A Naarm-based musician who embodies the roller coaster ups and downs of your early 20s, Emma Yue doesn't shy away from vulnerable songwriting.
Gritty, unvarnished folk-rock that glistens with a raw beauty, Yue's compositions have the habit of nestling their way inside your sub-conscious with confessional lyrics that release cathartic feels alongside soulful contemplation.Her newest release, 'See You Around', continues this sonic landscape as she sings about 'girlies who cry in their cars, thrive off spontaneity and have a lot of room for love'.
"The words 'see you around' are so casual and nonchalant. For such a profound relationship with a person I felt for deeply to accumulate into such a throwaway phrase felt incredibly bittersweet.
"Writing 'See You Around' was hugely cathartic, and I felt like I was able see the whole relationship in all its complexities clearly for the first time. I finally believed for a moment that the relationship ending (even though it was brutal) was for the best.
"To be happier without someone, but also truly grieve not being able to share that newfound happiness with them was a new feeling for me. That bittersweet grief is really the backbone of the whole song."
Fresh off the back of sold-out headlines at Naarm venues The Gaso and Bar Open, and releases planned for August, October and November, here Emma leans once again into her own world to share some thoughts about her experiences with polyamory relationships.
"A little context: I have a partner, and they also have another partner, and we're all free to date, have other partners, one-night stands, the lot. Ethical non-monogamy baby!
"This is also my first proper poly relationship (except having a few months of an open relationship) so I thought I'd share some of my thoughts!"
Jealousy isn't bad
There's a misconception that to have a successful poly relationship you can't be jealous, whereas in reality there will be moments of jealousy and there should be space for it. You're not going to suddenly lose the ability to feel jealous.Healthy relationships can absolutely still be had when there's security and trust between you and your poly partners alongside these moments of jealousy. Predictably, polyamory does need great communication.
I feel so much more secure
It makes me feel so good knowing my partner could literally do whatever they wanted, but they still want to date me. I trust they're doing exactly what they want to do, and I'm lucky I know that involves me in their life. I found trust so easy to find within polyamory compared to monogamy.Life balance comes more easily
I tend to get a little bit of tunnel vision when I'm exclusive with someone, and my life feels so much more well-rounded within poly relationships. It feels less like I'm a planet orbiting a star, or like I have some gravitational pull but I'm mostly centred around something else.
I enjoy my own company so much more
I'm not entirely sure why this is; maybe it's because the option of having company is always available to me. Maybe it's that I'm choosing to be alone rather than being subjected to it. Who's to say?Knowing that I'm not a horrible person
In all my adult monogamous relationships, I've brought up non-exclusivity, which has gone varying degrees of bad. I didn't feel guilt over it, because I knew and they knew I didn't bring it up because of a lack of caring about them or the relationship.However, I did feel as though I was losing something, or not reaching my fullest potential in those relationships, and that maybe I was letting us both down. It's such a relief knowing that polyamory is for me, that those feelings I got in monogamy were founded.
