‘This is where I’m meant to be’

Following her success at two local concerts last year, 23-year-old Emily Fern decided to spend her savings on a day in London’s legendary Studio Two – where the Beatles recorded the majority of their albums – to amplify her music across the Channel.

Artists who have shaped music and popular culture have been recording at Abbey Road for 93 years. It was the world’s first recording studio. As bombs rained down during World War II, Abbey Road’s doors remained open, hosting sessions which included American bandleader Glenn Miller’s final recordings in 1944.

Studio Two at Abbey Road Studios became the birthplace of British rock ‘n’ roll in the late 1950s and has been at the heart of popular music ever since. It has hosted landmark recordings by Kate Bush, Eric Clapton, Oasis, Adele and many more – and now Guernsey-based Emily and her co-writer and pianist Adam Reece.

To further enhance an already phenomenal experience and their original collection of songs, the pair booked to record with the prestigious London Symphony Orchestra, which performed at Abbey Road Studio’s opening ceremony on 12 November 1931.

Emily met her co-writer last year, when she was looking for a pianist to accompany her on upcoming gigs. Adam was in Guernsey from the UK working temporarily at Les Voies School, where Emily’s mum is deputy head teacher.

It proved to be a successful musical pairing. Despite their age gap, Emily said they clicked almost instantly.

‘He’s amazing on the piano,’ she said.

‘We each shared our own songs with each other. At the time, I only had a handful, and started jamming together – we just gelled, musically.’

It was after a particularly successful performance together at St James last Autumn that they discovered one of their biggest hits – a Christmas song they had happened to write the night before.

‘We realised we didn’t have enough songs for the full set,’ said Emily.

‘So we started playing around, trying different chord structures and lyrics in old song books that we never used. We were in the studio until about two in the morning and Adam started doing this piano trill. I said “that sounds like a Christmas song”. It was November time, so we rolled with it. I didn’t want it to be your typical, cringey Christmas song. I wanted something cool. So once we got the tune, we then put our own lyrics to it and performed it at the end of our set the very next night.’

Emily said the impromptu song received the biggest response from the audience, who even asked for an encore.

‘It was a Christmas dream,’ said Emily.

‘So that’s what we called it.’

The duo decided to record Christmas Dream, with hopes it could be released in time for this year’s festive season.

After considering involving various choirs to enhance the track, they soon decided to try their luck and dream bigger.

‘We reached out to the London Symphony Orchestra and they said “yeah”,’ said Emily.

‘So we thought, well if we’re going do it, lets do it properly – we’re not going ask the London Symphony Orchestra to come to a random little studio just off the M1. This could either be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity or something that we take really seriously.

'So we both put in our savings, opted for the hefty fee to keep the song ours and booked Abbey Road.’

The project, which cost just short of £25,000, was booked for April – five months after the song’s birth and debut.

‘It didn’t feel real until the day, when the LSO bus appeared,’ said Emily.

‘When someone’s got their own tour bus, you know they’re a big deal. I couldn’t believe it was happening. It was incredible – everything I’ve ever dreamed of and more. To think that the Beatles and so many other incredible artists were in that same room, the room where I was now singing with a 52-piece orchestra, who were playing my songs – it’s just pushed me to go back.

'After experiencing it, I know I won’t rest until I can do it again.

‘I thought I would be overwhelmed with emotion, but I somehow just did it. I’m a big manifestation person. I try to use vocabulary like “when I make it” and I’ve worked so hard for so long that I think I had managed to convince myself “this is where I’m meant to be”.’

After speaking to the recording engineer – the renowned John Barrett – Emily managed to include a couple of celebrity artists to perform on the track as well, including Bez from Happy Mondays and Phil Hartnell from Orbital, who played the synth.

‘John’s worked on incredible things like the Avengers movie and with mega people like George Ezra and James Bay – so even having him as a producer was crazy in itself,’ said Emily.

‘And then I met Bez and Phil who were amazing, so down to Earth and friendly. I kept thinking “don’t mess up”. Naturally I’m a hugger – I’m always quite casual and I’m just me. But I had to keep reminding myself – “actually, you should probably shake the hand and act professional here” and the day just spiralled from there.’

While on a roll, Emily opted to extend her session and record three more of her original songs, one of which she had written in the short lead-up to her booking at Abbey Road and said she really loved.

‘My dad always called me Emily-One-More,’ she said.

‘I always push for one more thing, so that has become my nickname at home.’

Originally from Sheffield, Emily grew up with a love of music and always knew she wanted to be a singer. She moved to the island with her family when she was about 13 years old and finished her school years at St Sampson’s High.

She thinks her talent has come from her parents. Her dad is also a singer who plays in a local band, Arctic Donkeys. Though her mum ‘absolutely can’t sing’, Emily said she is ‘a beautiful poet’, who often inspires her song-writing.

Completely self-trained, Emily has been performing professionally on the island since leaving school.

She was resident singer at Octopus and was there the night before the local restaurant burned down. She has since found constant work, singing at various pubs, restaurants and venues across the island for different events, weddings and parties.

Her songs have played on Guernsey radio stations, but following her recent experience in London Emily hopes her music will soon be heard further afield.

She has hired a renowned UK PR company – the one that saw LadBaby score 2021’s Christmas number one hit with Sausage Rolls For Everyone.

She has also produced a music video for Christmas Dream, which is set to be released on 1 November and play on radio stations across the nation this Christmas.

‘It was only when I got back to Guernsey that I crumbled,’ said Emily.

‘When I watched the video back and first heard the London Symphony Orchestra play my song, I sobbed. It was really hard to continue life as normal after that experience – I felt quite flat. We went back for a mixing day and talking about it gets me really excited. I just want to do it again.

‘To just dip your toe in that room with those people – where you’ve believed you’re meant to be since you were a little girl – is not enough. I’m not ungrateful – I’m inspired and determined to go back.’

As well as Christmas Dream, Emily recorded Story In Your Mind, Masquerade and Breathing.

With plans to record more, she said she has discussed collaborating on a new one with Phil Hartnell.

‘There’s always a message in every single song that I write,’ she said.

‘And it can have your message in it too. I think there’ll be a lyric that everybody can relate to. Everything stems from something I’ve been through or learned from.

'I’ve written so many more songs since leaving Abbey Road because I believe in myself more now.’