ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
R&B singer Elmiene has a new album. It's called "Sounds For Someone." He told us that his debut album centers on someone special.
ELMIENE: Dedication to my father, my relationship with him. It's an exploration of all that I explored within when he was around and when he wasn't.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SAVIOUR")
ELMIENE: (Singing) If you could be just any something, you could be my saviour. Promise for my innocence that you would fight for ages.
"Saviour" is such a fun song to write. It was one of the most focused songs in terms of the theme of the album, where it's a direct conversation between me and my father, me as a child...
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SAVIOUR")
ELMIENE: (Singing) Please just blow it all away. Please just blow it all away. Please don't let me down.
...And kind of looking up and being like, man, there's so many things you did and you tried to do to form a connection with us that didn't work, when really, all I wanted from you wasn't anything that complex. It was just - I just wanted you to be my hero.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SAVIOUR")
ELMIENE: (Singing) Remember what I think of you is based on your behavior. And what you leave me leads me to you, baby.
It's just so freeing. I love it. It's like it gives me a real sense of freedom.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SAVIOUR")
ELMIENE: (Singing) Something into a nothing. Just be a person, yeah.
Really just finding a way to bring all these kind of childhood problems and adulthood problems out of my brain in a physical form so I can look at them and finally start asking the right questions to heal.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SAVIOUR")
ELMIENE: (Singing) Why can't we just relax? Please just blow it all away. Please just...
(SOUNDBITE OF ELMIENE SONG, "RECLUSIVE")
ELMIENE: "Reclusive" was a very hard song to write. It was very much thanks to producer Jeff Getty. We'd written a lot of songs together. But throughout all of those songs, he was like, man, we just need an autobiographical song, man. They need to know about you.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RECLUSIVE")
ELMIENE: (Singing) In my safe space, wake up and play video games. I think I need a change.
That's pretty boring, man. I get up in the morning, I play video games. I organize my trading cards. I don't know. Like, nothing interesting going on like that. Sometimes I don't even know if I want to go outside. I feel - I'm pretty much a recluse, and he was like, that's it, man, reclusive. That's the word - reclusive, man.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RECLUSIVE")
ELMIENE: (Singing) 'Cause I get so reclu (ph), ooh. I get so reclusive. I get so reclu, ooh. I get so reclusive. I get so reclu, ooh. I get so reclusive. I get so re (ph)...
(SOUNDBITE OF ELMIENE SONG, "LIE WITH ME")
ELMIENE: "Lie With Me" is such a fun song 'cause it was really me letting myself do the pop thing with no inhibitions.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LIE WITH ME")
ELMIENE: (Singing) I was hoping I could lie beside you. I was hoping I could change your mind.
It really clicked when we had the double entendre - lie with me being to lie with me, like in bed, but also to lie with me as in to fib, whatever, like, make up something.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LIE WITH ME")
ELMIENE: (Singing) Oh, let's pretend we're even part of love's deceiving.
It was really fun. It was, like, of the story of a love that a couple or whatever knows doesn't exist anymore, but just for one more night, just lie to me and lie with me, and let's just do it one more time.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LIE WITH ME")
ELMIENE: (Singing) You could just lie, lie, lie. Make me believe what you don't. Try, try, try. It's just till I can move on.
I hope that this album could be dedicated to whoever people find necessary to dedicate it to, and I hope they can find and relate to things that really just help them get through whatever that relationship may be.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LIE WITH ME")
ELMIENE: (Singing) You could just lie, lie, lie. Make me believe...
SCHMITZ: That was R&B singer Elmiene talking about his debut album "Sounds For Someone." It's out now.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LIE WITH ME")
ELMIENE: (Singing) Try, try, try. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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