“Exquisite” UNCUT MAGAZINE “A class act” THE MIRROR “Assured… intelligent… enjoyable…a true artist” ROCK’N’REEL Emily Maguire, the British-born singer/songwriter whose remarkable personal journey took her from Australia to the Albert Hall faster than the Bullet train, has released her first album in three years, 'Bird Inside A Cage'. This long awaited fourth album has been entirely financed by her fanbase after a direct video appeal which by-passed the well-known fan-funded music platforms. It is truly a ‘people’s album’. Released on July 15th 2013, the 10-track CD is a bold departure from Emily’s previous recordings while still retaining all the underlying trademarks of her elegant, emotive, lyric-rich songs. By turns ethereal, haunting and sultry, the narratives range from the understated to the unflinching, from the subtle to the pack punching, all underpinned with Emily’s own string arrangements. Listing influences from Bob Marley to Bach and Buddha, London-born Emily was classically trained as a child on cello, piano and flute. Her song-writing was born from adversity. In her 20s she was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia Pain Syndrome, an illness which attacks the nervous system and which kept her hospitalised and housebound for years. But, as she says, “It wasn’t all negative - it gave me the time and space to discover song-writing and learn guitar from Bob Marley songbooks.” A few years later, back on her feet and fed up with grey skies and concrete, she decided to leave her London flat for a shack in the Australian bush. There she set up her own record label, Shaktu Records, with partner Christian Dunham and for the next four years lived an eco-friendly, self-sufficient lifestyle, financing her music and tours by making and selling goats cheese on the family farm in Queensland. They had a recording studio from where they produced two fine albums – her debut Stranger Place and Keep Walking (the title track of which was playlisted on BBC Radio 2 and across Australia on ABC). The shack itself had walls made of rendered potato sacks and a bathroom floor of river pebbles with mice in the piano, enormous spiders, bats and a python called Dudley.... Emily’s breakthrough came in 2007. In the unpredictable nature of the music business, after completing a three month UK tour of pubs and clubs and about to step on a plane back to Australia, she landed the sort of offer you don’t turn down – an out of the blue support slot on the UK/ Ireland tour of US singer/songwriter Don “American Pie” Maclean, climaxing in a show at the Royal Albert Hall. Remaining in her native UK Emily went on to play at some of the most prestigious venues in the country with the likes of Eric Bibb, Paul Brady, Glenn Tillbrook and Roddy Frame. Her third album 'Believer', recorded in London, won rave reviews in Uncut, Maverick, R2 and Guitarist Magazine with two singles playlisted on Radio 2. Then followed the publication of her book 'Start Over Again' (2010). Emily went public about her own experience of bipolar disorder and performed a series of gigs in psychiatric hospitals for patients, staff and carers – they were moved and inspired by her songs about surviving mental illness and her belief that it can be a positive thing for creativity. Her uplifting song Keep Walking was chosen as the anthem of the Defeat Depression campaign. The following year Emily toured the UK for seven months with Dennis Locorriere, the former lead singer of Dr Hook, a tour that took in almost every key theatre in the country. Despite some setbacks and challenges, Emily began work on her next album, reaching out to her fanbase to help finance the independent release. She was overwhelmed by the response (which included gifts of £1,000 from complete strangers). As Emily said, “Bird inside a Cage wouldn’t have seen the light of day without my fans’ generosity. Everything we’ve achieved over the past 10 years has been made possible by the involvement of people who love my songs and believe in me” 'Bird Inside A Cage' is produced by Nigel Butler. Known to TV lovers as one of the producers on X Factor, Nigel has worked with artists ranging from K.D.Lang and Tom Jones to Will Young and Robbie Williams, producing hits for Dizzee Rascal and many top pop acts. Butler has transformed Emily’s skilfully crafted songs and arrangements into lush, cinematic landscapes of sound, while still leaving some songs in more intimate stripped back settings. The title track of the album was inspired by Melanie Reid, a Times journalist who was paralysed in a horse-riding accident in 2010 and who writes the paper’s regular “Spinal Column”. On reading Melanie’s article describing her first year in a wheelchair, Emily was moved to write ‘Bird Inside a Cage’ for her. Full of visual imagery and laid-bare feelings, the album ranges from the soulful 'Beautiful' and rhythmic 'Don’t Speak', to the delicate, keyboard-driven 'Rain', the edgy rollercoaster ride of 'Over the Waterfall', the quirky syncopated shuffle of 'Old Valentine' and the gentle 'Bicycle Made for Two'. 'Avatar' is a showstopper and the album ends with the title track about a life changed overnight.