welcome to the world of london & lagos-based producer and visual artist emænuel. for the edition no. 230, emænuel showcases his expansive output with an all production mix that starts with a dark and smokey energy before the veil lifts into a swampier yet lighter mood. the running theme throughout is that these tracks are drawn from soundsystem culture and channel the powerful energy of low end frequencies.
emænuel’s production debut was a self-released project, ‘tatu’, that leaned more into ambient soundscapes. that was shortly followed by a release on the much-loved imprint all centre with the ‘contact 7’ two-tracker, tapping more into glitchy, loopy low energy yet club-ready tracks. since then, emænuel has appeared on glasgow’s redstone press with ‘salt heart’ single contribution and the full ep ‘salt’ featuring a kelman duran remix, who’s label – scorpio red – he released on in early 2023. along with producing two soundtracks for lagos space programme, emænuel is a visual artist who’s work taps into a similar realm as his compositions, an constant exploration of textures and narratives that bring different shards of genres together. in the interview below emænuel says, “currently i’m interested in the textures of the synthetic and ephemeral; smoke, plastic, metals etc.i’m focusing on pulling that all together in the future.” never laying all of his cards on the table, his work usually leaves you with more questions about the story behind the piece.
hey gbeke! how are you doing? what have you been up to lately?
hey chanel! i’m doing well. i’ve been enjoying the sun and making music.
let’s start from the very beginning, what was your first introduction to music in general and then more specifically electronic music?
i would probably say carnival in a broad sense, seeing the actual equipment work at that scale. distilled into a moment? yeezus was probably it for me because all the sounds were so unrecognizable i started to look at the liner notes, and everyone who worked on that album was enough of a kaleidoscope to keep the journey rolling.
who was the first artist or band that you were a fan of?
50 cent probably, i think get rich or die trying must’ve been the first album i snuck away from my uncles, but the massacre is probably my favourite of his.
was there a formative moment growing up, whether that’s seeing your favourite band live or an incredible dj set, that led you to this path?
probably the first wow moment was just blaze at sneaky pete’s a long time ago, i wasn’t making music then but it was enough of a kick that changed everything. local nights in glasgow were amazing too, some of the best dj’s you’d see because they weren’t playing for anything else other than the music.
what is the most meaningful part of being an artist to you?
trying to illustrate disparate parts of your own psyche and emotions, and piecing that into something tangible.
where do you look for sources of inspiration outside of music?
images – paintings, photographs and sculptures. i still crawl through tumblr. images help guide the music or at least its curation. poetry too gives a good knock when needed.
how has both lagos and london inspired your artistic output?
london’s musical culture and communities are a giant library of both local and international scenes. there’s a lot of depth to it. lagos is a lot more traditional and the inspiration comes from its historical context. a lot of the traditional music still exists as ‘dance’ music at weddings, birthdays, burials etc. although pop music has been pulling inspiration further away from the city for a while now.
what is your approach to your production process?
i sketch everything, i will keep random drum loops, images, synth presets and sporadic recordings in an archive. it all comes together when you decide to actually put it together. i haven’t made anything in a very structured manner yet, i think the arrangements come after, although i’m trying to be a bit more selective in that department.
what story are you trying to tell through your music and visual arts?
i don’t have an answer in terms of story but as i go along i realise i’m just trying to craft an image, and the process is a sort of tapestry. moods of euphoria, sensuality and a lot of anxiety are what interests me. currently i’m interested in the textures of the synthetic and ephemeral; smoke, plastic, metals etc.i’m focusing on pulling that all together in the future.
what has been your most recent musical discovery that you’re obsessed with?
not recent but dawuna’s stuff has been a revelation.
you’ve also contributed a mix for the 909 series, what’s the concept behind this one?
it’s a mix of a lot of what i’ve produced over the past few years. i’ve been a bit more intentional with the instruments and structures i use so this mix is more a curation of the soundsystem focused things i’ve been made in the past, bass smoke and sirens.
when was the last time you were on the dance floor?
the last memorable dj set was at the 5gt birthday party at ormside, everyone was really good.
what are you most excited about right now?
baile funk and tequila
what’s on your vision board at the moment?
soundsystems, tobacco farms, archie shepp and david cronenberg
tracklist:
quiet [scorpio red]
small hand [unreleased]
nomos three [unreleased]
redemption [unreleased]
fake shoes, reinforced love [unreleased]
skin face [redston press]
acid voices [scorpio red]
b-love [unreleased]
sudden splits -alt [scorpio red]
lyra [unreleased]
oil [unreleased]
cursive [unreleased]
skin two – alt mix [unreleased]
cackled [scorio red]
sudden splits – kelman duran remix [redstone press]
salt – dub version [unreleased]
Photo by Matteo Favero