Emilia Garth, Singer
Emilia is a singer/songwriter for the deep house duo “Ella and Emi” the production group “Dsided Music”. She moved to Miami, FL from Honolulu, HI at the age of 18, circulating through Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (for a brief stint singing backing vocals for the rap group 3030) and can now be heard throughout South Florida singing sweet songs with her ukulele, or animating crowds with soulful vocal melodies atop throbbing deep house tracks.
From Hawaii to Miami, how did the transition go?
I first moved here at 18. It was a major culture shock! I came from a humble, laid-back community where reggae music floats through open windows, a pickup truck is the best chick magnet, and a mentality that if you make a tiny misstep — broke any rules or disrespected anyone — your whole family would find out, march you back to that person, and make you apologize.
On the contrary, Miami, at times, is flashy and lawless. The way people drive and litter are still incomprehensible. In Hawaii, you’ll spend 5 minutes at a stop sign, calmly gesturing for the other person to go first; both of you laughing. There’s none of this horn honking or exchange of swear words that you find in Miami.
Zumba, future yoga teacher, and singer, how do you keep up with all your passions?
The answer here is simple: I have to do what I love. There are so many blessings in this life: I have a healthy body with all 5 senses, fingers and toes, we live in a democratic country full of opportunities, and it would be a pity/tragedy to waste my time doing otherwise. Millions of people are prohibited by circumstances beyond their control from doing what they love. I rejoice in my liberty on behalf of those who cannot.
I know physical limitation personally. When I was a teenager, I had an accident, breaking 8 bones (5 of which were vertebrae) simultaneously. I spent months with casts from my neck to my ankle. Thankfully, in time I recovered fully, but it was painful and humbling. I was an invalid. I went from being a healthy 17-year-old surfer, just getting into skateboarding, to bedridden- not being able to even bathe myself.
I find immense joy in working on choreography and creating music. It’s always a process. Never is a choreography ready to be taught after one run-through and a song requires numerous practice sessions before it’s premiere. I relish these hours. I’ve never told anyone this, but I actually refer to them as “dessert” in my mind. Although these hours of preparation are tedious, they culminate in ecstatic moments on stage.
Where did you find your voice?
I am still finding my voice. I don’t believe in constants. Change is natural and healthy. I’ve sung in so many genres! When I was a child, my mother played traditional Hawaiian music, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Kenny G. These are the sounds of my childhood. A few years ago, one of my aunt’s played a recording of my voice- I think it’s the first one ever- and it was me singing Ariel’s song from the “Little Mermaid” the one, “Look at this stuff, isn’t it neat…” I must have been only 3 or 4 years old, with a hint of a lisp, still learning to form my words…
As long as I can remember, I have loved singing and imitating sounds. One of my most embarrassing moments was singing the national anthem at a college baseball game. I was only about 10 years old, and when the moment came to hit the high note in “and the rocket’s red glare” I had a panic attack and ran off the field. I couldn’t even squeak through it and finish the song. I was mortified! I felt like the biggest failure! I didn’t sing again until high school when my best friends and I started a rootsy little reggae band, “Fire in the Hole”. We would sing at house parties and did a couple of graduation parties. Then I moved to Miami for college.
When I arrived in Miami, I soon realized how integral singing was to my happiness. I was deep into reggae at the time and this was the pre-smart phone, social networks, and social media. I wrote on an index card in red, gold, black, and green (reggae colors) advertising myself as a “reggae chick seeking to jam and possibly form a band”. I put the card on a bulletin board in the student center and waited. I only received one phone call in response.
The phone call came from a Senegalese student, who to this day, is one of my dearest friends. We met up on campus one afternoon and went to a house in South Miami for me to audition with a funk band in search of a lead vocalist. They were a bunch of mega talented seniors in high school from Central and South America, and two rappers from Senegal. I freestyled some reggae lyrics and we hit it off and started gigging around Miami, winning several “Battle of the Bands” and even playing at a jazz festival. We dissipated in 2007 when I moved to Argentina to study. From then to now, I’ve sung hooks for rappers in Brazil, been evening entertainment at restaurants singing Bossa Nova, written and performed with a Hawaiian reggae-rock band, and now compose and perform live vocals on top of deep house tracks with Ella and Emi (Instagram, Facebook) and DSided Music (Instagram). It’s been a journey through countless recording studios and balled-up scraps of paper.
My parents never supported my pursuit of music. They’re conservative in the sense that they advise me to prioritize a full time (office) job, and sing if I have time. It’s been my fans,-the people that come up to me after a show and tell me that I revolutionized their day, that smile and sing the lyrics right back to me when I’m coming up to the hook in the song, or that send a Facebook message telling me that I’ve inspired them- it’s these people that motivate me to keep writing and singing.
Can you tell us about your experience as growing as part of a band?
Before moving to Miami in 2014, I decided the moment was now or never to pursue music. As soon as I arrived, I began contacting people in the industry to get a feel for the current climate. I also like to balance my days by practicing yoga, which seems unrelated, but actually led me to where I am today: A girl I had met several years previously was promoting (via Facebook) her yoga music album with chillout electronic music.
She had a sample of the music online, and I played it at home and did some stretches and realized “this is really good!”. I contacted her, telling her I was a singer and asking if she’d be interested in collaborating with some vocal tracks. We met up and freestyled a bit on the piano at her house, took our project into the recording studio, and are now gigging throughout the South Florida area. It was an organic development and now she’s one of my closest friends (Instagram)
Any upcoming projects?
We always have something cooking! We make it a priority to meet weekly for studio time to write and record new music. Keep on the lookout for our first release, scheduled for March 2017. We’re finalizing the contract as we speak. Next will be an EP with an intimate selection of original tracks.
Who should we interview next?
Estela Romand is my one of my best friends and mentors. She came to the US from Brazil at age 20, has opened two businesses already, DJ’ed at music festivals internationally, and is one of the most generous souls I have ever met (Instagram, Facebook).
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