Biography
Colin Emmanuel :: Biography
Colin Emmanuel, also known as Black Einstein, C Swing, or just plain C, has had a musical career spanning over 20 years, in which he has worked as a Producer, Writer, Remixer, Engineer, Mixer, Musician, Programmer, Sound Designer and more recently as a Composer for Film and TV.
After studying at the School of Audio Engineering (London) and both playing in and producing demos for local bands, Colin was given his professional break in the industry by Definition of Sound when he was invited to become their programmer.
His working relationship with the duo would lead to him remixing some of their singles including “Pass The Vibes” and “Experience”, and in the late nineties to establish himself under the name C.Swing as a premier UK remixer for such artists as En Vogue (“Hold On”) and Mary J Blige (“Dance For Me”), as well as releasing solo material on New Breed Records (New York) via their “Fat Jazzy Grooves” compilations. With his remix work progressively being chosen as the radio/lead version, and developing his skills as a programmer and musician, he eventually moved into production, working as Colin Emmanuel and continuing to use the C.Swing moniker for remixes.
The noughties would see Colin establish himself more thoroughly as a producer. His contributions to Jamelia’s debut album “Drama” (5 tracks) and the multi-platinum selling “Thank You” album (6 tracks) helped to establish her as a household name in the UK and Europe, as well as earning Colin critical acclaim and delivering commercial chart success with singles such as “Call Me” and “Money”. His production of the Beta Band’s album “Hot Shots II” not only saw the band finally break America and receive long overdue recognition, but also demonstrated his musical versatility. He would go on to write and produce for the likes of Estelle and Beverley Knight, before releasing his own album “D’illusions of Grandeur”, which featured collaborations with artists such as KRS1, Nate James and Terri Walker. Throughout this period Colin also played a significant role behind the scenes at the UK’s independent Hip Hop label Lowlife Records, being responsible for the digital mastering of the majority of the label’s latter releases as well as working with label acts, including co-writing and producing the final album by Braintax “My Last And Best Album”.
Colin continued to work on projects and material for artists such as Eric Roberson on his Grammy nominated album “Music Fan First”, and Mysdiggi fka Mytstro on his debut album “Mystrogen” and the legendary “UK Rap Ups”, as well as both recording and performing under the new moniker of Black Einstein releasing a David Bowie inspired EP “Whatever Happened To Major Tom” featuring Maseo from De La Soul and Miss Baby Sol. Eventually, Colin was able to take some time out of commercial work to pursue his interest in music for film and TV, and sound design at Kingston University in the UK, where he successfully completed a masters.
Since adding this new discipline to his musical arsenal Colin has composed music for NEXT, Brooks Brothers, Parkour Generations and for Karen Palmer’s award winning short film “RIOT”. As well as working on new Black Einstein material, Colin’s time is currently divided between various film and TV projects, sound design, involvement in the video game arena, and collaborations and productions for some of his favourite artists and labels.