Emily Burns is leaning all the way into her hard-won independence, and it shows.
On her latest single ‘1999’, the acclaimed British singer-songwriter bottles up a rush of late-’90s nostalgia and lets it fizz over into a sleek, hook-laden pop anthem. It’s playful but wistful, a track that finds Burns reaching back for the simplicity and wide-eyed ease of youth – while sounding more self-assured than ever in the present.
“’1999’ was written at the end of a long day in the studio with my friend Jacob, which slowly turned from songwriting into a proper heart-to-heart,” Emily says of the singles origins. “We found ourselves talking about the pressures that can come with adult life, trying to keep everything afloat in a fast-paced city like London, where everything can feel pretty relentless at times.”
“Off the back of that conversation, we set a 30-minute timer and challenged ourselves to write whatever came out. The song arrived almost instinctively. It became a nostalgic, slightly tongue-in-cheek reflection on growing up. An ode to simpler times before responsibilities kicked in… full of honesty, and that quiet feeling of wishing things were just a bit easier.”
Listen to ‘1999’ below:
To celebrate the launch of ‘1999’ – which serves as the follow up to previous single release ‘Woodwork’ – Emily played her first live set since becoming an independent artist at Banquet Records Kingston as part of Record Store Day 2026.
Speaking ahead of her highly anticipated appearance Banquet Records owner Jon Tolley said: “It’s great that Emily can join us for our extensive Record Store Day sessions. It will be an amazing day and set to be our biggest yet.”
Download / stream ‘1999’ here
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