Ainjel Emme

After releasing two independent solo albums, Ainjel stepped back from her efforts as a singer-songwriter to pursue a studio career. She found work as a production assistant at Threshold Sound + Vision (formerly Scotti Brothers Records), which led to a job in the studio at Interscope Geffen A&M in Los Angeles, where she worked as an engineering and studio assistant for three years. In 2015, she co-founded Block of Joy, a multimedia production house and private recording studio. She has since become a respected vocal specialist and indie record producer.

"The Down Song" was featured during the opening sequence of R. Ellis Frazier's feature, "Dead Drop" (2013). "Straight To Hell" and "The Priest" were featured on episodes of MTV's Teen Mom.

In 2011-2012, Ainjel published a live series of cover songs on YouTube. Her version of "Disarm" by Smashing Pumpkins was selected in 2013 to lead the playlist of covers on the band's official YouTube page, where it is still #1. Her performance of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" was licensed by Lifetime to promote their 2016 movie adaptation of My Sweet Audrina.

Everyone is Beautiful was written and recorded in Los Angeles. After leaving Austin in 2004, Ainjel took a job waiting tables in Venice and began tracking new material with her friend, Rob Black, an aspiring recording engineer who worked in the kitchen at the same restaurant. Musical guests on this record include Steve Postell (resonator), Chris Joyner (keys), Alex Balderston (bass), Ray Prim (vocals), Richard Sherwood (drums), Terence Leclere (harmonium), and April Stephens (violin). The album was mixed by Todd Bergman and mastered by Gil Tamazyan.

In 2003, Ainjel independently released her debut album, Heartache is Boring. Recorded at Willie Nelson's Pedernales Country Club studio and co-produced with Mat Mitchell (Puscifer, Nine Inch Nails) and Kyle Ellison (Meat Puppets, Butthole Surfers), Heartache received positive critical acclaim and was named as one of the Top 10 CDs of the Year at Austin's KUT 90.5 FM. The album features Gabriel Garza on bass and Kyle Schneider on drums, with the exception of the single "Long As It's Sweet," on which Ainjel performed all instrumental duties. The album was mastered by Jim Wilson and Brian Gardner.

In the 2000s, Ainjel established herself as an independent recording artist. Her musical style lies somewhere between roots rock and indie, but she often ventures into pop, electronic music, folk, and even metal. She is a mezzo-soprano and plays acoustic and electric guitar, bass, piano, and drums. Though she has backed off of releasing her own original music in favor of her career as a producer and engineer, she still occasionally releases songs and performs around Los Angeles (both solo and as an accompanist).

Born in Martinez, California, Ainjel Emme (pronounced "angel em") spent her childhood in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, and Venice, California before landing in Austin, Texas in 1991. Though she initially came to prominence as a singer-songwriter, Ainjel is also a multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and audio engineer.

Ainjel Emme (born September 28, 1978) is an American musician, producer, songwriter, and recording engineer.