Esperanza Emily Spalding has recently published her album "Emily's D+Evolution"(about two months ago), and I have to say... In this album, Esperanza Spalding is on a whole another level! It is not the same Esperanza that we were used to hearing before. She is singing through her alter ego, known as "Emily," (enthusiastic and passionate young girl that is ready to take adventures) which brings a new energy, showing a different side of her character and personality, but still she keeps her style of phrasing and uniqueness.
Emily's D+Evolution is her fifth studio album. The Album includes 12 tracks of which Spalding writes 11 of them. Once again she proves how talented she is, and what happens when talent meets hard work. In this album, she works with Corey King, Emily Elbert, Nadia Washington, Celeste Butler, Fred Martin, and Katriz Trinidad on the backing vocals, Matthew Stevens on the guitar, and Karriem Riggins (also Justin Tyson) on drums and percussion. The album was co-produced by Esperanza and Tony Visconti (who was a David Bowie's long-time friend and collaborator). An interesting fact is that David Bowie's fifth album "Ziggy Stardust" is an also story of Bowie's alter ego which brought him worldwide popularity. Coincidence? Maybe, who knows.
As she was promoting her new album, an interviewer asked Esperanza Spalding: What is "D + Evolution" about? - She answered: -I look at it like... Space where devolution and evolution are mutually informative because we don't know which way Evolution is going, we don't know which way time is going. It's the idea that the progress is a combination of going backward and going forward.In another interview, Spalding stated about Emily that she is a spirit, or a being, or an aspect which she met, or became aware of. - "I recognize that my job is to be her arms and ears and voice and body."
The album is a mix of different genres. There are elements of math rock, progressive rock, art rock, funk to contemporary jazz, jazz fusion. All songs have a complex texture especially the harmony, rhythm, and the musical form.
The first single of the album is "Good Lava". This opening track belongs to the math rock genre, including complex rhythms, excellent backing vocals, and precise bass licks creating a great grooving beat. Over that beautiful mixture, Esperanza sings a strong and beautiful melody with wide intervals. With this track, she shows the ambient and the dynamic energy and pulse of the album. For this single Esperanza said:
- "It definitely did feel like if I'm the mountain and Emily's the lava," she said. "She was trying to tell me sometimes lava is necessary and good and it needs to erupt and it needs to do what it does. Sometimes it might burn something away, or the next year it might be nourishment for seeds. Or it might become the island of Hawaii or Iceland."
One of my favorite tracks on this album is "Earth to Heaven." The track starts with a massive and powerful riff, accompanied by beautiful backing vocals. This song has an interesting and unusual thing that when the refrain comes, the energy and the texture of the song become simpler rather than opposite as we expect. In the lyrics, "Emily" is skeptical about the afterlife, leaving a message that more important is how we live our lives today, rather than what we believe in (religions, etc.).
I believe that this album is a turning point in Esperanza Spalding’s career. She is an extraordinary artist that is not afraid to step into new fields of music (actually she is letting herself go with the flow). Esperanza shows that there is a lot more than just modern jazz style in her (as all of her previous albums), and made me respect her even more after hearing this incredible album.
