THERE’S something heroic about Morgan Woods, the musician behind 2016’s I Don’t Drink To Forget, a feverish, intense debut single which marked her out as an artist to watch.
Recording as Emme (pronounced “M”) Woods, at the heart of her songs is a passion that’s raw and romantic. She comes across as the sort of dame you’d want as hauners on speedial, the rare kind who’s always willing to go the extra mile for love, friendship and rock ‘n roll.
The people listed on the closing credits to new film It’s Ma Party know Woods is a bit of a hero.
Back in early 2017, almost 100 fans pledged to help fund the short film and a five-track EP of the same name.
But financial problems at now bust crowdfunding platform PledgeMusic meant the cash never came through, stalling the project for more than two years while Woods worked to recoup the money.
Her granddad chipped in too, helping her fund the vinyl pressing of the long-awaited EP.
Recently Woods spent time off from her day job packaging up the records with a letter to each pledger thanking them for their support and patience.
“Thankfully, I was able to get all the names and addresses,” says Woods. “It cost around £300 to send them all out. I made sure I went to the Post Office when they were quiet. They were so nice and gave me a seat while I waited, read my book and had a Fanta.”
This is an EP which should be toasted; its spare, tender ballads such as Lullaby For A Lost Soul sitting next to sizzling, bigger band tracks such as the mariachi-tinged Mother Doesn’t Love You and the raccoons title track, a cowrite with former Kassidy singer (and former Lana Del Ray squeeze) Barrie-James O’Neill.
It may have been tough but ensuring a proper release for It’s Ma Party, which was recorded at Liam McCluskey’s Morsecode Studios near Paisley, was important to the determined musician.
It’s been well worth the wait, with guitarist Jamie Logie’s atmospheric film complementing the work of an artist with charisma, talent and songs to spare.
Expect to hear a lot more from Woods in the coming months. As well as further solo Emme Woods material, she hopes to collaborate again with O’Neill and has also been getting stuck into two new projects involving members of her revolving band of crack musicians and rising Glasgow psychedelic sextet Quiche.
“I had to let these songs go free before I could go on to something else,” she says, excited for what’s next.
After our chat, Woods sent The National an interview with Nina Simone, whose voice opens the EP.
The soul queen’s sentiment rings true for Woods.
“I’ve always wanted to shake people up,” says Simone, “and now I wanna go at it even more.”
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