A calm instrumental and the rapper’s vocal performance create an intimate atmosphere.
Only on Tuesday (June 13) Casper announced his new record NUR LIEBE, ALMER, which will be released in November 2023. On Thursday, the 40-year-old promptly gave the first glimpse of the new plant. The single “emma” opens with calm tones. Only a plucked guitar accompanies Casper’s voice, which has an unusually soft sound. Benjamin Griffey, as the artist is called, wraps his sound around his listeners like a blanket. One feels safe and secure in the midst of these intimate tones.
In the text, Casper addresses escapism. “I can understand you / you’re so tired that you can’t sleep / you’re lost and it’s okay,” he opens the song. Above all, the music video makes the context clear: It’s about withdrawing, not letting the problems get to you for the time being. The sung “Emma” is quickly revealed by attentive listeners as a personification of MDMA. “And she says how alive she is / wide awake but can’t feel her face anymore,” Casper sings in the pre-hook, making the reference to “EUPHORIA‘ from his last album ALLES WAR BEAUTY AND NOTHING THAT HURT.
It’s also about drugs, but the vibe is the opposite. “EUPHORIA” reports on the intoxicating feelings that MDMA triggers. “Emma”, on the other hand, is the conscientious voice that tells us that our problems will not be solved by suppressing them – with whatever methods and tools may be used. Casper neither preaches to us how we have to live our lives, nor does he unthinkingly downplay drugs. With “emma” he delivers an atmospheric track that takes up the indie sound of earlier times – and develops it further.
Casper live in Bielefeld 2024
If you want to experience NUR LIEBE, IMMER live next year, you have to hurry, because on June 15, 2024 Casper will play an exclusive concert in his hometown Bielefeld. According to his Instagram post, it will be “the only concert in the coming year for the new album”. Advance sales for the “in love with the city that doesn’t exist” open-air concert start on Friday, June 16 at 6 p.m. The location where the show will take place is not yet known.