Headstash

Photo Courtesy of Emancipator's Facebook

Ambient, ethereal and melodic with a hint of bass and underlying hip-hop beats, Emancipator is quickly becoming one of the most well-respected and versatile performers in the elctronic music scene.

His music can be as soft and comforting as raging and deep with a wide range of sounds that go beyond the typical – and limiting – classifications.

Emancipator, real name Doug Appling, is joined by a violinist in the live setting, creating a fuller and more unique sound than almost all of his peers.

[FIND news, downloads and tour dates on Emancipator's official website.]

Photo Courtesy of Emancipator's Facebook

Now off on an ambitious winter coast-to-coast tour with Little People, Appling hopes to continue to impress stateside after already gaining some heavy recognition in Asia. His first album was released in Japan to massive critical accolades and his song was featured during the 2008 Beijing Olymipics.

Headstash Magazine caught up with Appling at the start of his tour to discuss the how he creates such powerful tracks, where he sees the future of electronic music, his views on music piracy and how he’s been influenced by artists across the spectrum – including Enya.

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Headstash Magazine: How’s the tour going so far?

Emancipator: The tour is going great so far. We're about seven days in and we got big shows coming up today and tomorrow.

HM: Looking at the list of cities, you guys are going over the place. Do you approach shows in the Northeast and Midwest and South differently?

E: It's not so much based on the region as it is just the nature of the event. That’s how I tailor what kind of music I'm playing. If it's just the night set or the headlining set or an opening set. That’s more of a factor than the region.

HM: For those who haven’t seen you live before, talk about what a typical Emancipator show is all about.

E: Basically on this tour, I'm going to be controlling my tracks, DJing and I'm going to have Ilya Goldberg performing with me with live violin. We will also have great visuals on this tour like video mass projections onto rectangular panels.

Photo Courtesy of Emancipator's Facebook

As far as the music, it's going to be a mixture of classic stuff off the first album, some of my favorites off “Safe In The Steep Cliffs” and “Remixes” album as well as a lot of upcoming tracks off the new album and some remixes I've released so far.

HM: I definitely think having Ilya on stage with you is really one of the things that strikes people right away when they see you for the first time. Talk about what that brings to your music and to your live performance.

E: It brings the songs to life in a way. I think it's really important to have that aspect. Ilya is awesome. Sometimes he'll be playing the parts that will sound familiar off the albums and a lot of times he’ll just improvise over the tracks and come over the top for melodies. It kind of acts as a glue in bringing the tracks together in a consistent way.

HM: Your music really runs the gamut – it’s music you can dance to, music you can chill and bob your head to, music you can listen to in the car, in bed, at parties. Is the vibe at each particular show reflective of that?

E: Yeah, definitely especially with headlining sets we have the opportunity to kind of those varities of styles and tempos. It’s been really fun as far as that goes to be able to kind of build our sets in a more dynamic way.

[FOLLOW Emancipator on Facebook.]

Usually we have a good idea of what we're doing going into it, but you never know what's going to happen on the fly especially towards the end of the set.

HM: With dubstep and the harsher bass electronic music blowing up, where do you see your music, the more relaxed, ambient stuff fitting in? Do you think it’s an advantage that you’re more versatile and can incorporate a wider variety of styles?

Photo Courtesy of Emancipator's Facebook

E: Definitely. Now that dubstep has permeated the electronic music scene, I think that has opened a lot of ears to electronic music in general and meanwhile I'm kind of been holidng down this downtempo niche. It's basically opening my music to a wider.

Meanwhile, within my own music, I think the advantage is that I'm able to draw upon a variety of instruments and genres and integrate them into my own style. So the style is varied and you can see it from track to track, but it'll still have a similar feel to the music.

HM: With the advent of technology and software so accessible, electronic artists and DJs are popping up all over. Talk about what makes your sound unique and you unique as an artist.

E: That's a good question. I mean, every producer has their own unique sound based on how they created the tracks. I taught myself how to produce music so I think I have a unique sound.

My music is usually pretty layered compared to a lot of electronic music. I think that adds a lot of depth to not just the actual sound but how it makes people feel. It’s a lot of musical information at one time.

HM: You’re still in your mid-20s right now, so you got started pretty young. When did you first realize you had a talent for this and what skills did you see you had that made you think you could succeed?

