Chillax on the couch, sip on a warm cup of green tea and immerse your mind in Emancipator’s clean production of mellow break-beat rhythms. Emancipator’s music has a unique style of combining trip-hop roots with jazz, classical and electronic influences. Emancipator is best known for his subtle buildup/breakdown, headnodic beats, hypnotizing bass and extended harmonic patterns. The naturesque soundscapes of Emancipator’s music provide lucid imagery to the listener while supporting the compact layers of violins, electric/acoustic guitar, choirs, horns, bass, drums and piano.
Emancipator (Doug Appling) is a producer and musician from Portland, Oregon. Emancipator started violin lessons when he was 4 years old and later picked up the guitar, drums and bass. Growing up, he played in a few bands. When Appling was in high school, he started experimenting with music production software such as Acid Pro and Reason which really opened up new opportunities for him to create his own music and sounds.
At the age of 19, he self-released his first album, “Soon it Will Be Cold Enough,” in 2006. A Japanese producer by the name of Nujabes found interest in the “Soon it Will Be Cold Enough” album and was able to press and sell 5,000 copies in the first six months of release. The album blends violin strings with artful piano lines that resonate before the drum beat responds to set the perfect tempo, allowing the listener to discover the wintry setting that Emancipator has cleverly created. He played his first live show in 2009, opening for Bonobo, Eskmo, and Big Gigantic. Doug Appling said in a Lost in Sound interview,
“It’s been a thrill to play with so many artists I respect and have been listening to for years, and to discover a great number of new artists at the same time.” — Emancipator
Emancipator has recently received a Puma sponsorship and one of his songs titled “Maps” was played at the Bejing Olympics. His latest album “Safe In The Steep Cliffs” blends his signature sound with new instruments (banjo, horns, mandolin). Emancipator is distinguished in his ability to combine different sounds and layer them so smoothly. Tremolo strings start it off, which fade into a plucked guitar pattern accompanied with a strong bassline that follows the piano. Emancipator is able to lay down subtle breakbeat rhythms without disrupting the solid groove that is already in place. Doug Appling describes “Safe In The Steep Cliffs” on his website,
“This album has a new palette of sounds and samples from around the world, including more original recordings (guitar/violin/mandolin/banjo) and new guest artists including Japanese jazz musician Uyama Hiroto. It’s ominous and overgrown, dense and ethereal. And epic. Always epic.” — Emancipator
Appling seems to follow his signature formula for this album by creating electric guitar riffs that are thrown over the piano line. The guitar and piano fade out after a slight pause which leads to a mellow synth rhythm for a break until it reappears and fades again into the darkness of a forestry landscape that has been painted for the listener. Emancipator’s ability to guide the flow of a tune naturally by layering different sound elements on top of a cadent drumbeat creates an intriguing experience for any instrumentalist or trip-hop fan.
