Two of the most talked-about voices in soul just joined forces. Elmiene and Fujii Kaze share “Comets + Gold,” out now on Polydor and Def Jam Records, and it’s a gorgeous meeting of British R&B and Japanese genre-fluid pop. The track follows Elmiene’s critically acclaimed debut album ‘sounds for someone’, out now.
The collaboration started with a YouTube cover. Kaze posted his version of Elmiene’s “Someday,” and the connection grew from there. When Elmiene travelled to Japan over the Christmas break to visit Kaze, the two spent days writing and getting to know each other, and “Comets + Gold” came out of that time together.
Elmiene came away impressed by his collaborator’s instincts. “It was so easy working with Kaze for many reasons,” he says, pointing to Kaze’s understanding of how music moves through chords and harmonies. “He is incredible at adding the perfect colours to music that bring so much depth and emotion in a song. Our music galaxy has so many more stars through him.”
Kaze felt the pull just as strongly. “When I first heard Elmiene’s songs, I immediately fell in love with them,” he says. “He brings back the good old soul we need in music today.” Recording the song, he adds, felt like floating in Elmiene’s vast universe.
Director Patrick Linehan shot the video in the US right after Kaze’s debut Coachella set, where he performed both weekends. The dream-like, cinematic visual puts the pair in conversation, trading verses and channelling the heartfelt sentiment of a track built on friendship and mutual respect.
‘sounds for someone’ takes listeners on a deeply personal journey, tracing two decades of family trials and triumphs that shaped Elmiene’s worldview. The record features GRAMMY winner Raphael Saadiq, with production from a stacked lineup including Sampha, Jeff “Gitty” Gitelman, and No I.D. The result is rich and textured, the work of a singer who keeps deepening his craft.
The milestones keep stacking up. Elmiene has played Roots Picnic and British Summer Time Hyde Park, where he supported Stevie Wonder, and his Tiny Desk Concert has topped one million views. Spotify, Apple Music, MTV, NME, The Guardian, and BBC have all tagged him as an Artist to Watch, and he’s living up to every bit of it.
The live calendar runs long. Elmiene returns to Japan for Summer Sonic this August, then takes the ‘sounds for someone’ tour across the UK and Europe in November and December, opening in Amsterdam and wrapping at London’s Eventim Apollo.
Upcoming Tour Dates:
8/15 Tokyo, Japan / Summersonic Festival
8/16 Osaka, Japan / Summersonic Festival
11/29 Amsterdam, NL / Melkweg
11/30 Berlin, DE / The Metropol
12/2 Paris, FR / Salle Pleyel
12/3 Brussels, BE / Ancienne Belgique
12/5 Bristol, UK / O2 Academy
12/6 Manchester, UK / Albert Hall
12/8 London, UK / Eventim Apollo