Emily Edrosa of Street Chant Photo: Dan Robinson
While other teenagers were, “sneaking alcohol and going out to parties” Emily Edrosa was holed up in her room downloading songs illegally and teaching herself to play using guitar tab on the internet.
“I think it’s just that general black sheep point-of-view where you’re like, ‘You guys are all sheep … I’m so original, look at me sitting here angsty with my guitar’,” she laughs.
"[Imposter syndrome] is a really huge factor in the under-representation of women in so many areas of music… I’m a woman who has achieved quite a lot in music and I still suffer from it really badly - just second guessing everything and the general feeling of ‘I’m not good enough’.
“I’ve seen so many [guy] bands play garage rock music … then a girl group will come up and they’re playing a lot more complicated stuff and people go, ‘She’s not even that good at guitar.’ … I think that’s probably what drove me to be, I think, quite good at the guitar ... I felt like I had to strive to be better because I was a girl.
"A couple of years ago … I broke up with my girlfriend, I moved home to my Mum’s house, the Street Chant album was taking ages and I felt like everyone had forgotten about us ... and I started being like, ‘You know what? I’m just going to be really boldly confident now.’
“People always say, ‘Imagine the stuff you could get done if you had the confidence of the average white man.’ So I would basically only wear Street Chant and Emily Edrosa merch, and just be like ‘I’m really great!’
“I think people were kind of shocked... God, living in LA - people will walk up to somebody and dead-serious be like, ‘My band is amazing, I’m the greatest songwriter of my generation.’ New Zealanders are like, ‘Oh, this is my band, it kinda sucks'."
Music details:
Artist: Street Chant
Song: Insides
Composer: Street Chant
Album: Hauora
Label: Flying Nun
Artist: Emily Edrosa
Song: The Corner of the Party
Composer: Emily Edrosa
Album: Emily Edrosa EP
Label: Self released
Artist: Street Chant
Song: Pedestrian Support League
Composer: Street Chant
Album: Hauora
Label: Flying Nun
Artist: Street Chant
Song: Scream Walk
Composer: Emily Littler, Billie Rodgers Alex Brown.
Album: Means
Label: Arch Hill
Artist: Street Chant
Song: Refreshed
Composer: Street Chant
Album: Hauora
Label: Flying Nun
