Australia’s own guitar great Tommy Emmanuel will return with a brand-new album Living In The Light on 10 October, with the first single Black and White to Color out now.
The album was recorded in Nashville with Grammy-winning producer Vance Powell, whose credits include Jack White, Chris Stapleton and Phish. True to Emmanuel’s style, most of the tracks were captured in one or two takes, showcasing both his trademark acoustic wizardry and his gift for melody.
While Emmanuel is celebrated worldwide for his dazzling instrumental technique, Living In The Light also features him stepping up vocally on a handful of tracks. The result is a warm and personal record that blends elements of jazz, roots, pop, blues and even traditional African influences into his unmistakable sound.
“There are elements of rockabilly, blues, even traditional African music all woven into the music,” Emmanuel says. “I’m a world traveller, and I’ve absorbed so much along the way. It all gets synthesised into my psyche and comes out in my own style.”
The 11-track album includes Scarlett’s World, Gdańsk, Maxine and covers of You Needed Me and Waiting for the Times to Get Better.
Watch teh Tommy Emmanuel Noise11 interview:
Living In The Light Tracklist
Young Travelers
A Drowning Heart
Scarlett’s World
Gdańsk
Maxine
Little Georgia
Initiation 25
Black and White to Color
Waiting for the Times to Get Better
You Needed Me
Ya Gotta Do What You Gotta Do
Emmanuel, now 70, has been performing since the age of six. His career highlights include playing alongside Eric Clapton, John Denver and Les Paul, winning a Grammy, and performing at the Sydney Olympics closing ceremony before a global audience of more than two billion. His mentor and hero Chet Atkins famously honoured him with the rare title of Certified Guitar Player, awarded to only four other musicians.
After collaborations with artists such as Jason Isbell, Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings on his Accomplice albums, Emmanuel says this new work takes him back to songwriting at its core.
“As I get older, I find myself taking more risks and having more fun in the process,” he says. “When young people come to my shows and see that it’s okay to be different, that the possibilities of music and self-expression are limitless – that’s what it’s all about for me.”
Tommy Emmanuel’s Living In The Light will be released 10 October.
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