing a series of shows has led to the current recording project that Emma and the choir began in September 2008. This collaborative album is planned to be released in May 2010.

“turning a feeling, a thought, an experience into words and melody is a necessity for me, a counter to the roller coaster of life. It’s like going away into a quiet world and writing a letter to myself”. Emma Tonkin 2008

Some things people have said.......

"Emma Tonkin is Australia's Eva Cassidy. Except that she's very much alive, and she never does Sting covers. In fact, she writes all her own songs. And what exquisite songs they are. Hearing her sing them gives you the feeling you've just stumbled across something very secret, precious and rare. Mothers, daughter, fathers and brothers will love her in equal measure. She will soon be one of those songwriters who inspires "I discovered her first" arguments." Clare Bowditch Singer/Songwriter 2006

…..The stimulation of every part of me that could respond to music was immediate and overwhelming. The voice , the songs, the intention, the honesty, came from its own world; accessible and equatable to a popular sound but so original it seemed devoid of any obvious influence. Carl Pannuzzo, Singer/Songwriter 2004

Hearing Emma sing is a moving, almost hypnotic experience and I am always aware of a sense of dazed silence that falls over an audience as she begins….she has a voice which seems to lull you and draw you into the songs, as if they were lullibies; elegies o the deep voice of our own yearnings, fears, sadness‘ and joys. Martine Murray, Writer/Novelist 2006

Emma has a voice like a sail, full of air, it acts to draw the music forward across a sea of the most beautiful poetry. But while her songs soar and sweep and her singing holds you in the palm of her hand its that factor deep within her voice that grips hold of you, and just won't let go. Leo Dale, Musician/Sound Engineer 2006

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