Cape Town Duo, EMERGER, pays tribute to their hometown in debut Music Video

“URBAN WILDERNESS (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)” – WATCH HERE

Dream Pop duo EMERGER (Emma de Goede and Gerry Matthee) releases their debut official music video for their track “Urban Wilderness.” Watch it here on the group’s YouTube channel

The songwriting duo, Emma (lead vocals/piano) and Gerry (multi-instrumentalist/producer), met at high school and went on to study music at the University of Cape Town. It was during this time in which they formed EMERGER. Emma graduated with a BMus in Jazz Voice and Gerry with a BMus in Classical Composition, which is indicative of their signature sonic palate – a soundscape of dreamy synth-driven melodies, cinematic progressions, powerful pop vocals and punchy beats.

In the music video for “Urban Wilderness,” EMERGER takes audiences on a nostalgic journey through the forests and city scenes of Cape Town, their hometown. Contrasting moments glisten through a dreamlike montage of the duo’s beloved Mother City: golden hour ambles along the Sea Point Promenade, a stroll through the Company’s Gardens, and hiking Table Mountain’s Platteklip Gorge, portray some of the duo’s favourite pastimes. Woodlands surrounding the duo’s alma mater become an organic playground for a colourful meandering of slow-motion smoke flares. Tall trees polarise concrete skyscrapers in interspersed city scenes. The music video is directed by De Goede and Matthee, who collaborated with cinematographers, Kyle Wesson and Hugo Brand.

“Urban Wilderness” (off their debut EP Bloom) is a mid-tempo electronica song with cinematic textures and subtle allusions to their jazz influence. De Goede delivers a captivating performance with her rich voice and soaring vocal melody. Dreamy instrumentals flow as an arabesque of piano, guitar and synthesizer melodies, which is climaxed by an interplay between jazzy vocals and a crooning flugelhorn solo. “I wrote this song as a homage to Cape Town. In essence it’s about wanting to see where life can take you, while staying grounded in your roots,” says Matthee. “It’s such a beautiful city, beaming with contrasts between nature and urban sprawl. There really is no place else like it.”

After graduating from their studies in 2016, De Goede and Matthee started working on the project, writing material that would soon become their debut self-produced 8-track EP, Bloom. Released in May of 2018, the mini-album garnered a lot of attention, not only in the South African music scene but also internationally. Two of their songs, “Hindsight” and “Nomadic Love,” have been played on BBC Radio and featured as part of the BBC Introducing show. Their debut single “Break & Fall” was a winner of the Avid and Abbey Road Studios International Song Contest, chosen from 5000 entries across the globe.

Soon after the release, Apple Music showcased EMERGER as their New Artist Spotlight, featuring their songs on prominent playlists on the streaming platform, including “Apple Music’s Best of 2018” playlist.

In February 2020 EMERGER made their festival debut performing on the main stage at Up The Creek Music Festival. 2020 also holds several new releases, including an uptempo reimagination of “Urban Wilderness” by Matthee, two brand new singles, music videos and numerous live performance videos.