Originally Published: 2005-02-20

It's significant that Emm Gryner seems uncertain whether her new album, Songs Of Love And Death, is actually her sixth or her seventh record. Clearly an artist dedicated to looking ahead, not back, she is already hard at work on two new albums.
Whatever the correct figure, it's still an impressive one for a young singer/songwriter. Now based in Montreal, but born and raised in rural Ontario, Gryner has had a fascinating career that has brought her critical acclaim, three Juno Award nominations, significant commercial radio play, and real respect from both her musical peers and her heroes.
Tandem recently located Gryner on her brief holiday in Florida with her mother. She deserved some warm sunshine after her paying dues in wintry western Canada with a few gigs as part of the Bluebird North tour of Canadian singer/songwriters. "The holiday is disrupting my rock 'n' roll lifestyle," she jokes. "We just needed to escape the cold for a bit. Florida is a bizarre place, but there are a lot of cool birds here!"
Gryner is a well-travelled musician, and her time spent in Ireland sparked the idea for Songs Of Love And Death. It comprises unique, sparse interpretations of songs written by mostly contemporary Irish artists, ranging from '70s stars Thin Lizzy and The Undertones to the current-day likes of The Thrills, The Corrs and Ash.
"The one big misconception is that it is a traditional Irish or Celtic record, but it's not that. As varied as the artists I chose are, the one common thread is that 'lay your heart on the line' kind of feeling. Ireland is so ridiculously small, but there are so many great bands from there."
Gryner is one-quarter Irish herself, and she's thrilled Irish audiences and the artists themselves have enjoyed her interpretations. "I made a rule recently to just record and not worry about what people think, but once you release it you realize you have to contend with peoples' reactions and what the original artist thinks of what you've done. It's been OK, except for one death threat from an Ash fan! In December, I did four of these songs, and, luckily, people took to them. It was a good test for me. I thought if I could do these songs in Ireland and not be hated, then I can do them anywhere."

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