“This phase is really the beginning of Elmiene,” says the 24-year-old artist, born Abdala Elamin. “[It] feels like the first time I can really say with full confidence, every single thing I did on this project was intentional. Instead of like ‘I don’t know how I pulled that off, that was crazy!’” he laughs. It’s hard to believe that his voice wasn’t always destined for this path but, a poet-turned-accidental-artist initially, it was Elmiene’s very first song attempt that sparked the whirlwind start of his career. And his ascent to international soul prodigy status has been swift and captivating ever since. Before he knew it, he was soundtracking a Louis Vuitton show, gaining early fans in the likes of Benji B, Sampha, Stormzy and more and going viral online with covers of his favourite artists.
But since that fateful debut in 2022, he’s shown no signs of slowing, or of winging it. The fluke-like journey he’s referencing has seen him documenting his entire process of curiosity, exploration and often striking gold, in the form of five critically-acclaimed projects in just three years (11 if you count the live and remix versions). It’s seen him featured on the BBC Sound of Poll, nominated for Rising Star awards at both the BRITS and The Ivors, supporting Stevie Wonder and SZA, gracing NPR’s Tiny Desk, and touring around the world to sold-out swooning crowds.
With all that under his belt, this year brings the British-Sudanese artist’s debut full-length album, titled sounds for someone. Not unlike the songbook style label of his idol Stevie’s Songs in the Key of Life, it’s a name that promises to deliver on both the personal and the universal, a project that’s intimate and ambitious. “To me personally, it’s about my dad and my relationship with him when he was alive, and the loss, me and my mum’s relationship with him, their relationship, it’s basically a collection of songs based on all the emotions centred around him,” he says. “But I’m a firm believer in ‘the songs belong to you until you release them’… it’s up to people to experience and listen to in their lives, whatever they may be. So that ‘someone’ was perfect because it does kind of [imply] that it’s about a specific person, but it keeps it open where that someone for you could be anyone.”
Written over the course of dedicated months writing between Barbados and LA, the project’s central muse felt less like a choice and more of a pressing urge. “I couldn’t help it. Every time I sat down to write a song, the direction always went [towards my dad],” he says. “When I wrote ‘Cry Against the Wind’, I realised I have a song that the rest of the body of work will revolve around. That really talks about the crux of my feelings of guilt with my dad, acceptance, grief, all of these things embodied in this one song, and I went ‘a-ha, this is it.’” The first track released, it’s a raw declaration of love, as he cries, ‘I’d watch the whole world drown to see you cry again’. Laced with hazy guitars, provided by Mk.gee collaborator Andrew Aged – who plays across the whole project – the track builds and its mournful mist transcends in a thrilling new sonic direction for the singer. ‘Reclusive’ in contrast is a honeyed meditation on self-isolation that is sung so sweetly it almost sounds like a daydream. Written about a bout of sickness where the Oxford-raised singer didn’t leave the house for 14 days, and in the process, found a renewed appreciation for the outside world. ‘Time Doesn’t Heal’ flips that script once again to imagine his father’s perspective on the sacrifice he made when he left his family, his whispery falsetto chronicling that specific, permanent sting of feeling unchosen by fate.
“I really hate the idea that… because an album has songs that all sound very similar, that means it’s cohesive,” says Elmiene. “As soon as you look at all the classics, you realise that that doesn’t track. Whether it’s Lauryn Hill, whether it’s any Stevie album, take your pick, Wu Tang, Donny Hathaway, Prince, Michael Jackson, the songs didn’t sound the same. You could never play a song, think it’s one and mix it up with another one.” That philosophy of variety is crystal clear here, each track offering a new face to an artist who already subverts expectation routinely. Production was handled by what he describes as ‘his very own league of heroes’ including Sampha, Andrew Aged, Buddy Ross, NO ID, Ghostnote, Jeff ‘Gitty’ Gitelman and Raphael Saadiq. The tracklist flows dynamically with all the natural ebbs and flows of a life, a relationship or a single stream of consciousness. It’s a project that feels less like a ‘vibe’ and more like a complete portrait.
‘Lie With Me’ is an irresistible ode that’s equal parts delusion and devotion, fittingly channeling retro-pop electronics reminiscent of Prince in dedication to a love that’s on its last legs. Elsewhere, ‘Moment’ is the album’s arresting piano opener that invites right into the room, as he croons about a thankless, formless champion of the downtrodden, with a subtle swing-like lilt that cradles you. ‘Special’ envelops you with a weightless jazz-infused warmth while ‘Told You I’ll Make It’ transmutes an energy directly from church pews into something entirely new. He even enlists new-gen vocal force Baby Rose and soul veteran Raphael Saadiq to further bolster its sultry textures. “Soul is really all music,” Elmiene explains. “If the definition of ‘soul’ is music that comes from the soul, then your experiences can paint that in an infinite amount of colours.” sounds for someone is a masterclass in that thesis.
At the core of it, and so much incredible soul music, this is an album powered by love and how it shapes us; it investigates its ability to fuel us, connect us, hurt us but also save us. “[Love] is such a world-shaking thing. So of course, there’s endless possibilities, because it’s like what do you want to talk about that’s affected by love? Everything. Even the lack of it is an infinite discussion.” Love is a topic that Elmiene is no stranger to. In fact, as an avid R&B fan, it’s an emotion his voice has come to be synonymous with. And yet, he feels he’s still just scratching the surface of it. “I think it’s pretty endless because I’ve never been in love before and I’ve written so much about it already,” he laughs. “So I’m like shit, I wonder what’s gonna happen when it does happen?” In the meantime, he finds it continues to surround him: “The magic is to open your ears and listen. It’s not complicated. There are so many examples of love and different forms of it everywhere, in every single thing.”