Emily King: KCRW Live from HQ

Intricately layered R&B examinations of the human condition are the name of Emily King’s game. The three-time Grammy nominee — with nods extending back to her 2007 debut LP East Side Story — hits us with highlights from fifth LP, 2023’s Special Occasion, alongside a few back catalog cuts. King and her spare-yet-mighty backing band — Randy Runyon on guitar and Tim Smith on percussion — perform “Medal,” “This Year,” “Special Occasion,” and more with an unrivaled spirit of generosity and spontaneity. 

Plus, the New York-born artist joins Morning Becomes Eclectic co-host Anthony Valadez for a chat with big “old friends catching up” energy where they talk impromptu outdoor shows, moving to LA, and processing pain through the creation of art. 

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The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

KCRW: Talk about the Special Occasion album art. It’s very … Emily King, “prison pose.”

Emily King: [Laughs] Well, okay, so that's a selfie. It was taken in a mirror. I remember it because I had a lot of photoshoots, and I couldn't quite get it right. My dear friend Shervin Lainez is an incredible photographer, so it was a collaboration between us … But I think it [ultimately] represented this loneliness I was feeling throughout the making of this record. 

So that paired with the title — Special Occasion — was meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek. When I wrote the song [“Special Occasion”], I was in tears, because I was heartbroken. So I had the thought of trying to celebrate these moments where you're not feeling 100%, just acknowledging that what you're going through is important. I’m getting sweaty trying to explain this though. Let's just say it was [a prison pose]. That would be more interesting.

It’s pretty apparent listening to this record that you were going through something while making it. How do you push through the difficult experiences to process them as a songwriter?

Thank you. It sucks, you know? Life is hard, and relationships are more nuanced than we see in the movies. Also [break up] songs that I've heard [in the past] don't always describe the reality of the situation. It’s not always, “he broke my heart, or she left me…” Sometimes things just change. There's no reason, and it hurts, and you don't know how to repackage this relationship. We're lucky as human beings that we have this tool to express ourselves. I figured I should take a break from feeling sorry for myself and try to write a song.

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There seems to be a lot of spontaneity involved in your live show. For example, what led to your impromptu set on Venice Beach before joining us here at KCRW?

We needed to practice [Laughs]. When I first got together to practice with Randy and Smithsonian [Tim Smith] for our tour, we were in Brooklyn. It was a beautiful day, and we go into this practice room that smells like socks. So I said to the guys, “let's just go sit on the stoop outside,” and they were so into it. So today was sort of a repeat of that. 

Randy's idea was, “let's go play on the beach.” There weren't that many people around, we found a little spot and it was great. It's just fun to sing outdoors. It's very serendipitous. … You'll be listening to music, and things will happen in the rhythm of music. And you're like, oh my god, we're jamming with the world. Actually we were doing one song, and a biker came by and rang her bell — right in time with the break. And it was magical.