Emanuel Tägil
... is an experimental singer and songwriter from Sweden, signed to Messy Weekend Records. His songs are mysterious, dramatic, and fun. His musical style can be described as art pop flirting with yacht rock, Broadway, and RnB. Emanuel has previously released two albums, "Emanuel Tägil" (2019) and "Knock Away" (2021). The forthcoming full album "Veni Veni" (release date: May 2023) takes his music in a new direction.
Who is the human behind the artist Emanuel Tägil and how did you get into music?
Wow, tough one! I'm currently studying archaeology at the university since I'm deeply interested in all things ancient and religious. I run a lot, I play Doom Eternal (a demon-shooting game) and I spend time with my fiancée and my cat. I'm also vegan and my favorite writer is Jorge Luis Borges. That's about it, besides music of course.
I got into music at about thirteen years of age. I had downloaded some Norwegian black metal out of pure curiosity (I had seen some cool t-shirts at school) and when I first listened to it I thought my headphones were broken because of the poor sound quality... Then I realized that was how it was actually supposed to sound, and I found that lawlessness to be so inspirational, it completely busted the doors to music wide open for me. I think it really got me thinking “anyone can do anything”, for the first time.
"The fire-room" sounds great, finest Indie Art Pop I'd say, what's the story behind, what was your inspiration respectively ?
Thank you! To me it's a song about human nature. It may sound silly, but I had a suit on one evening when I realized that I was literally a monkey (primate) wearing a suit. That realization, which may seem obvious, seemed extremely funny and deep to me.
I have read something about an upcoming album called "Hard, Hard God", please let us know more about it.
My next album is called Veni Veni and it drops this summer! Hard, Hard God was actually the working title for the album, as well as the name of my previous single, released in December last year.
The album consists of eight tracks that will all be released as singles, one by one, prior to the album release. It's an album where I strive further into pop territory than on previous releases.
How would you describe your songwriting evolution from your first release (The countryside smiles to the ghosts EP) to now?
I certainly had a different approach to songwriting back in 2018 (when I released 'the countryside') compared to now, most notably lyric-wise. I think I wrote those early songs almost like diary-entries accompanied by music, now it's probably a bit more like 'mantras'. I've also more or less abandoned the guitar which used to be my main instrument, in favor of synthesizers and “the studio as an instrument”. I also think I'm playing a bit more with rhythm these days than back in 2018.
What do you prefer, stage or studio?
The studio is like a temple, a sacred place for creativity, which is really what it's all about for me. The stage, on the other hand, is like a dark dungeon where I get to fight some terrible monster (that would be my own worries and nervousness). It sounds bad, but I've gotta say, these days I actually look forward to the fight (I usually win), and I absolutely love to play in front of real people. The studio is safe and fun and the stage is dangerous and fun, both offer their own rewards.
What would you call your most useful talent besides music?
I love slalom skiing, though I wouldn't really call it a talent since I'm not very good, athletically speaking (not compared to other swedes anyway). It's still very useful to me though, it's certainly one of my favorite things to do besides music.
...and last but not least, what are your plans for 2023?
Like I said earlier, my next full length album Veni Veni is out this summer, and I'm releasing every track as singles up until then! So in other words there's gonna be one single each month from me for the first half of 2023!
