Safe In The Steep Cliffs - Emancipator (2010)

ideated from: a favorite album that starts with ‘S’.

Doug Appling, aka Emancipator, has been my top listened-to artist on Spotify for maybe 4 of the 7 years I’ve been on the platform. They told me this year that I was in the top 0.5% of Emancipator listeners, so I guess if I ever meet him I can actually have a claim to be one of his biggest fans. I heard a track from his first record as the soundtrack to a Youtube video that I don’t even remember anymore (update: actually…), and braved the comments section to find out what the track was. I understand if you’re not into it, but it’s like Emancipator makes music attuned to my brain.

This record, in particular, is where I got the idea of tracking “concentration music” as I do. I realized how much more I could get done and how much more clearly I could think with this record on vs. blasting metal or punk or hip hop.

It’s hard to tell what’s sampled and what’s organic. He plays multiple instruments and has some guest musicians, but some of it is also layered in in production.

The record is perfectly paced, with the occasional quiet section or drum carve-out or new sound coming into the mix just when it’s about to start feeling monotonous. It’s muscular without being overwhelming, varied without being all over the place, and rewards repeated listenings in a way that few other records do.

Tracks I Liked

They’re all great, but Black Lake, Nevergreen, and Ares are personal favorites.