Artist: Emanuel Casablanca
Album: Blood On My Hands
Label: Kings County Blues
Year Of Release: 2022
Format: FLAC (tracks+.cue)
Tracklist:
1. Afraid Of Blood (3:49)
2. In Blood (Feat. Paul Gilbert) (4:07)
3. Blood On My HandsIn Blood (Feat. Eric Gales) (3:40)
4. Like A Pulse (Feat. Kat Riggins & Sanga Of The Valley) (5:13)
5. Bloodshot Eyes (Feat. Albert Castiglia) (3:43)
6. Nashville (Feat. Felix Slim) (3:09)
7. Sunday Talks (3:31)
8. Thicker Than Blood (3:16)
9. Anna Lee (Feat. Jimmy Carpenter) (3:52)
10. Testify (Feat. Brother Dave) (3:38)
11. Devil’s Blood (Feat. Felix Slim) (4:01)
12. Blood Money (2:35)
13. Fantasies (3:10)
14. My Nerves (4:03)
15. Shakey Tables (4:02)
16. Rottenpockets (3:51)
Emanuel’s debut album, ‘Blood On My Hands,’ allows him to shine in the spotlight, share his skills and allow his talents as a singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist to advance to front and center. It’s an eloquent and expressive set of sixteen songs, each offering different sides of his persona and bringing his ideas and intents to the surface. To aid in the delivery, Emanuel enlisted an exceptional cast of collaborators, they included guitar greats Eric Gales, Paul Gilbert, Albert Castiglia, saxophonist Jimmy Carpenter, and vocalist Kat Riggins.
“I made it a point with this album to try to explore the essence of an imperfect past,” Emanuel insists. “There are things that I’ve done that I’ve tried to repent for, and in exorcising those demons, I’ve attempted to come clean and reveal my true self, despite all the flaws and imperfections.” The material runs the gamut from the insistent sounds of “My Nerves,” “Shaky Tables,” “Afraid of Blood,” “Testify,” and “Devil’s Blood,” to the riveting blues of “Bloodshot Eyes” and “Annabel.”
Emanuel singles out several tracks that bear special significance. He describes the emphatic title track as a reflection of a time and place in his life. He calls the steady and insistent “In Blood” a song he particularly enjoys performing in concert. The slash and burn assault, “Sunday Talks,” dates from 2014, a track he’s played live but has never recorded. On the other hand, the tender, acoustic ballad “Like A Pulse” is among his newest entries. “It’s about my love for my girlfriend Natalija,” Emanuel explains. “It’s about the way she inspires me and manages to keep me moving.”
A series of fortuitous circumstances ensured that there would no longer be any doubt about his commitment. One of the musicians he fell in with was Kevin Jenkins, the bassist for blues singer Shemekia Copeland and a man who became a mentor. Emanuel began writing songs. A chance encounter with Rolling Stone Ron Wood at his art studio in Soho led, in turn, to an invitation to attend a concert by Bernard Fowler. A meeting with Fowler’s manager widened his horizons. He soon found himself traveling in the company of Eric Gales, Doug Wimbish, and other professional musicians who were among the leading lights of New York City’s flourishing music community.
Emanuel found his reputation on the rise, both in New York and West Germany, where he spent time with extended family. A record label came calling, eventually leading Emanuel to record his first EP; It’s Getting Strange. The record won well received, with All About Jazz declaring, “Emanuel Casablanca is a singer-songwriter from Brooklyn who displays a classic sense of experience that belies his relatively young age while invoking prime characteristics of iconic blues and soul artists. The result is a solid and innovative album that carries more down-home southern-based traits than a metropolitan-manufactured product.” Music Mecca cited his skill for delivering “hard-hitting and old-school blues riffs that would make his predecessors proud.” Master & Dynamic magazine called him “a rising entrepreneur determined to keep the blues genre alive in our current cultural zeitgeist. With electrifying guitar riffs and transcendent lyrics mined from blues and Hip-Hop heavyweights….”
