Soul Tracks world premiere
Soul Tracks had the world premiere of the powerful collaboration of Emmer with legendary jazz singer and pianist Andy Bey. Stephen tells us about ‘A New Day To Come‘. “Andy Bey is an overlooked legend, who at a young age already was called by the late great John Coltrane ‘his favourite voice’, here. With his now very experienced and seasoned vocal performance he brings a message of hope, and in a very soulful way hitting all the right marks.” – [Stephen Emmer]
Inspiration
The Home Ground album got inspired by music arrangers such as; Charles Stepney, David Van de Pitte, Dale Warren, Gene Page and Johnny Allen. All of whom were adventurous in their, almost cinematic, use of the orchestra for soul music and gave it more sophistication and refinement. This serves in providing a more dramatic musical backdrop to the actual message of the words. The composers and artists of that era often decided to embed the harsh meaning of their words in a less aggressive, more soothing kind of musicality. Rather then sending off angry lyrics with angry music, acting as an iron fist in a velvet glove.
Strongly recommended
Stephen Emmer’s empathy for the plight of the world’s uprooted was likely sparked by his experience as a child who traveled the world with his ballerina mother. Her travels took him to India, where he saw the value of diversity and cultural exchange. The lessons that Emmer learned while traveling with his mother and as an artist in his own right are being challenged daily both in all parts of the world, With Home Ground Emmer and his collaborators have created an eloquent and entertaining rebuttal to the voices of nativism and intolerance. Strongly Recommended.
[Howard Dukes – Soul Tracks]
Release date : 28 April 2017
