www.benjhartwig.com He was tired of the jagged, sleepless nights. The random routing, the blinding lights. The incessant noise and the pressure that it put on his body. Even though, on a good night, that noise was the sound of the crowd, lost in the embrace of the music that he took part in making! One day, as he walked off the stage, he had a premonition. He knew it was time to change lanes. He found a cozy little spot up in the Swiss Alps and found himself spending his days scaling these giants. His eyes resting on what his hands couldn’t reach, while he drank of their rare silence. He fell in love with this silence. The silence bore questions. The type that forever remain unresolved, but need to be asked. The songs found on Emanuel are defined by that which remains off-frame. Omissions that speak louder than what is actually being said. Emotions just about to precipitate. Words on the tip of your tongue, lodged in the back of your throat. Listening to this EP is like holding your breath while watching images appear slowly on the surface of a light sensitive paper dipped in a tray of strong chemicals.