Hello hello! Just a quick reminder that I am always open for music based commissions! Get me interviewing bands! Send me to gigs! I could even do you some alt related copywriting/branded content or bios? You can find me at emmabwilkes
@gmail
.com and 😊
They really rounded up all the worst people in metal for one tour and announced it, on all days, on International Women's Day. Absolutely rotten timing from a rotten bunch.
I wanted to share my K! interview with
@Lambrini_Girls
, but the TERFs have already done that for me. But there is an issue here that is bigger than me and I wanted to address it, so I wrote something. This is all I'm going to say. I'm going to be calm.
The events at Brixton Academy were horrific to see, btu we cannot lose that venue. It's hugely important to London's live scene and the local economy in Brixton. Something has to change, however, in how it is run to prevent a repeat of the tragedy in December.
If your feminism doesn't include trans women it's not feminism. The reasoning behind the false idea that trans rights somehow take away from women's rights often uses some pretty backward ideas about women anyway.
Trans rights forever and always. ❤️
Happy International Women’s Day everybody! As Allies, we need to show solidarity for our trans friends today
IWD is for all women. No excuse for pricks like JK Rowling to hijack it with hate. If your *Feminism* is diminishing Women, then you are a misogynist
Trans rights always
This is my biggest ever journalistic project.
The lovely
@Revolvermag
gang had me back after my
@Sleep_Token
cover earlier this year for a deep dive into all three albums and rank their 20 greatest songs. I wrote over 10,000 words for it. I loved it. I hope you do too. 🤘🏻
SLEEP TOKEN is our 2023 Artist of the Year.
We're celebrating them with a deluxe 76-page collector's issue featuring rare photos, new art, famous fan tributes, a deep dive into the band's trilogy, and more.
Order yours now!
Wrote about the Royal Blood video doing the rounds. While they might have been an outlier at the festival and the crowd's reaction may have been frustrating, I personally thought this was just plain rude and unprofessional. Ain't a good look.
So I might have done another cover story... 🤩
I had a fabulous chat with
@corklezlaplante
of
@spiritboxband
ahead of their first UK tour, digging into how she's digested their success, what they have learned from 4 months on the road and where they might go next musically...
Kerrang! Cover Story 💙
Spiritbox: “We’re still figuring out what we are, and I don’t even know if I want to find out”
Read the interview now 🔗
✍️: Emma Wilkes
📸: Jonathan Weiner
In my latest one for
@guitar
I interviewed the fantastic
@LauraJaneGrace
about ditching traditional album cycles, finding inspiration in the everyday and the greatest song you'll ever hear about pouring day old coffee in your eyes:
This is the most important piece I've ever written.
For my debut
@KerrangMagazine
cover (!!!) I spoke to
@larissastupar
from
@Venomprison
about finding inspiration in chaos, learning to sing clean, why metal doesn't talk about motherhood, and so much more.
The Kerrang! Cover Story
@VenomPrison
: “It’s important to show that we live in a world that is quite dark, even when we don’t see it as such”
Read the interview now:
✍️:
@emmabwilkes
📸:
@GobinderJhitta
@IndiaWilloughby
@Independent
I had this exact thought, he never should have been in there. There are so many better queer politicians they could have chosen - Nadia Whittome would have been a great example!
Here it is. The biggest interview I've ever done - with COREY TAYLOR (!!!) of all people! For
@RollingStoneUK
, we spoke about getting angrier, hyperfocus, his family history of PTSD and the evolution of his solo work:
I actually got paid today - not the full amount I'm owed but a good chunk of it, so it's a start! 🥳 I hope everyone else who has been waiting on their hard-earned money has or will soon also get paid at long last 😊
Putting your pronouns in your bio/email signature harms nobody and for cis folks, it is one of the easiest ways to help and show solidarity with our trans/non-binary friends. What is there to take issue with?
I've been paid! I'm so relieved that it's finally been sorted and I hope everyone else who's been affected can also see the money they've been waiting on ASAP. 😊
One of the most depressing things about the reaction to everything with Russell Brand is, six years post MeToo, two years post Sarah Everard, how little as a society we seem to have actually learned about violence against women
So the TERFs are in my mentions again and Gr*ham L*nehan's found me as well (whoops!). I'm going to reshare this, which I wrote in response to the last round of trolling I had, and get on with my day. Frankly, I've got better things to do.
I wanted to share my K! interview with
@Lambrini_Girls
, but the TERFs have already done that for me. But there is an issue here that is bigger than me and I wanted to address it, so I wrote something. This is all I'm going to say. I'm going to be calm.
