Emancipator Announces 2018 Nationwide Tour

Article Contributed by UG Strategies | Published on Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Announces 2018 Nationwide Tour with the Full Emancipator Ensemble

Emancipator (Doug Appling) releases 'Baralku,' the third single and title track from his 14 track LP out on his Loci Records imprint November 17. The string-heavy, softly layered stunner "Baralku" premiering on This Song Is Sick, follows the moody 'Ghost Pong' and jazzy 'Goodness' lead singles. The classically trained electronic artist and producer also announces a 25-date 'Baralku Tour,' featuring his five-piece Emancipator Ensemble, kicking off on January 30, 2018.

Emancipator, who has regularly sold out venues across the country, just headlined Colorado’s iconic 10,000 seat Red Rocks Amphitheater this August. In each live performance, Emancipator harks back to his college jam band days, honoring the need for structure while allowing room for improvisation. With his five-piece band, Appling artfully balances seamless instrumentation with each crowd's unique, vibrant energy.

"We carve out parts of the show for improvisation. "A lot of the parts that end up being incorporated into the songs later on come out of these improv spaces. We'll play something live and decide, 'That sounded great,' so we start playing it like that at the next show."

Inspired by the astral “island” some aboriginal societies believe to be our spiritual home after death, 'Baralku' synthesizes downtempo hip-hop beats, world music elements, and field recordings, as well as jazz, folk, and classical influences into a transcendent hybrid of lush, nuanced, and ethereal compositions. “No part of his fusion is forced,” the New York Times has proclaimed. “While many attempts to merge classical melodicism with dance music sound awkward and gimmicky...Emancipator has found a balance.”

“Music takes me to places, and each song is a spirit island on which its soul lives infinitely,” says Emancipator of the album’s formerly secretive title and his inspiration for this album. “To release a song is both a death and a birth at the same time,” he adds. “The sounds contained in each song have reached the end of their life process. The once shapeshifting collage of expression has been crystallized into a final form, no longer kinetic. Yet it exists in a state of permanent potential energy, waiting to be accessed in the form of music, just as the memory of a departed soul will always have the power to move us.”

Falling in love with hip-hop, jazz, and world music, while learning violin, Emancipator has been honing his sound since his highly acclaimed 2006 debut, Soon It Will Be Cold Enough. In the decade since, his unique amalgamation of styles has generated steadily escalating buzz. On the strength of four albums–Soon It Will Be Cold Enough (2006), Safe In The Steep Cliffs (2010), Dusk to Dawn (2013), and Seven Seas (2015)–plus several remixes and EPs.

His 'Baralku' album was released on November 17, 2017 via Emancipator’s own record label, Loci Records, launched in 2012.

Complete List of 2018 Tour Dates Below:

1/30 - Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground

1/31 - Boston, MA @ Paradise

2/1 - New York, NY @ Brooklyn Steel

2/2 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts

2/3 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club

2/7 - Milwaukee, WI @ Miramar Theatre

2/8 - Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre

2/9 - Chicago, IL @ Concord Music Hall

2/10 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe

2/14 - Birmingham, AL @ WorkPlay