Mountain of Memory is An Exquisite Complement to Your Next Flow
Mountain of Memory is by Douglas Appling, aka Emancipator. Emancipator is an American DJ and Producer based in Portland, Oregon, known for his downtempo, ambient, dub and trip-hop influenced sets.
Emancipator’s first album was released in 2006, while he was still in college. He has released an album every three to four years since then. Often described as the Zen DJ, Emancipator is beloved in the yoga scene as someone whose meditative music transcends boundaries and evokes inner contemplation. Emancipator describes music as “a way to transcend your earthly moments, and kind of elevate your mind to a higher place through music. And whatever spiritual energy I do feel, music is an outlet for that for me.” (VIBE interview, 2013.)
Emancipator’s Mountain of Memory, offers soft lilting melodies, juicy beats, and symphonic conversations that range from deep soothing vibes to funky, syncopated world rhythms. Simultaneously uplifting, mellow, ethereal, and funky, this album offers a perfect complement to your next yoga practice or studio flow class.
On the whole, Mountain of Memory veers towards eclectic downtempo, with a delicious inclusion of acoustic and electronic elements such as softened breaks and bass, Flamenco rhythms, Caribbean percussion, boom bap beats that harken back to late 80s/early 90s East Coast hip hop, and unique musical elements such as the Persian dilruba as well as dubbed opera singers. Throughout, there emerges a steady bubbly, afterhours, café-near-the-sea vibe.
My favorite flow tracks are “Blue Dream” and Himalayan,” reminiscent of an otherworldly magical land of fairies and nymph-like goddesses. Both tracks use wavy, dreamy melodies that float through surreal expansions and contractions of energy which invite our spirits to expand beyond the elements of this concrete world.
“Forged” employs near-rebellious whiffs of violins speckled with elements of funk and soul alongside surreal cascades of avantgarde classical music arrangements and great for asanas in which we need to focus, such as balance postures, which mimic the challenge of maintaining calm in our inner, wandering monkey mind.
Overall, Emancipator’s Mountain of Memory elicits a sense of joy rising to the surface. Of Tapas burned through to reveal the purity within us all, our inner Ananda, or Bliss. The album resembles a journey into our innermost self, of wandering through deep canyons and into peaks of inspiration, a lovely parallel to the pilgrimage of life.
Album Release & Tour with Emancipator
Mountain of Memory was released April 3, 2020 on Loci records. Emancipator will be touring the West Coast in mid-July, stopping in Santa Barbara on July 22, San Diego on July 23 and in Los Angeles on July 25.
Aria Morgan is a yoga teacher, doula and music lover who finds inspiration in nature: ariamorgan.com.