This came in the post today. This is the first print magazine I've held with a cover feature that I wrote. That's a hell of a band to write about too 🥹
Random thoughts from Slam Dunk:
- Heriot and Static Dress were the best I've ever seen them
- Shikari's headliner is one for the history books
- Lynn Gunn has a surprisingly soothing talking voice (and vocally she sounds better than ever)
- People really love Spanish Love Songs
I am still thinking about Darcia calling out the 'London music industry elite' who quickly 'rearranged their guestlists after Green Day cancelled down the road' at the
@creepercultuk
show last night 😂😂
Chatting to a guy on a dating app about bands, and I mention I like Slipknot. He replies:
"Haven't listened to them in ages. Guess I've grown up slightly. 😉"
Unmatched. You slight Slipknot, you slight me. 😅 (Especially if you are patronising about it)
I finally bit the bullet and charged some late fees today. If you run a magazine, make someone's Christmas before the year's out and PAY YOUR FREELANCERS!
Career things I achieved in 2023:
- Feature/live review/album review debuts in NME
- Debuts in Revolver (with a cover!), Huck, RadioTimes, WhyNow, Idobi Radio
- Did my first artist bios
- Wrote seven cover stories (more than last year!)
- Bucket list interview with Corey Taylor
Since I tweeted this, I've been inundated with even more incredibly lovely, supportive messages. I'm replying to as many as I can when I have time to. My job is the joy of my life and trolls aren't going to change that. I'll say it again - I really do love you all ❤️
Your Saturday night reminder that rock music would not exist without black people and thinking that it 'should be left to white people' is the highest form of idiocy
Do you like hardcore with your NME covers? Well...
I'm so excited to tell you I've made my
@NME
cover debut! I had a great chat with
@militariegun
back in May, touching on hardcore's current wave, absurdity and what frontman Ian Shelton learned going to AA meetings with his mum:
After years of refining a melodic take on hardcore –
@militariegun
are at the forefront of hardcore’s radical next wave as they unleash their debut album ‘Life Under The Gun'.
#MilitaireGun
are on
#NMETheCover
. Learn more about the band:
A dream's come true for me today - I am beyond thrilled to share my debut for
@KerrangMagazine
! I reviewed
@bloodyouthUK
's surprise new album that's dropping tomorrow - spoiler, it's absolutely fantastic. 😊🤘
@caitiedelaney
I say this all the time! They tacitly insult you when they suggest they've found you someone really compatible and it's the ugliest man you've ever seen in your life
In my latest
@KerrangMagazine
cover (my 10th! Double figures!) I chatted to the always brilliant
@scenequeenrocks
about her forthcoming debut album, creating safe spaces, pissing off conservatives and why her music wouldn't exist without sex workers! 🩷
Kerrang! Cover Story 💕
Scene Queen: “It’s always been about being a conservative person’s worst nightmare”
Read the interview now 🔗
✍️:
@emmabwilkes
📸:
@Megan_Winstone
@tofeelhealed
Quite a few actually! Bambie did it incredibly with Zombie, Scene Queen said she'd donate her fee to the Palestinian Children's Fund, Callous Daoboys and Pinkshift talked about it
I'm unbelievably excited to share my latest
@KerrangMagazine
cover with the wonderful
@beabad00bee
, in which we chatted about her journey to self-acceptance, the problems with TikTok, the importance of role models and so much more 😊🤘
💖 The Kerrang! Cover Story 💖
@beabad00bee
: “Beatopia offers hope that everything’s gonna be okay – I am living proof that it gets better” 🌸🐱
Read the full interview here:
Words:
@emmabwilkes
Photography: Brennan Bucannan
I'm overjoyed to share my debut for
@RollingStoneUK
in which I delve into the history of heavy music's relationship with video games! Cheers to
@WITCHFEVER
, Dani Filth and Davyd from
@burytomorrow
, and Ryan from
@BlizzardCS
, for chatting to me! 😊
I remembered earlier that my first paid commission was published three years ago today. Everything since has been amazing and utterly bonkers. My job is the joy of my life. If you have made it possible, as an editor, PR or a band I have interviewed, thank you, always. 💕
Writing news about rock bands + meaty music issues = happy Emma
And of course, while I'm at it, give bands 100% of their merch profits, for God's sake.
Word is on the street she's in print again... 🤩 (in all seriousness though, there is loads of great content in
@diymagazine
this month - go on, treat yourself to a copy 😋)
In my debut for
@Dazed
(!!!) I dived into why metal's getting girly and the power this holds, via kawaii metal, bimbocore and 'metal is girlypop' on TikTok. Thanks so much to
@scenequeenrocks
, BRAT and Hanabie for chatting to me!
