fatboy slim recruits emmy the great to the BPA

November 4, 2008 by Alan Pedder in Blog

Unlikely pairing to release collaboration as a single

Back in June, when Norman Cook divulged some of the big names he’d lined up to provide guest vocals for his new venture The Brighton Port Authority (or The BPA), we got a little bit excited about Martha Wainwright’s guest appearance on the track ‘Spade’ (which we have still yet to actually hear!), but we had no idea that Mr Slim had also roped in Emmy The Great, someone who’s been on our radar since we first heard her demos in 2005.

Even better, the Emmy-starring ‘Seattle’ is the follow-up single to The BPA’s debut ‘Toe Jam’ featuring David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal (release date TBC) and you can watch the brand new video below. Keeping it simple, ‘Seattle’ seems almost plain compared with ‘Toe Jam’ but soon works its subtle magic as the chorus (for which Cook himself provides the harmonies) unassumingly embeds itself in your auditory cortex without doing anything so much as shout for your attention. It’s a grower, and a lovely thing to behold when its at its peak.

While we’re on the subject of Emmy, might as well remind you that her new single ‘We Almost Had A Baby’ is out on Monday (November 10th) via all good digital retailers and as a limited run of 7″ vinyl complete with pull-out poster. It’s the first proper single to be taken from her self-produced, self-funded full-length debut First Love, out in January, and there’s a video for that too. On recording the album in rural Lancashire at a charmingly ramshackle studio belonging to The Earlies, Emmy says: “It seemed like the right place to go. This little room in the middle of nowhere, with borrowed equipment and no lightbulbs, was the perfect antithesis to all my previous bad experiences with producers.”

Emmy and her band head out on a very brief UK tour, starting on Saturday in Glasgow and calling at the following venues:

08.11.08 Twisted Wheel, Glasgow
09.11.08 Deaf Institute, Manchester
10.11.08 ICA, London

She also makes an appearance on Marc Riley’s BBC 6music radio show ‘Brain Surgery’ on November 11th.

Alan Pedder

The Brighton Port Authority feat. Emmy The Great, ‘Seattle’