We Love Budapest: You've performed in Budapest before. What do you think of the city and are you excited about coming back to Hungary?
Emancipator: Yes, I am excited to play on the A38 Ship because it is a unique venue with delicious espresso. I’m also thinking about the particular ruin pub across the city with the graffiti and table football that I’ve been to twice.
WLB: Will you have some free time to look around, and are you planning to do some sightseeing?
E: I have a day off before the show and I look forward to walking around and eating.
WLB: Can you describe the journey from self-releasing your debut album Soon It Will Be Cold Enough, personally burning CDs of it to sell in college, to where you are now?
E: This journey has been a dichotomy of relentless studio work and travelling the world to perform live. I’m grateful to have a creative purpose and the appreciation of fans around the world that allows for these opportunities. It honestly amazes me.
WLB: How would you describe new album Baralku?
E: Heavy on the hip-hop grooves with densely layered melodies. Equal parts abstract and classical.
WLB: The name of the new album is intriguing. In indigenous Australian mythology, Baralku is a spirit-land in the sky, where departed souls go after they die and build fires to let their loved ones know they have arrived safely in the afterlife. This is beautiful. Can you explain this choice?
E: The concept resonated with me as a 30-year-old man in the prime of my life trying make sense of it all, watching my parents age at the same time a new generation begins their long journey. At the same time, I was trying to make sense of what I’m doing musically and get in tune with what I’m creating. The metaphor is that each song lives eternally in a place in the musical universe and we can appreciate it at any time we listen.
WLB: Many have called your latest album your best work so far. Do you agree?
E: I feel it is some of my most authentic and well produced work in a long time.
WLB: What is the most important message of Baralku?
E: Reflection and intuition, especially as they relate to creativity.
WLB: What is your inspiration when you make music, does being a psychology graduate have anything to do with it?
E: Psychology and music overlap in many ways but my music-making process is based more on intuition than science. In school, I mostly enjoyed learning about the neuroscience behind how we hear sound and process music, as well as the physical properties of acoustics.
WLB: Do you have a special routine, something that you do before a concert?
E: I don’t have any rituals really, I mostly try to stay present and visualise what is about to happen.
WLB: What can the Budapest audience expect from your show?
E: A career-spanning set with heavy drums and live strings, keys and guitars.
WLB: What can we expect from the Emancipator Ensemble in the future?
E: Time will tell. I am focused on writing a lot of new material now, only some of which will translate well to the band.
WLB: Is there anything else you would be happy to share?
E: I’ve got an upcoming collaborative EP with 9 Theory called Cheeba Gold that I’m excited about. It has a boom bap feel with a lot of textures and timbres from vinyl samples.
Click here for more details and tickets to Emancipator's Budapest gig.
Megjelent első bookazine-unk, ne maradj le róla!
Már 15 éve lélegzünk összhangban a fővárossal. Jubileumi kiadványunkban mindent megtalálsz, ami magazinunk és eddigi munkánk esszenciája. Gasztronómia, kultúra, városi legendák és Budapest arcai, interjúk, történetek és a legjobb helyek – úgy, ahogyan mi látjuk a fővárost.
Rendeld meg itt vagy keresd a nagyobb könyvesboltokban!
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