Education
Emma's family moved frequently, and she attended multiple schools in New South Wales and WA, with an extended time spent at North Newtown Primary.
Emma's family moved frequently, and she attended multiple schools in New South Wales and WA, with an extended time spent at North Newtown Primary.
In late 1999, Donovan formed the vocal acoustic band Stiff Gins with Nardi Simpson and Kaleena Briggs after meeting at the Eora College. They released their first EP, Soh Fa, on Sony Records in 2000.
Donovan co-wrote their second release, the full album Origins. The album won the 2000 Deadly Award for Most Promising New Talent. Their single "Morning Star" won the Deadly's Best Single Release in 2001.
After touring both nationally and internationally, Donovan left the group in 2003 to work on solo material with industry proessionals.
Donovan released her debut solo album Changes in 2004. The Sydney launch of the album was well-received.
In 2006 Donovan went into the studio to record three songs with long time writing writing partner Yanya Boston, a drummer she had met while performing with the Stiff Gins. She also worked with Rob Wolf and Adam Ventoura. Among the songs were "Lonely" and "He's Just A Kid." At the time she was a participant in the Music NSW industry program Which Way.
Donovan was invited to become the youngest member of The Black Arm Band in 2007. The traveling group performed a stage musical called Murundak/Alive - The Black Arm Band, which reproduced iconic songs of the Aboriginal resistance movement. The show toured England and Canada to great acclaim. The cast consists of a rotating line-up of Australian indigenous musicians, and in 2007 murundak won the Helpmann Award for Best Contemporary Music Concert for murundak.
Simultaneously while working on murundaki in 2007, Donovan was working on more of her own material with drummer Yanya Boston. The pair co-wrote the single "Ngarranga - Remember", intended as a prayer to acknowledge the Stolen Generations experience. It was initially released on the Kimberly Stolen Generation Corporation's 2007 compilation CD Cry Stolen.
By April 2008, Donovan was working with industry veteran Vicki Gordon of VGM Media and Marketing. Together they created a gospel remix of the single "Ngarranga - Remember," along with four other songs to create a 5 track EP. The EP, Ngarraanga (Remember), or Ngarraanga Ngiinundi Yuludarra (Remember Your Dreaming), is intended as a tribute to the Stolen Generations. The songs include Donovan's traditional language, as well as spoken words from her Uncle Harry Buchanan and backing vocals from Gary Pinto and Juanita Tippins. The EP was released by MGM on National Sorry Day on 26 May 2009. A music video to accompany the "Ngarranga" single was filmed at Carriageworks performance space in Redfern, New South Wales, starring Donovan and Torres Strait Islander dancer Albert David. It is interwoven with archival footage.