What’s our age again? When We Were Young, 2023. LFG 🖤
Register now for the presale that starts Friday, October 14th at 10 AM PT. $19.99 down payment plans available.
#WWWY
I went to the big rock show last night and drooled over
@ENTERSHIKARI
's stunning, euphoric display at Wembley for
@KerrangMagazine
! Shout out to
@fever333
too for knocking my socks off like no other opening band has done before!🩷🧡💛
🚨 PERSONAL NEWS🚨 (yay, I get to do one of these)
Thrilled to announce I've been elected the
@WarwickBoar
Music Editor for 2021/22! I'm taking over from the fabulous
@cerysturner7
who is becoming Editor-in-Chief! Thank you so much to everyone who voted - it means the world ☺️🥳
THE BOAR EXEC 2021/22
Congratulations to all of our new exec!
If you didn't win the position you were interested in, we still have vacancies on our executive board that we'll be opening elections for soon, so make sure to follow The Boar for updates on this!
Neurodivergent gang! I'm curious... have you found that you often end up fancying/dating other neurodivergent folk? Do we attract each other like magnets or something? 🤔
Can we just talk about the fact that MCR did 'Cancer' tonight - which they have not played all tour - and it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed not just a gig, but in my whole life? 😭
#MCRMK
#MCRMK3
It's a brutal headline but, given the number of allegations coming out of the industry, it's hardly surprising. I've only been a part of it a few years but even I know there are stories that haven't yet been told. Misogyny is entrenched and systemic.
In my latest for
@KerrangMagazine
I spoke to
@biggytimmkins
and
@Simply_Rhod
, aka the founders of Running Punks, about what makes running punk, how running can become more inclusive and the lovely community of music loving runners they have created online! 😊🤘
While we're at it, I want to shout out all the incredible women in the music industry right now. For all the pitfalls - the impostor syndrome, anxiety about being taken seriously, feeling outnumbered gender-wise - we are making MOVES. You are heroes ❤️
Are you a corporate emo? If so, I want you to tell me all about it ASAP for a piece I'm writing! (If you can let me use photos of you in the height of your emo phase vs your appearance now, then that would also be very handy!)
#journorequest
I wrote another
@KerrangMagazine
cover! I had an insightful chat with
@poppy
about curiosity, anger, self-care, unplugging from the zeitgeist and her fantastic upcoming EP 'Stagger'! Cheers, as ever to
@luke_morton
for commissioning and edits 😊🤘
Kerrang! Cover Story 🧡
@Poppy
: “People are always trying to get ahead as opposed to living, it takes a lot of work to fight to be in the present”
Read the brand-new interview now 🔗
✍️: Emma Wilkes
📸: Sofia Sanchez & Mauro Mongiello
I'm unbelievably excited to make my
@NME_Radar
debut chatting to none other than the fantastic
@heriotmetal
about the health of metal in 2023, cryptic lyrics and winning over non-metal fans on eclectic festival bills: 🤘
I had the awesome opportunity to chat to
@RouReynolds
and
@enterrob
of
@ENTERSHIKARI
about their awesome new album 'A Kiss For The Whole World', the experience of a "creative depression" and how joy can be an act of resistance:
@lastofthewild97
It was quite funny, we had been talking about Slipknot and then he said, "Do you know Slayer?" and started going on about their specific sub genre like I was someone completely unfamiliar at all. Even though I had just told him I liked Slipknot.
Looking to speak to some Sleep Token superfans for something cool - largely looking for people who don't just love the music but are interested in the lore behind them too. Essentially, the nerdier you are about them, the better!
#journorequest
I used to live vicariously through the BBC iPlayer footage of Reading & Leeds when I was too young to go to festivals. Now I'm on remote news duty for NME and am going to be in the field myself at Reading tomorrow. Younger Emma would be chuffed I hope 😊
I've always wanted to interview
@JohnFloreani
of
@trophyeyesmusic
. In my latest for
@KerrangMagazine
, I actually did it. We talked about their brilliant new album 'Suicide and Sunshine' and how it brought the band, who nearly split up, back to life:
Grassroots music venues have been all over the news in the last week. In my latest for
@RollingStoneUK
I wrote a little explainer of the solutions being proposed to try and save them -
.
@Sleep_Token
's new one is ambitious, beautiful, detailed and definitely shouldn't be listened to without a box of tissues nearby. It was an absolute pleasure to give 'Take Me Back To Eden' five big fat stars for
@NME
:
I went to see
@Sleep_Token
's potentially history-making set at Wembley Arena for
@NME
, and despite Vessel's vocal troubles they still created something beautiful: