Ema - Ownership
Two guitars weave a circular pattern, evoking maybe a little South Africa, maybe a little West Africa, maybe a little Mississippi delta. Then there's this infectious rhythm being scraped on a...is that a piece of rebar? The pulse carries with it, a small ensemble of traditional African instruments - mbira, nyenyeru, hand gourd. A powerful, emotionally urgent voice sings of self-doubt and reversal of fortunes. In the blink of a gentle pre-chorus, the seemingly traditional African kaleidescope has transformed into a full on, power chord crunching rock band, driven as much by the staccato Senegalese sabar drums and South African vocal stylings as the intense groove of the rhythm section. Singer / songwriter Ema has arrived and he's brought with him, the elegantly explosive, majestically raw, culture bending, world rock debut album "Ownership"
With one foot planted firmly in the rock world and the other in the vibrant musical realm of his beloved 2nd home, South Africa, Ema crafts songs that deftly blur cultural boundaries and seamlessly forge together the rock and world genres, creating striking "ethno-sonic" landscapes that compliment his thought-provoking lyrics and potent voice. Powerful contemporary rock arrangements are combined with world traditions from South Africa, Senegal, Morocco, the Caribbean and Brazil (to name just a few), enhanced with rich South African vocal stylings and punctuated with searing guitar and soaring sax solos to create an unapologetically "slammin" brand of "world rock".
Masterfully crafted songs, thought provoking themes, infectious melodies, thunderous drum ensembles, dramatic guitars, soaring South African vocals and a charismatic world citizen from New Jersey all combine to create a brand of cross-cultural rock that's like "WORLD MUSIC ON JET FUEL!!!"
Click thumbnail to read Ema's Interview with Donald Paul - editor of The Big Issue - a socially responsible magazine that provides an economic engine for marginalized people in Cape Town while maintaining quality journalism and the highest of publishing standards.