Back in 2010 I used to listen to Emancipator’s Safe in the Steep Cliffs album quite a bit, and have been checking out Emancipator’s releases ever since. Emancipator’s instrumental hip hop music has a very special tone – it’s a nice mix of natural, manufactured and altered sounds. The main tone is still very much organic, and I always keep thinking about exotic forests when I listen to Emancipator.
Cheeba Gold EP was co-written by 9 Theory, and the two seem to be a very good match. Unlike Emancipator, 9 Theory usually has vocals on his tracks, but on Cheeba Gold the songs are instrumental, in true Emancipator fashion.
By the way! If you're into pop music, you might want to check out our Fresh Electronic Pop playlist on Spotify
I wouldn’t call Cheeba Gold a huge step in any new direction, but it’s one of Emancipator’s best. The overall tone is warmer than on Baralku, for example. Cheeba Gold is a bit less dramatic than many of Emancipator’s releases. Less strings, more guitars and vocal bits.
The songs take you on a trip, and listening to these mellow beats and otherworldly echoes feels like flying across some misty tropical mountains and landing on the upper branches of a kapok tree to touch the raindrops on the leaves. Everything seems easier when listening to this EP. Even without lyrics, these songs sound hopeful.
I think this release truly deserves to be heard, because there aren’t many other artists who can make you feel this way.