Los Angeles-based performance artist and sonic provocateur Ember Knight has announced their most delightfully unhinged project to date: ember sings the dr bronner soap label, out May 2. Alongside the announcement, Knight unveils the video for lead single “footprints in the sand of time,” a lo-fi, strangely moving anthem pulled—yes, literally—from the side of a soap bottle.
The eight-track concept album is exactly what it claims to be: songs built entirely from the densely packed, philosophy-laced ramblings found on labels of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap. What started as a cheeky experiment turned into something unexpectedly powerful.
“There are weird and wonderful stories tied to everyday objects,” Knight shares. “What started as a silly joke quickly unveiled a bizarre and heartwarming tale of an immigrant genocide survivor leveraging the American marketplace to push his message of world peace. It’s funny because it’s deadass sincere.”
Produced by Estelle Allen and featuring haunting harmonies from Haley Dahl of Sloppy Jane, the album floats between historical narration, spoken-word absurdity, and lo-fi cult-folk, evoking comparisons to outsider music legends and experimental pop auteurs. Think Daniel Johnston by way of communal soap philosophy.
Part satire, part celebration, and entirely singular, ember sings the dr bronner soap label is a love letter to eccentricity, sincerity, and the unexpected poetry of everyday life. It’s absurd. It’s touching. It’s good clean fun.