ABOUT ACOUSTIC SOUL
Acoustic Soul is the creation and devotion of multi-talented, Bay Area artist, Emil Borgir.
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Born into virtuosic dynasty, Emil's artistry and musical intuition is a natural part of his rich family heritage. His father, a pianist and musical academic, refined his talent and expertise at Oslo Conservatory, Yale, UC Berkeley, and Juilliard. His mother was also a skilled pianist who studied at Oslo Conservatory.
Exposed to music and spirituality at a young age, Emil has passionately pursued both throughout his life. He's pursued his study of music at Berklee College of Music and Musician's Institute, and has studied and practiced Tibetan Buddhism for more than 30 years.
Acoustic Soul's debut album, You Flow Through Me, is a seven-year labor of love, written and produced by Emil for his daughter. Released in 2021,You Flow Through Me grew into a twelve-track tribute to Black American culture and heritage that explodes out the gate with an irresistible groove.
The 2022 release of Close at Christmas came just in time for fans to deck the halls with soulful holiday favorites. A gift to listeners, this jazzy-soul collection brings out the festive joy of winter for everyone.
a few words from Emil
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You Flow Through Me began as a work for my baby girl, Alaya. I wanted to give her something that would endure beyond my lifetime. I recorded for seven years, snatching moments of inspiration and time to develop songs that I had written over the previous decades. What ended up coming out were twelve tracks of funk and soul, genres that had been my refuge in this life.
I wrote, recorded, and produced all of You Flow Through Me in a room with no doors in the foyer of my little rental bungalow. It was easy to feel isolated, pushing the entire project to completion without resources or collaboration. Despite limitations, I tried to maintain faith that I was completing an album worth finishing. I felt compelled to express my gratitude to the American Black people whose friendship, music, and cultural legacy stood as a reminder to reject the lesson my white upbringing had always encouraged me to embrace, namely, a life without soul.
It will be a lifelong endeavor to learn how to meaningfully express the full extent of my appreciation for the national treasure that is Black culture; how does one begin to repay a boundless debt? This album is neither the beginning or end of that journey; it is simply a step in the direction that felt right to take.
Listening back to the album, I hear all the good fortune that I have been blessed to receive in my life: the love of my daughter, the enduring gift of soul music, and the love of those like Della Mae Henrix, Jozo, Ne, Charmagne, the Lumakandas, and so many others in my life. May this album help us all to remember the forces of devotion that flow in our own lives.
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Close at Christmas is the second album in a row that was inspired by my daughter. She and I have a yearly tradition of hanging the lights on the tree. It’s a lovely daddy daughter ritual that is punctuated by the Christmas music that we use to set the atmosphere. We both love devotional music, so we decided to try our hand at recording something that would be enjoyable during these special moments together. We recorded this album hoping to warm up the house with the closeness of Christmas, something that we could all share in. That’s one of the reasons I wanted the whole family to appear on the album, along with dear friends.
