Emmanuel Dalmas – Soundcloud Songs

Music Reviews
Jer@SBS
February 20, 2018
0

Emmanuel Dalmas – Soundcloud Songs – Singles Review

I’ll tell you this much – any artist out there that’s kind-hearted enough to write a song for their wife to help celebrate Valentine’s Day is more than likely one really rad person. One such man is Emmanuel Dalmas, the multi-faceted songwriter, composer, and producer of whom we have four singles in review today…a sample gathered from his official page at Soundcloud, where the single “Call Me” was indeed written for his wife Catherine as a Valentine’s gift. C’mon people – how sweet is that? Emmanuel seems like a great guy & an expressive artist that has a lot of imagination, heart, & passion in his music.

In a way, I’m almost surprised that it’s my first time hearing “Lorelei” – it definitely has the hallmarks of a hit song for sure. That being said, I get it…it’s a chilled-out rhythm and dreamy song…quite often that’ll mean handing the song over to another electro-artist out there to amp-up the energy enough to get it spun at the clubs – but there’s a huge amount of potential for this song to live many, many lives if Emmanuel is open to those opportunities. As it stands, I think “Lorelei” has a great mix in its production, stellar ideas that form its island-style melody, absolutely beautiful & graceful vocals that fit perfectly with the music – and I absolutely LOVED the sounds of the ocean’s rolling waves breaking in the surrounding atmosphere. The singing is truly exceptional…the melody-line of the vocals is equally stunning; bending the words to her will, she works the main lyric of the name “Lorelei” with a pronounced amount of rhythm & style that leads this song to fantastic results and memorable hooks. Lyrically, it’s written soundly and ended being quite possibly my favorite of the four…gotta hand this first track to those angelic and gorgeous vocals overall though; as much as I enjoyed the music, it was really the singing that brought the beauty & emotional depths of the writing in this song out into the spotlight.

Things shift quite dramatically from there into a different style/sound altogether on the next single, “Wild And Reckless.” Whereas “Lorelei” was released a couple months back, these next three songs including “Wild And Reckless” were all put online over the past couple weeks…so this could certainly indicate a new direction in sound for Emmanuel’s music. I think the imagery in his words is great and I think the saxophone is an incredible contribution to this song…the string sounds have solid ideas that keep the melody of the first half of the song on a defined path. Although I’d suspect that getting a song like “Wild And Reckless” out there into the world is likely an uphill battle for sure – I do think that people will connect to the emotion on display throughout this song and appreciate the sincerity it’s sung with. It has a definite level of captivating sound that pulls you in to listen to its isolated & intimate nature rather than going for the flashy hooks that would force the ears to listen…and while that might affect the degree of accessibility somewhat, those that appreciate something poetic & artistic in the music they listen to will likely dig “Wild And Reckless” and the expressive approach to the words & vocals.

As many of you out there already know, I keep my options completely open when it comes to music sung in another language other than my own. Sure it’s always nice to sing along with words you know, but there’s also something about hearing something in a different language that really allows the voice to become just like an instrument in the music and ultimately seem like it contributes on a whole other level as a result. Case in-point, “She’s A Hero” and the fantastic energy that singer Gabriela Flores brings to the vocals, singing this third track in review in Spanish with a stunning mix of beauty & confident tones. Truly, I think she’s done an exceptional job…she adds real flair and stylistic vibes into “She’s A Hero” – and really, Emmanuel has not made that an easy task if I’m being truthful! “She’s A Hero” might not have worked without Gabriela’s inspired performance…”She’s A Hero,” especially on this song. With its undeniably adventurous ideas and ambitions, the structure of this song is a bit on the jagged-side as it moves from part to part, each with their own atmosphere & vibe…Emmanuel walks the fine line of what does/doesn’t go together in a composition like this – or rather, what the ears are likely to accept readily. “She’s A Hero” definitely veers towards a heavily artistic structure that’ll honestly be tougher for some to stick with…BUT…once again, I think the lively & bright vocals from Gabriela will really pull people in past any potential obstacles in listening. “She’s A Hero” might not be any kind of traditional radio-song in any sense, but I think by now we’ve gotten a better sense of how Emmanuel is clearly driven by the love of the art & the craft…hence these songs are expressive in a much more substantial way than just your average everyday pop songs are. Bonus points to the production and mix on Gabriela’s vocals…and even more bonus points to her for the immaculate high-notes she reaches and the beautiful mix of artistic beauty and emotional expression she puts into her vocals on “She’s A Hero.”

Two situations where it becomes tougher to be a music-reviewer than it does any other time are when we’re offering our opinions to artists that have a terminal illness or are writing about specific matters of the heart most dear to them. Longtime readers of our pages know that even in the hardest of circumstances, I feel that obligation to the artists/bands I’m listening to, that they still receive my honest feedback…because so many out there are always looking to improve, evolve and move forward. As a result I’ve had to tell people some tough stuff over the years…cancer patients & everyday artists that are putting their hearts & souls into their music, art and expanding careers. I keep it respectful, as you know – but I do consider it highly important to them, and to all of YOU as well, that I keep it consistent across the board and give you the most honest perspective I can possibly write down in words. Do I appreciate the sentiment, ambitions, and intentions of Emmanuel’s single “Call Me?” Of course I do. Who wouldn’t? As I mentioned in the intro, he’s written this song for his wife Catherine – and I really believe there’s a beauty in those intentions that is truly to be admired…that’s an entirely sweet thing to do. Pushing past the personal-aspect & emotional tie-ins…”Call Me” undeniably needs a bit of work – but there are certainly ideas that have potential here, in addition to some highlights in the vocals along the way. I’ve definitely got nothing but love and respect for the lyricism, “Call Me” is a completely sweet love song. I don’t know what the rest of you out there got your loved ones for Valentine’s Day, but it’s tough for the rest of us all to keep up to Emmanuel here in 2018…this is quite the gift when you listen to the pure expressions of love in the lyrics. Vocally, like I said, some highlights in the most soaring moments for sure, but also a few spots where the vocals wander off a bit too far from the mark in their tone, amidst a structure that is again, a tougher one for the masses to hang onto. But whatever! “Call Me” wasn’t ultimately made for the masses to begin with – it was written for one specific person – and as far as I’m concerned, if she loves this tune even half as much as he clearly loves his wife…that’s as big of a hit-song as an artist could ever hope to create and the best audience you could ever hope to hear it.