Erika M. Anderson
Erika Michelle Anderson (born January 28, 1982), better known by her stage name EMA, is an American singer and songwriter originally from South Dakota, who presently lives in Portland, Oregon.
Also recorded as EMA · Erika Michelle Anderson · Erika Anderson
Erika M. Anderson

City Slang · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Name
- EMA
- Birth Name
- Erika Michelle Anderson
- Born
- 28 January 1982
- Birthplace
- South Dakota, United States
- Occupation
- * Singer-songwriter
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- rock
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wikidata · Q3731772 · wikipedia · Erika M. Anderson
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — EMA • Birth Name — Erika Michelle Anderson • Born — 28 January 1982 • Birthplace — South Dakota, United States • Genre — * Noise-folk • noise rock • freak folk • Occupation — * Singer-songwriter • guitarist • visual artist • Instrument — * Vocals • guitar • electronics • bass • Years Active — 2006–present • Label — * Night People • Souterrain Transmissions • Matador • Website — https: www.iwannadestroy.com/
Career
Career
From 2006 to 2010 Anderson fronted the noise-folk band Gowns, releasing one album, 2007's Red State. After the group disbanded, she released her debut album Little Sketches on Tape in 2010 on Night People, an independent music label founded by former Raccoo-oo-oon member Shawn Reed. She also played guitar in experimental rock band Amps for Christ. In 2011 EMA released her second album Past Life Martyred Saints, which received positive reviews from Pitchfork Media, Drowned in Sound, and the NME. Following the release of the album, EMA was named "New Band of the Day" by The Guardian, and "Artist to Watch" by Rolling Stone. In 2011 she performed "Endless, Nameless" for Spins twentieth anniversary tribute to Nirvana's album Nevermind. Her song "The Grey Ship" was used on an episode of Adult Swim's Off the Air, and in the 2014 Carter Smith film Jamie Marks Is Dead. The album The Future's Void was released on Matador Records in 2014. She made her network television debut performing on Late Show with David Letterman on August 26, 2014. EMA released her fourth studio album, Exile in the Outer Ring, on August 25, 2017 through City Slang. The first single was "Aryan Nation" and dedicated to the people of "heartland America", where she is from. The single was inspired by the British skinhead film, This Is England. In 2023 it was announced that Anderson had joined Sarah Register and Vice Cooler to form Thrash Palace.
Albums
Albums
• Little Sketches on Tape (Night People, 2010) • Past Life Martyred Saints (Souterrain Transmissions, 2011) • The Future's Void (Matador/City Slang, 2014) • #Horror: Original Score by EMA (Matador, 2015) • Exile in the Outer Ring (City Slang, August 25, 2017)
Singles
Singles
• "The Grey Ship/Kind Heart" (Souterrain Transmissions, 2011) • "California" (Souterrain Transmissions, 2011) • "Soul on Fire" (Hell, Yes!, 2011) • "Milkman" (Souterrain Transmissions, 2011) • "Marked/Angelo" (Souterrain Transmissions, 2011) • "Take One Two" (Souterrain Transmissions, 2012) • "Satellites" (City Slang, 2013) • "So Blonde" (City Slang, 2014) • "3Jane" (City Slang, 2014) • "Active Shooter" (City Slang, 2015) • "Amnesia Haze" (City Slang, 2015) • "Aryan Nation" (City Slang, 2017) • "Breathalyzer" (City Slang, 2017) • "Down and Out" (City Slang, 2017)
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Erika M. Anderson, revision 1362450502 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.EMA on Twitter.
- 2.Breihan, Tom. EMA. Pitchfork Media. March 9, 2011.
- 3.Neyland, Nick. EMA: Past Life Martyred Saints. Pitchfork Media. May 10, 2011.
- 4.Skinner, James. EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints. Drowned in Sound. May 5, 2011.
- 5.Chester, Tim. Album Review: EMA – 'Past Life Martyred Saints'. NME. IPC Media. May 4, 2011.
- 6.Lester, Paul. New band of the day – No 1,005: EMA. The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. April 14, 2011.
- 7.Keyes, J. Edward. Artist to Watch: EMA's Spellbinding Noise-Folk Confessionals. Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. May 17, 2011.
- 8.Marchese, David. FREE ALBUM: SPIN Tribute to Nirvana's 'Nevermind'. Spin. July 19, 2011.
- 9.Richardson, Mark. EMA: The Future's Void Album Reviews Pitchfork. Pitchfork Media. 10 April 2014.
- 10.Bowe, Miles. EMA announces new album Exile In The Outer Ring, shares 'Aryan Nation'. FACT. April 19, 2017.
- 11.Malt, Andy. EMA announces new album, releases This Is England inspired single. CMU.
- 12.Breihan, Tom. EMA, Vice Cooler, & Sarah Register Form Supergroup Thrash Palace. Stereogum. 2023-08-16.
- 13.Roberts, Christopher. EMA Shares "Amnesia Haze," First Taste of Her Score for Chloe Sevigny Film "#Horror". Under The Radar. November 20, 2015.
References
Citations
References
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 19 August 2026.
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