Interview with Emanuel.
Interviewed by: Sarah Evangelista
Meet Emanuel.
Emanuel is a Canadian artist whose music he describes his music as “renaissance of beautiful black art in the world”. He just released his debut album ALT THERAPY, and it’s breathtaking. We got the chance to chat with him about his artistry and the project.
You describe your music as ‘wine that renews herself and is true to her flavor always’, did it take some experimenting to start creating music you actually enjoy?
It took years of experimenting and exploring for me to record something that I enjoyed listening to. I think of that statement I made as more of a goal. I want to make timeless music.
Growing up with parents who love music, they probably influenced your passion for music as well. What is your fondest musical memory?
One of my fondest memories with my father is listening to music and singing along on long drives. Music really brought out a childish side of him that was so much fun to be around.
With ALT THERAPY being your debut album, how do you feel the project introduces who you are as an artist and a person, as well?
I really want to let the sound speak for itself more than anything. I put my heart and soul into the project. I’m hoping people can relate to the struggles, to the triumph and all of the wisdom found along the way.
You’re speaking a lot about healing and other topics during this project, what main messages do you want listeners to take away with ALT THERAPY?
I’m not a doctor but I believe ALT THERAPY can be a tool for healing in the capacity that testimonials can be healing. This music is in no way meant to try and heal people. God willing people find the peace to experience real healing while the music soothes them. Like I’ve experienced so many times with some of my favorite artwork.
Which tracks were the easiest / hardest to create off of the album?
“Thought It’d Be Easy” is the first song that was created off the album. We made the majority of the song live-off-the-floor in a freestyle in one take. “Worldwide” was created almost four years ago and wasn’t complete until about a week before it dropped. It’s hard for me to measure songs by how “hard” or “difficult” they are to make but I hope this serves as a good answer.
Let’s talk about the last track from the record, “I Been,” it’s around 9 minutes, and it’s breathtaking. Did you have the intention to end it off with a longer track, or was it something that just happened during the creative process?
“I Been” was definitely a late entry to the album. During the process of creating the album I went through so many possible ways for how we could end it. I chose to end the album with a song about love. I wanted to end the journey of the album for the listeners the way it ended for me. I think that’s a fitting end.
If ALT THERAPY had the persona of an animal, which do you think it would be?
If I could pick two animals, it would be a dove and a snake. I think the snake represents the ways I’ve wronged others and felt I’d been wronged. The dove represents the end of that cycle. It represents God offering me new life.
Our music website loves up and coming artists / bands, who are your favorites right now?
- Master Peace
- Joy Crookes
- Mach-Hommy
- Lady Wray
- Q
- Majo
Connect with Emanuel: Instagram