Women In Music Interview: Emily Marcovecchio

University life, how has it been for you?
University life has genuinely been two of the best years of my life, so far anyway.  I’ve met some of the most talented people who have me in absolute fits of laughter every single day.  I study BA (hons) Press and Editorial Photography; I adore the course and the lecturers are simply wonderful, they really push you to create work that makes you tick, if it’s not making you happy then don’t shoot it.  They’re also pretty relaxed about me touring and going away for long stints, I feel super supported and am really grateful for that relationship.

Any funny freshers moment?
Funny freshers moments; to be honest first year feels like a lifetime ago now.  I live with four boys; there is never really a dull moment in our household.  I look back with rose tinted glasses over uni and laugh about the times I’ve been woken by drunken wanderers at 3am.  I’ve loved spending mornings on the beach before Uni or long drives to beautiful scenery, we’re pretty blessed to live in such an amazing part of the country.

Any weird or wonderful advice to someone wanting to come to university?
For me I think I can graduate knowing I took every opportunity that was right for me and if it wasn’t quite perfect I passed it on to someone that would be better for it than me.  I’m really quite chuffed about that.  That’s the biggest piece of advice I’d give to anyone, just do as much as you can and graft your arse off.  Oh also, get a part time job in a bar or cafe, anything you can get.  If I’ve learnt anything it’s that working whilst doing my degree as well as freelancing has made my time management skills ace, it’s also increased my confidence tenfold.

A little explanation in to what you do?
So I guess I’m a freelance portrait and music photographer, working with artists in both Cornwall and further afield.  I make various bits and pieces from album art and promotional content to live music shoots and video work.  I dabble in a bit of everything, I’m always keen to try new things.  I come from quite a blog heavy background, I think that has definitely influenced how I interact with people.  To be honest I simply really value friendships, so I love bonding with someone over their music and hopefully becoming an integral part of each others lives.  

Favourite content to create?
It’s always an honour to be trusted with someone’s brand, to sit down for a coffee and discuss what work we can produce together.  I love coming up with concepts and shooting artwork, that’s probably one of my favourite elements of my job.  Job is a weird term, a lot of the time I forget that this is something I get paid to do, it’s not my full source of income, and I am of course still a student, but it’s a LOT of fun and I wouldn’t change any of it.

Let's talk about Lauran Hibberd, her new ep is out ‘Everything is Dogs’ is out now.
Ah Lauran!  What a lovely lady.  It’s such a great EP, the vinyls purple so if that’s not another reason to buy it then what is.  There’s also a bonus track called ‘Camera Shy’ which is such a sad boy but a beautiful track.  Going back to the ‘talk to everyone and make friends’, Lauran and I met at Isle of Wight festival in 2018, I kept tabs on what she was up to and pestered to work with her and now we’re stuck together, so that’s pretty sweet.

What was it like being able to create your content in such an amazing space like Maida vale?
Maida Vale was honestly something else, it’s been on my bucket list to shoot there for years (like many other photographers who shoot music).  To shoot somewhere so special with an artist you’ve followed for over a year, who’s also become such a close friend was a real exciting moment.  Lauran rang me to ask if I was free to shoot when I was visiting my housemate Liam in Norfolk before I headed to Latitude, we were on a walk in the middle of a field with next to no service.  Something I’ll never forget.  I think I jumped around and screamed a lot then cried some happy tears.

The continuation into the tour, are you excited to be touring with her?
I’m so excited!!  I’m typing this whilst in the van.  It’s wonderful to get out of Falmouth and be in completely new surroundings with different people.  Lauran lives on the Isle of Wight so we rarely spend long periods of time together; it’s great to be back with such a hard working team of musicians and feel really appreciated.  I also get to go to Manchester which is somewhere I’ve never visited, I’m buzzing for that.  It’s my first tour living the high life of travel-lodges and not friends floors in sleeping bags, so that’s quite wonderful, really enjoying having hash browns every morning.

Is it a really good girl power moment when you shoot content featuring women? 
I’ve recently realised that I mainly shoot women, which is funny because I never intended for that to happen, but I’m really quite glad that it has.  I think as a fellow female I understand and get what another girl would want to post on their timelines and Instagram feeds, I understand it from the consumer point of view too.  It’s super empowering and I hope to meet more and more badass ladies because they’ve filled my life with a lot of joy so far.

Any bad experiences you have had during your experience as a photographer? 
 I think the worst comment or experience I’ve ever had is the general “you’re only doing this to sleep with the band” which unfortunately happens way more than you’d think.  It’s not even the case, I love what I do because I meet similar minded, fun, creative individuals; comments like that need to just be ditched.  I’ve had friends called out in photo pits whilst shooting and security being bias because of their gender; not needed, not cool.

Your favourite three artists that inspire and empower you?
Fave artists, wow you’ve really caught me because that’s really really quite hard.  I’m going to go with the following:
   * Maggie Rogers - she is a true icon and one of the most down to earth women I’ve ever met.  Annie, who’s one of my closest uni friends, introduced me to her around a year ago and her debut album is one of my ultimate faves.  Maggie has such a effortless carefree nature about her, she is really quite cool and her music is super empowering.
   * Sam Fender - this man has truly taken the world by storm and there’s no one better to take over the world.  A truly amazing man whose music is so rich and powerful, the music video for ‘Dead Boys’ is incredibly moving; someone of a similar age, using their voice to spread awareness for important topics.
   * girl in red - I saw this lady at great escape without having any idea who she was or any context to her music.  I’ve since fallen head over heels for her honesty, an incredible talent who is just outrageous live.

One thing you would change for women in the industry?
I think the main thing about women in music is, where are they!!  There’s a lot more female artists that I’m discovering, which is so so eye opening, but every event or soundcheck you attend there is such a male dominance.  Gals can do this too, don’t be scared to give it a crack because most of the guys I’ve met on the road are the softest down to earth humans, they do get a lot of stick.  I think there’s a consensus that all guys in this industry are horrible and hate women, which totally isn’t the case, the majority are down to Earth, wonderful people who embrace your talent with open arms.  There’s only a handful who knock you over and they’re definitely not worth the time.  

One thing you would change for women in the society? 
Women still aren’t equal to men; we’ve come on so far however it’s still not a level playing field I’m so many aspects!  I’d say to any female, do the best you can to absolutely kill it, whatever field your in, have faith in yourself and surround yourself with people who make you feel empowered.