E: I remember there was a time, I was probably 13 or something like that, when I had an idea about creating electronic music and just wondering what if it was possible if I could take a bass line and combine it over this drum beats that I had in my head. I was using my imagination to hear these songs and I didn't even know was possible for someone individually to create it on their computer and produce it layer by layer and piece by piece.

[BUY Emancipator's albums via BandCamp.]

A year later, I actually came across a bunch of programs like a drum machine and software and I started realizing the idea I had was actually possible and that people were already doing it. Then I spent all my time just making tracks.

HM: What was the catalyst that made it go from a hobby to something you wanted to persue as a career?

E: Basically I just kept making tracks until I realize I had enough consistent songs to create an album with my name on it. That was the first step. At the time I had no idea what it would take to turn something like that into a career or pursue that. I was happy just creating the music and getting people listening to it and receiving feedback.

The catalyst came when somebody in Japan discovered my album and brought me out there for a tour and released our record. Two years later it was rereleased in the United States and that's when I started making more money off of it and playing shows. Now, it's definitely a career.

HM: Your music really evokes a lot of powerful emotions and each song seems to carry a different feeling or tell a different story. How do you go about creating your tracks?

E: It is a very natural progression the way the songs are built. I usually start with a piece of sound and then hearing that will suggest a new song that will complement it and I'll go find that sound and add it in and see if it works.

Photo Courtesy of Emancipator's Facebook

I noticed that a lot of my songs, almost 90 percent of my songs, are in a minor key. I didn't plan it that way but that's just how it turned out.

HM: What's your musical background? Do you play any instruments?

E: Yeah, I started playing violin when I four. I took lessons for about eight years and then I got more interested in guitar then drums and bass and rock instruments. I started recording those into a four-track mixer trying to make my own punk rock song.

For the past nine years, I've been getting my hands on a lot of different instruments just to have in the studio but I’m originally a classically trained violinist.

HM: How has your music changed from that initial trip to Japan to now and how do you see it continuing to change?

E: It seems to be evolving on the upcoming album especially. I'm not really charting a course for the style of music that I plan on making. It seems like every time I sit down I'll be sort of weird and open up a folder of sounds and just keep it going. You should definitely expect it to evolve. I don't know if I'll ever make the same kind of album twice.

HM: What are some of your career highlights so far?

E: The first thing that comes to mind was when I was watching the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and I heard my song play in the background in the gymnastics stadium. I double checked online and confirmed that somehow they were playing my song in the Beijing stadium. That was a really crazy moment for me.

[FIND complete lineups, ticketing information and analysis in our 2012 Festival Guide.]

One of my first shows in the United States was an after-party in Colorado and I got picked up at the airport by Amon Tobin, one of my biggest influences and at that moment I really felt that I was a part of something special.

HM: So what kind of electronic music are you listening to right now?

E: Almost every music out there is electronic in its own way. Actually, I’ll look in my iTunes right now and see what I have. Bonobo and Four Tet and Bluetech.

HM: In that same vein, Skrillex recently mentioned an Aphex Twin song was his favorite and his fans were surprised (and wondering where the drop was). Is there any influence of yours people might be surprised to hear?

E: I’ll go ahead and say Enya and Ace of Base.

HM: Where do you see electronic music kind of in the future? Do you see it just continuing to rise?

E: Definitely. It seems like it's just starting to break through into the mainstream and a genre like this takes five to ten years to completely evolve into something else.

HM: I’ll get you out on this one. Music piracy is on everyone’s mind with bills like SOPA and PIPA makign their way through Congress. What are your thoughts on the issue?

E: I’d be a hypocrite if I said I’m against it. I find a lot of music that way, too. I can accept the fact that no matter what my music is going to be passed around and shared on the Internet so I really don't get upset about it.

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If they are really passionate about an artist's work then they should support it and buy an album or a ticket to the show. Artists really do need that support. But at the same time people should be able to explore music freely and find it on the Internet without feeling like they're stealing something.

I'm really looking forward to sharing my new works and I really appreciate all the support I've had so far.

HM: Thanks, man. I really appreciate the time. Good luck with the tour.

E: No worries. Thanks for the interview.

 

 

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Catch Emancipator as he continues his tour on February 1 at The Blockley in Philadelphia, PA and February 2 at the Highline Ballroom in New York City. For more information on the NYC date, check out The Brain Trust. For a complete list of dates, go to his official website.