Her voice has been described as a "distilled original," capable of singing soft and low or hard and edgy, but always sounding uniquely Emm Gryner. And her fans include U2’s Bono, (in fact, all of Ireland loves her) Nelly Furtado and astronaut Chris Hadfield, currently up in space.
Hard to believe, but it's been almost 20 years since Emm Gyner won a song contest that gave her the money to record an album that found its way into the hands of a record executive, who signed her. She released a strong album Public with the standout song "Summerlong." Lots of touring followed, with lots of buzz and then her record label got absorbed into a bigger record label and Gryner got dropped.
No problem.
Gyrner just went back to her own label, Dead Daisy Records, kept making albums, toured the world with David Bowie, was nominated for three Junos and gained a reputation for being one of the hardest workers in the business .
She's also gained a lot of respect from her peers for her strong songwriting skills.
Emm Gryner has an ear for other talent too. Royal Wood, In-Flight Safety and up-and-comer Colleen Brown have all released albums on the Dead Daisy label. Gryner calls her label a "clearing house." Artists come and go that that's okay with her.
It all seems a long way from the town of Forest, ON, near the shores of Lake Huron where she grew up. But she clearly hasn’t forgotten those roots. In fact, after living in a number of big cities over the years, including Toronto, Montreal, New York and Los Angeles, Gryner now calls St. Mary's, Ontario (population 6,655) home.
Emm Gyner's new project, a folky, rootsy trio called Trent Severn, is getting a lot of buzz these days. Together with band mates Dayna Manning and Laura C. Bates, Gryner has set off on a new direction, away from pop; one that celebrates Canadian stories in an old-time Americana way.
And if you listen to her My Playlist show you'll understand how she got there.
http://music.cbc.ca/play/Inside-the-Music/My-PLaylist-with-Emm-GrynerListen to Inside the Music by clicking the play button and via Radio on Sunday 3 p.m. (3:30 NT) and Radio One on Sunday at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT).
Emm Gryner's playlist
"Here comes the flood" Peter Gabriel
"Thinking out loud" Ron Sexsmith
"Somebody's watching you" In-Flight Safety
"From the Back of the film" Thrush Hermit
"Petite announce amoureuse" The McGarrigles
"Sugar tree stomp" Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard
Links:
Emm Gryner gets upstaged by an astronaut