Emma-Jean Thackray

Emma-Jean Thackray (vocals, guitar), Dougal Taylor (drums), Lyle Barton (keyboards), Matthew Gedrych (bass)

Contagious grooves

A British artist, originally from Leeds, who has turned the practice of music into vital and expressive exploration. A key figure on the contemporary scene, Thackray is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, singer, DJ and band leader. Her work is a counter-current phenomenon: created against the grain, breaking down barriers between genres, integrating Jazz, funk, soul, pop, grunge, house and techno, with a musical language of her own, overflowing with creativity.

Born and raised in a working-class family, she began her musical journey in childhood with a cornet. That marked the beginning of a lifelong relationship with instruments and sound. So precocious and so remarkably talented was she that it wasn’t long before she became lead trumpeter in various bands in Yorkshire, before eventually moving to London to continue her Jazz studies at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and later at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

From her first steps with the EP Walrus (2016) till she became recognised and established as one of the most unique voices in the United Kingdom, Emma-Jean has built a career based on musical curiosity and artistic integrity. Her debut album, Yellow (2021), released on her own label, Movementt, catapulted her to the heart of the Jazz and creative music scene, reaching number 1 on the British Jazz charts.

Her second album, Weirdo (2025), is a bold extension of that artistic and personal universe. Written and recorded in her London flat, the project was born out of intimate reflection on neuro-divergence (autism and ADHD) and grief following the death of her partner in 2023. The album is an authentic emotional and sonic chronicle that combines humour, pain, fury, introspection, celebration and resilience.

In Weirdo, Thackray handles every instrument, voice and texture with a depth that reveals not only her technique but also her vital commitment to music. Collaborations with artists such as Reggie Watts and Kassa Overall serve to give even further voice to the notion of expressive community, but the backbone remains her own voice: warm, intuitive, incisive.

Thackray not only composes and plays. She also produces, arranges, mixes and leads each project with her own vision, prompting The Guardian newspaper to describe her as a ‘musical polymath’, capable of blending traditions and sonic revolutions without artifice or prejudice. Her references are broad and very varied: George Clinton, Meshell Ndegeochello, Louis Cole, Prince, Kurt Cobain, Steely Dan, Robert Glasper, Kate Bush, Björk...

This British artist also stands out for her prowess as a DJ and communicator, who is often on radio programmes, a recurring figure on stations such as BBC 6Music and Worldwide FM, where her sensitivity in selecting music is complemented by her own artistic discourse.

Thackray is true a creative force, one of the most versatile and unique figures in British music, an artist with a stage presence that exudes energy and capacity to connect with audiences. Her story is that of a creator who has transformed rejection, difference and loss into a deeply human work. Music that does not just sound: it connects, questions and celebrates the complexity of life itself.