Emancipator - Safe in the Steep Cliffs
Fans of Emancipator will be well aware of this evolution from the first album, but for those of you who are new to his music altogether, please allow me to introduce him. Doug Appling was a 19 year old college student who decided to make a full length album of symphonic trip-hop music in his spare time. All sounds were created through his own hands and computer, with the exception of several vocals and Cindy Kao on violin, putting together an incredibly cohesive album that belied his age. Soon it will be Cold Enough was initially released by Doug himself in 2006, limited to only 500 copies. Nujabes discovered the album and stepped in, signing it to his Hydeout Productions label and remastering and re-releasing it in 2008. 5000 copies were sold within the first 6 months, an incredible achievement considering the humble beginnings.
After years of accolades for his debut album, we fast forward to 2010 to find the now 23 Emancipator’s sophomore album Safe in the Steep Cliffs. A serene symphony of notes washes over the listener on the opening track, Greenland, and we find ourselves in familiar territory of a sound that is categorically Emancipator’s own. The track quickly picks up into produced beats overlaid with unique noises and beautiful violin, creating a musical aura that doesn’t depart from the rest of the album.
Two of the three tracks that follow are rife with evidence of Uyama Hiroto, a jazz musician from Japan, and this guest star’s new genre provides a brilliant new addition to the arsenal of unique elements in Emancipator’s music. Soon thereafter we find Old Devil, which dares to introduce banjo to an album that two tracks ago was knee-deep in jazz influence. And it works, better than almost any other album I’ve ever heard. Old Devil is not only banjo though, laced throughout the track are familiar and not-quite so easy to place instruments that create a deliciously discordant and yet oh so competent sound.
Emancipator - Nevergreen
Nevergreen, the track that follows, returns to the simplicity of piano and a light beat with an incredible highlight of overlapping string instruments before introducing an unexpected and yet entirely plausible distorted electric guitar sample that intertwines with a cello. It’s this seamless integration of instruments and styles that makes Emancipator one of the most accomplished artists in the industry in 4 short years and 2 incredible albums. Safe in the Steep Cliffs is a record where the listener is engulfed in a stunning aural vacation for the entire album’s length, with great variety in the individual songs and yet an over-arching sound that links the entire album into one cohesive and beautiful listen.
The ninth track to appear on this new album, Rattlesnakes, provides yet another surprise, with a seemingly traditional Japanese instrumental integrated into the track, evident through a number of traditional instruments that are not regularly experienced in trip-hop. Nujabes’ influence, and consequently Uyama Hiroto’s style becomes apparent once again on tracks such as Hill Sighed, which reintroduces jazz elements but also the familiar string instruments and beats that Emancipator is synonymous with.
The final two tracks, Siren and the title track, Safe in the Steep Cliffs, see the album shift back to the traditional Emancipator format, but both do so in a refreshing manner that makes the two tracks as enjoyable to listen to as any of the more experimental songs. Final notes of the last track fade away into silence where the listener sits in awe at the preceding 14 tracks, punctuating the incredible achievement that this album is. It cannot come highly recommended enough. - Last.fm - Myspace -
