In Conversation with Emma Harner: Finding stillness in the noise.

You may know Emma Harner from TikTok or Instagram – the girl playing the guitar so intricately, fingers flying around everywhere, whilst singing with such delicacy and feeling.Based in Boston, Harner celebrates the release of her debut EP, ‘Taking My Side’, where she merges her incredible instrumental talent with her relatable and evocative lyrics – ultimately creating a collection of emotionally rich, folk tunes.We spoke to her about her musical endeavours – past and present.

Photo by @sydneytateb

Firstly, you have to be so talented to be able to sing so angelically whilst playing the guitar in such a technical, complex way! The way you play is crazy – I’ve never seen anything like it. When did you first pick up a guitar and how did you learn to play the guitar so intricately?

Thank you so much! The truth is, relative to my journey with music, I haven’t been playing guitar for that long. That said, it has completely consumed my life in an amazing way. I started out playing the violin when I was around 2 and continued with it through high school, and I played the piano very basically as well. It wasn’t until shortly before the pandemic that I first picked up guitar. There wasn’t much time for me to play, but I was having a lot of fun with it, so when Covid hit and all of a sudden I could do whatever I wanted with my time, I gravitated instantly toward the guitar. My knowledge of strings (from my experience with the violin) certainly helped me along, but I used that time to teach myself through the process of writing songs in alternate tunings. I also started listening to Radiohead during that time, and my love for intricate melody and cool non-diatonic chord progressions exploded. About two years later, I had my first guitar lessons at Berklee College of Music, and that’s when my technique was overhauled and I began to learn how to play classical guitar. Since then, I’ve been bringing those classical elements into my playing technique, but the majority of my time with the instrument is still spent writing!

You recently went on tour with Orla Garland around Europe and the US – I bet it was so fun to play songs that get a lot of traction online to an audience that you can actually see and hear. What was your like for you, can you tell us a bit about your experience?

Tour was certainly a blast! There is a big difference between having a short clip of a song go semi-viral on the internet and playing a whole song for an audience that doesn’t know it. I prefer the latter, just because the songs, I think, are best absorbed in their entirety. My goal is always to write a cohesive, cool song that takes somebody on a journey when they listen to it. Obviously, that’s not something I accomplish for every person every time, but there’s something special and magical about having everyone’s undivided attention for a bit. Also it’s quite nerve-wracking!

What was your favourite memory from the tour?

There were so many unforgettable moments on tour. The shows I did in Europe were especially exciting for me, because all the cities I played were ones that I hadn’t been to before. One of those cities was Zurich. That day in Zurich really sticks with me because the city was so magical. Everyone seemed so happy, the buildings were gorgeous, and the sun was shining on the lake. I got to take a long walk around it just breathing the very, very fresh air. I would love to go back!

Looking ahead to future shows, if you could choose any three artists, dead or alive, to support, who would you pick?

This is such a good question and I’m probably going to leave some really important names out. One would be Gregory Alan Isakov, whose music I love (obviously). Another, just because I really want to hear them live, is my favorite math rock band Hikes. And I’m going to say Willow Smith too because her latest album is insaaaane.

"False Alarm," is your first release of 2025 and an introductory taste of your debut EP, ‘Taking My Side’ – what was the inspiration behind this song?

“False Alarm” is about homesickness in the city. I wrote it my first summer after coming back home to Nebraska from Boston, realizing retroactively how miserable and overstimulated I was living in the middle of a very busy city block. I didn’t really allow myself to feel those feelings while I was there, but once I was home and able to take a deep breath and relax, I wrote “False Alarm”.

If you had to describe your upcoming EP in 3 words, what would they be?

I would pick discovery, rumination, and growth.

What were your main influences for your EP, musical or otherwise?

The first thing that comes to mind here is that this EP’s sound was shaped a lot by its producer/engineer/mixer Philip Etherington. I didn’t really know what I wanted it to sound like going into the process, apart from wanting my guitar parts to come through in the final products. Philip had all the right ideas and we were able to make something amazing. Another influence, at least in terms of some of the background noise, would be Radiohead—I’m always looking to deliver a cohesive sound/feeling throughout a project and that’s something they do incredibly well.

Your lyrics are so candid and clever, what is your songwriting process?

It can vary with me, but usually I write a sketch of a guitar part and then look at my notes to see if any jotted-down lyric ideas would work with the guitar. Then, as I write more lyrics and expand the song, the guitar, melody, and lyrics develop together very slowly. I never force myself to write because it always ends up sounding bad. Sometimes, it takes me a year to finish a song. I try to give the songs all the time they need to work themselves out!

The cover art for your EP is beautiful and simple  – a picture of you on a patterned rug surrounded by a watch, a bracelet and guitar picks. Is there any meaning / reason behind this being the cover for your debut EP?

I wanted to create a visual world for “Taking My Side” that felt cozy and indoors, because that’s how it was when I wrote and recorded it. I liked the basic idea of having some objects that were meaningful to that time in my life around me. We worked with a photographer, Sydney Tate, and a creative team, Frisson Projects, to make it all happen! I usually have a really clear idea of what I want the songs to sound like, but less of an idea when it comes to visuals. I was happy to work with a team who was able to ask me the right questions to get to what I wanted.