https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/music/2020-09-02/checking-in-eimaral-sol-emancipates/

Checking In: Eimaral Sol Emancipates

By Raoul Hernandez, September 2, 2020, 9:09am, Earache!

Best ever hip-hop album by an Austin femcee? Short list, that. At the top, then, reside the frank, womanly, puckish stylings of Laramie Pouncy on 2019’s Sol Soliloquies. As “a mural soul” (Eimaral Sol), the singer’s quick mainstreaming locally flourishes behind an openness that imbues her music with open arms and modern smarts.

Austin Chronicle: Where are you sheltering and under what circumstances? Who else is there and how’s that going?

Eimaral Sol: I am currently sheltering at home in the house I rent with my older sister, brother-in-law, and god brother, and my son, of course. It's going, haha. At one point, all three of them were in school and I was doing volunteer work from home and that was a bit chaotic.

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My sister recently graduated, but most of us are still participating in school online and other online activities, so sometimes you have to make sure no one is on a video call before you go about your regularly scheduled life. Overall, I am grateful to have a safe place to exist during very unpredictable times.

AC: At what point did C-19 shut down operations for you, and what went down with the ship, so to speak, both personally & professionally?

ES: C-19 shut down operations for me on March 16. With the loss of SXSW, so went many other live performances I had scheduled. My last show with a live audience was on March 5.

The idea of how I was goal-setting and the steps to make those goals more achievable has definitely taken new form. I have definitely been doing virtual shows that I am thankful for, but I'm not super big on social media and don’t really like to force myself to be, so I am still having to push myself to adapt to interacting with other humans in that way. I miss the in-person human connection.

Personally, I’ve had to truly check-in with myself more frequently and find ways to maintain some level of balance despite not knowing day-to-day what to expect.

AC: As a global culture, people employ music for every purpose imaginable, obviously spanning religion to entertainment and everything in between. What happens to communities like ours when people can no longer access it in person?

ES: I think it shook up the entire music scene here, because it’s a city that is known for live music and now it has to take a new form to survive. As a musician, the only option is to survive. This is my life. This is my purpose. So I truly miss my community and being able to interact with people and connect with them via music and performing.

From the people I’ve interacted with virtually, I think the people who frequent live music feel similarly. I believe it’s bittersweet though, too, because it is encouraging listeners to develop new ways to listen and interact with the music, and in turn create new relationships with the music they may have already been listening to. I also think it has opened a door for more creative ways to give access to music and the “live” experience.

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AC: Everyone’s had to shift or drastically alter their work situation. What does that look like for you?

ES: I have been doing a lot more recording and collaborating with other artists. This is honestly something I am grateful for, because I had been wanting to collaborate with a ton of artists and still have a long list of people I need to make that happen with. It has also given me an outlet for all the varying feelings I have had during this time.

I am itching to put out this new music and that part is driving me crazy, but I am grateful for the time to create very intentional and authentic art. I also have been taking the steps to never need to work for someone else again. I was at a point prior to C-19 where I was able to pretty much get the bulk of my income from performing and I have reached my tolerance with not being able to decide where my time and energy goes. The idea of what kind of work I am willing to do has completely taken new form.

AC: What’s your soundtrack for the apocalypse and what role does music play for you as a fan and scholar of it in times of hardship?

ES: My soundtrack for the “apocalypse” is my upcoming project The Great Pause, because it is truly a compilation of the feelings I’ve had these last few months. The other music I listen to day-to-day really varies depending on how I am feeling. Music is a very feelings-based thing for me, so what I'm listening to will almost always depend on what my mood is.

And I'm a moody person, to be honest.

Music is the glue for me right now, because it is like a time machine and vibe reset. Writing music also serves as a form of therapy. So music is and always has been a love language for me, hardship or not.

Check out the entire Checking In series.