Black Einstein, aka C-Swing, are the brain-frames of English hip-hop/R&B/soul/dance/jazz/funk/*insert genre*/electronic/rock producer Colin Emmanuel. Longtime producer of UK hip-hop legend Braintax (and even involved with KRS-One stateside), Colin Emmanuel produces tracks that glow through the speakers; a whirlwind of layered sound strata that seamlessly blends the aforementioned genres and moment to moment displays his virtuoso of their convergence.
His 2006 solo album 'D'illusions of Grandeur' lead me to his Black Einstein project, specifically his David Bowie inspired 'Whatever Happened To Major Tom?' release from 2010. The highlight for me is the "Space Oddity" semblance of "Common Ground", where Miss Baby Sol takes his grandiose production to all new levels of awesome, keeping the spirit of the song while somehow only directly taking the small guitar line or tone and making it a hybrid of amazing. The rest can be said of the other tracks on the EP, like the hip-hop collaboration with UK/Braintax-ilk Mystro (whom also delivers an ill-verload scorcher on his solo album, "Heat"), flowing fast and hitting every nook of Emmanuel's top notch production.
Seriously overlooked or moreover understated, Colin Emmanuel is a name that should spring from any 'best producers' conversation, and undeniably among the most versatile. His last release was in 2011 -- instrumentals to Braintax's final album -- and while Braintax might not re-emerge, I hope Black Einstein/C-Swing/Colin Emmanuel is just readying his next dynamic onslaught.
