Def Jam’s Elmiene Talks Growth and sounds for someone at Press Conference
- Tatiana Zaragosa
- Apr 2
- 3 min read
By: Tatiana Zaragosa
Elmiene entered the room with an easy laugh, joking with reporters and pausing thoughtfully between answers. He spoke openly about his album sounds for someone, sharing how the creative process pushed him to explore vulnerability and transparency in his music.
Elmiene’s four singles from the album, “Cry Against The Wind,” “Saviour,” “Reclusive,” and “Honour,” touch on different themes and emotions like grief, innocence, and isolation. Elmiene shared with Cage Riot about how his song “Cry Against The Wind” was a steppingstone into sharing a much vulnerable side of himself.
“I think there are many moments where I should have felt I was outside of my comfort zone. But the thing with music is there’s a duality of like you’re exposing a lot of very, very personal things but the excitement of how it sounds kind of make you forget that’s even what you’re talking about,” he said.
This openness gives us a glimpse into how Elmiene will explore vulnerability in his latest album. Just like when creating the title sounds for someone, he wants the album to be open-ended to the listener’s interpretation.
“My vision when the title kind of came to me was I wanted it broad where anyone can put whoever that someone is in their life in that position and it will still fit. If [the album is] for your brother, your uncle, your sister, lover or whatever, I wanted to make sure that part was open,” he explained.
Elmiene also shared that he hopes sounds for someone can show how he can freely express himself.
“The only thing I can hope for that this album brings is that the people can expect me to be a free-sounding artist,” he expressed. “I think all I really want is that this can give me freedom to express myself however I want. [To] escape whatever box I might tap in falling into.”
To Elmiene, human connection and communication is something he values when creating music and live show experiences. With his upcoming sounds for someone tour, he hopes his shows will make his audience feel connected to each other; tying into the openness of the album.
"That's the human part of making music that you could easily lose if you never did those [connection] things,” he said. “Where at the end of the day, you always have to realize that the making music part is human because I collaborate with people and I’m talking about real things that I go through… When I do these small, intimate shows, it’s my opportunity to then again refresh ‘Oh yeah. I do this because people listen to it and I can see their faces and I understand how it affects them’... A good song is communicating a thought articulately. Who are you doing that for, and who are you talking to when you see those people? That’s really what makes [a song] feel alive again and makes sense.”
Lastly, Elmiene envisions his listeners to be people who are looking to search within themselves.
“Just real, normal people who want to feel something with music in a way that’s beyond just ‘I want to have a good time’ or ‘I want to do this.’ I envision my listeners to be people that want to ask questions and find out more about the world, I hope.”
After thoughtfully answering the reporter's questions, Elmiene serenaded the room by singing the lyrics “These days I'm caught up on the finer side / And you're the reason why I’d ever pick a side,” ending off the discussion on a playful note.
Bringing in his authenticity, confidence, humor and self-disclosure, Elmiene is positive that sounds for someone will reach those who want to connect with each other and explore more about themselves.
sounds for someone is out now on all platforms. Listen to his 1824° here.
