JAMES EMMANUEL
GOOD MAN EP, 26th June, LISTEN
Bridge Over The Tears I’ve Cried, watch the new video
Love Supreme, Latitude, Nile Rodgers supports
London Lexington headline show October 13th
Glasgow King Tut’s December 16th
“…his sweat-drenched, eye-closed style worthy of Marvin or Otis or Donny…
but with a Caledonian twist.” (Clash magazine)
Edinburgh’s Nigerian-born soul star James Emmanuel releases the Good Man EP today, 26th June. Like all the best soul music, the songs build on James’s very personal and sometimes painful experiences as a platform for renewal, inspiration and hope.
James’s story is one of building bridges, between his native Nigeria and his adopted home of Edinburgh; between the classic soul stars who inspired him and his new life as a 21st century rising star; and between generations of his family, as a husband and father looking for the path of a ‘Good Man’.
Current single ‘Bridge Over The Tears I’ve Cried’ – accompanied by a brand new video inspired by James’s story – is a piano driven slab of righteous defiance to fair-weather friends who only show up for the good times.
“This song is about a past relationship, but it’s also about something much bigger: people who only want you when your life starts to shine,” says James. “People who didn’t love you when you were trying, learning, building, or breaking, but suddenly want a place in your world now that you’ve grown beyond the version of you they once knew.”
‘Time’ is a reminder that success isn’t about speed but rather staying power – at 35, James is living a life which, not that long ago, seemed unachievable. “I was cleaning toilets and had a new family, I understand why people thought this was just a fantasy. All you have is your instinct, no one else can see what you see or believe in. I’ve got something to say and I’m going to say it though my music and I hope that will show others that they can follow their dreams too, however long it takes.”
Title track ‘Good Man’ is a celebration of fatherhood, looking back at the example set by his late father, a preacher back home in Nigeria and forward as he raises his own young family in Edinburgh. “I was very close with my Dad,” says James. “He made me join a choir when I was 11, I didn’t know I could sing, but here we are today. I want to celebrate the unsung positive male role models and give my father the flowers he never got in his lifetime. I have a daughter and a son. For them and their generation, we need to make it attractive and appealing to be a good man, so that if you show up with kindness, the world will celebrate you.”
The EP is completed by brand new song ‘So Good To Me’, which James says was “born out of gratitude for being loved by someone who chooses you even when the choice isn’t easy. Being a musician is a blessing but it comes with a cost. Instability, distance, self doubt, emotional highs and lows, and the people closest to you carry those costs right alongside you. They love you through the chaos, ambition, shortcomings and dreams, even when those dreams sometimes take you away from them.”
The world is certainly starting to make James’s dreams come true. He’s sung at the Royal Albert Hall and Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, won a Scottish Music Award and told his story on the BBC. Recent live shows have seen the critics hail his “powerful, gutsy classic soul voice” (Yorkshire Post) as being “worthy of Marvin or Otis or Donny… but with a Caledonian twist” (Clash at The Great Escape) and his recent sold-out Edinburgh show as “an evening of joy and jubilance” (Northern Exposure).
James played a triumphant, sold-out London headline show and made his Scottish festival debut at TRNSMT this month, with Love Supreme, Latitude and outdoor supports with Nile Rodgers & Chic to come through the summer. His next London headline, at The Lexington on 13th October, has just been announced and he plays the legendary King Tut’s in Glasgow on 16th December.
Live
Sunday 5th July Glynde Love Supreme Festival
Sunday 12th July Birmingham Mostly Jazz Funk & Soul
Friday 24th July Suffolk Latitude Festival, Sunrise Arena
Friday 21st Aug Margate Dreamland – supporting Nile Rodgers & Chic
Saturday 22nd Aug Scarborough Open Air Theatre – supporting Nile Rodgers & Chic
Tuesday 13th Oct London The Lexington
Wednesday 16th Dec Glasgow King Tut’s
Tickets
https://www.jamesemmanuel.co.uk/
Follow James Emmanuel:
SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC | INSTAGRAM | TIK TOK
