Elmiene LIVE @ JBJ Studios
Elmiene makes quite the entrance to the crowded JBJ, descending down a slide in the studio’s ceiling to uproarious cheers and laughter from the assembled audience. The soul prodigy definitely has a flair for the comedic. He greets the small but intent audience apologetically, a strikingly tall figure in a bright kaftan and big beard, and seats himself at the grand piano. He begins to caress the keys in front of him, ‘This is niiiice!” he enthuses, ‘Oh wait, I’m supposed to do the thing! I’m supposed to record myself!”
Elmiene tickets are hard to come by; the JBJ studio session tickets were part of a raffle, and even his usual concerts have exclusive pre-sales announced via Instagram that sell out in minutes. Being able to witness him live, it quite quickly becomes clear why. Tonight he plays mostly covers, launching first into a rendition of Usher’s ‘Superstar’. “They’re all thinking i’m gonna do my own songs,” he muses in his pleasant Oxfordshire accent, “problem is, once I get started on the covers, I can’t stop”.
Whilst tonight he mostly plays subdued covers of other artist’s material, Elmiene’s stunning voice is the star of the show. His effortlessly sweet and powerful R&B vocal recalls Innervisions-era Stevie and neo soul greats like D’Angelo.
He mixes intimate and relaxed covers with amusing asides, at one point remarking that the Prince tune is about to play reminded him that Prince once recorded in JBJ. An audience member proffers that they had actually been an engineer at the session. Elmiene beams at this; '“So cool!” he enthuses.
He plays the piano beautifully for someone who had, by his own slightly abashed admission, ‘only just started playing the keys recently’. But we’re not paying attention to the keys playing; his gorgeous voice is completely mesmerising.
A cozy and incredibly intimate show, Elmiene’s prodigious talent is obvious. It beggars the question why he hasn’t yet taken the UK mainstream by storm. At 22, maybe it is only his brief stint in the industry being why he hasn’t completely exploded the way fresh R&B faces like Jorja Smith did a few years back.
Perhaps he is only a full album away from blowing up. We can only hope.