1.Symbols/2.Mambo/3.I’m Dying Mommy/4.Pretty Boy
Release Date: December 2017
Label:Two Gods
If the portraits of Marlene Dumas could sing, they would probably sing Emke’s ‘Mambo’
Not many musicians can support their music visually and through their stage appearance so that they can ultimately offer a complete work of art and not just a presentation of songs. A few years ago, we went to a beautiful gig that was headlined by Cold In Berlin with support from Winter 
Severity Index and Black Nail Cabaret. We had a great time and it was impressive to see Black Nail Cabaret on stage for the first time. Since then, the band has changed its line up and now consists of Emese and Krisztián, who released the third album entitled ‘Dichromat‘ in 2016 before playing live at WGT in Leipzig in 2017.
At the same time, Emese has collaborated with Planetdamage in their EP ‘Angst‘ that was released in 2017 and has also been evolving her solo work. A few days before the end of 2017, she released her second solo EP as Emke, entitled ‘Two‘ through the label Two Gods. The EP was supplemented by the release of a video for the song ‘Mambo‘, on January 26, 2018.
If the music of Black Nail Cabaret stops in front of a door at the end of a corridor, then Emke’s EP ‘TWO‘ opens that door and explores the things that wait on the other side.By having an infinitely darker atmosphere and by being much more esoteric than the first solo EP, entitled ‘Breakaway‘, ‘TWO’ creates a magnetising energy that forces an introspection. This journey, begins with the pagan, occult references of the EP’s cover, passes through the music of the four songs and shows its ‘face’ through the video clip.
The first two songs, ‘Symbols‘ and ‘Mambo‘, feel like a strong pulse and have a ceremonial tone, through which they explore the mystic, kaleidoscopic and experimental aspect of slow, almost numbing, industrial sounds. Both these songs have a meditating style, which helps create and maybe even open a ‘passage’ in one’s mind and soul. You will probably find that the duration of ‘Symbols‘ is too short to fully enjoy its psychological impact…at least this is how I felt, so I played it again…a few more times… ‘Mambo‘ that follows, gradually establishes a different rhythm, when the initial hazy, sonic ‘fog’ created by a cubist composition of minimal rhythms, clears out after the first verse. You will notice how this impression of being lost in a space with ‘no visible’ way out, is enhanced by distorted and muffled sound samples, which are dissected by electrifying sounds. Once the bleakness of this soundscape seemingly dissolves, the song gains more musicality and ‘lightness’ and you will definitely find yourself dancing towards the end. The song is accompanied by an equally evocative, aesthetically fitting, symbolic and occult video, recorded in one of the beautiful forest sceneries of Hungary. Replicating the aesthetics of the EP’s cover, the main character of the video, seems to be a sinister force of nature, a constant wanderer within a harsh environment, a dark energy whose force can only find an outlet through the symbolic confrontation with nature’s most rough textures, a character that would equally inspire Aubrey Beardsley and Emily Bronte.
The next two songs of the EP, ‘I’m Dying Mommy‘ and ‘Pretty Boy‘, gradually and gently, pull us out of this dark maze, not so much via their lyrics (especially ‘I’m Dying Mommy‘ is a song with a very sad essence), but through their melodies. Both songs are more pop, especially as a result of the positioning and frequency of the beats, but their effect remains equally mind-numbing as the beginning of this EP. After listening to all four songs, I had the impression that I was placed, up to my knees, inside a muddy field and I was trying to crawl out of it…I wasn’t sure I wanted to get out so I re-listened to the EP. I wish the same happens to you !
Blaue Rosen 