The London-based producer E.M.M.A’s new track, “Bijoux de Diamants,” is inspired by Chanel’s 1932 jewelry collection, in which “[Coco Chanel] designed diamonds shaped like stars based on patterns in the road as she walked from the orphanage to school.” It’s an image that pairs well with a song defined by celestial melodies and a head-in-the-clouds mood.
“Bijoux de Diamants” opens with an ominous fog horn, then builds with its cool synths, underlined by delightfully off-kilter snare syncopations. The track could easily veer towards ambient with its atmospheric instrumentation, but she keeps it earthbound with an insistent bass line and needling percussion. In line with her inspiration, “Bijoux de Diamants” is indeed a dramatic and opulent song, but E.M.M.A. avoids the temptation of maximalism, and this focus bears itself out in the polished instrumental. If anything, E.M.M.A.’s controlled production style brings this song’s luxurious underpinnings to life.
