Elmiene has a pure mild. His charisma, humor and self-awareness strikes first, however the knockout blow is that classic voice. If I didn’t know higher, I’d assume I’m listening to somebody with years of Baptist church coaching and numerous life experiences. But he’s a 23-year-old Muslim man, fast to say that he writes largely from the views of these round him. He’s a poet, born to carry out, which is probably going why he wasn’t actually nervous however extra so in awe of performing on the Tiny Desk — particularly when he discovered the toy glockenspiel he performed was left by Dua Lipa.
The emotion the British singer-songwriter pulls from is linked to his fascination with ’90s R&B. Crooners like D’Angelo, Anthony Hamilton and Silk all have that knack for crying out for love. Since a lot hip-hop is included into right now’s love songs, Elmiene’s adaptation supplies a welcome steadiness. He’s but to drop a full size LP, as a substitute choosing an EP right here and a single there, devoting himself to creating and studying who he’s as an artist. Draped in a customized kaftan, Elmiene stepped behind the Desk to play highlights from his newest EP, Anyway I Can, and a pair from 2023’s Marking My Time.
SET LIST
- “Marking My Time”
- “Gentle Work”
- “Crystal Tears”
- “Anyhow”
- “Sometime”
MUSICIANS
- Elmiene: lead vocals
- Simeon Jones: keys
- Jerome Johnson: drums
- Tjoe Man Cheung: guitar
- Max Doohan: bass
- Erik Brooks: vocals
- Megan Parker: vocals
- Rachel Gonzalez: vocals
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producers: Bobby Carter, Ashley Pointer
- Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant
- Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
- Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Kara Body, Maia Stern, Mitra I. Arthur
- Audio Engineer: Hannah Gluvna
- Manufacturing Assistant: Elle Mannion
- Photographer: Zayrha Rodriguez
- Tiny Desk Copy Editor: Hazel Cills
- Govt Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Sequence Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
- VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins