Lennox Head’s Emily Turner discusses sound production, gender gap

After years working with household names like Chris Isaak, Kate Cebrano and more, this North Coast mum is hoping to tear down the glass ceilings that still exist in the music industry.

Music is in the blood of Lennox Head musician Emily Turner and now she wants to guide the new generation of upcoming stars.

Ms Turner grew up between Las Vegas and Chicago with jazz musicians as parents.

At times, she would travel on the road with her father’s band, something Ms Turner remembers fondly as a “rich musical education”.

When she moved to Australia, she soon found herself close friends with Fiona Kernaghan of the Kernaghan country music fame and was later signed to Warner Chappell Music for her songwriting.

“It was in my bones I think, I was always singing as a kid and started writing songs as a teen,” Ms Turner said.

Emily Turner from Lennox Head comes from musical roots, with a jazz family.

Throughout her years, her success brought her roles alongside to work with Chris Isaak, Kate Cebrano, and Guy Sebastian.

But when she started her family, the late nights and free-spirited lifestyle took its toll, leading Ms Turner to take a back seat and step into recording within her own studio.

But when her 14-year-old daughter recorded a song with Byron Bay’s SAE institute, which saw her get offers from Sony and other recording companies, Ms Turner discovered her renewed passion for professional sound production.

Her daughter’s track alone cost about $2000 for mixing and mastering.

Ms Turner was inspired by her teen daughter to get into professional sound production.

Recording demos is an often expensive and intimidating process and Ms Turner was drawn back into her own experience in music production.

“I always loved being in the studio, it was my happy place,” she said.

“(I used to spend a lot of) money doing demos with a lot of producers and it never turned out the way I envisaged it.

“I knew what I wanted but I could never articulate it.”

She said she often wasn’t treated seriously in the male dominated industry, something which she feared for her own daughter if she were to take up the musical gene.

Creative minds at SAE have access to world class facilities.

It was why Ms Turner was embarking on a sound production course with the SAE to change the future of sound production.

“As a woman, I’m blonde, I’ve got big boobs and I’m not always taken seriously,” she said.

“I would love to work with young people, particularly women because I know it’s daunting.

“I know I can bring my experience, my compassion from that to help other women realise their creative potential and bring these beautiful songs into fruition

“I want to know show my girls when you work really hard and are really determined you make anything happen.”

Ms Turner said she was amazed to have SAE’s “world-class” facilities readily available within regional NSW and was now creating a piece revolving around Byron women singer-songwriters and their Covid and flood experience.

“Anyone stupid and smart enough to take on a creative career can have it all here,” Ms Turner said.

“It’s about helping women to do the thing because it sparks joy.

“That one song can save someone, you don’t know what it means to someone else.”