QQ. How would you describe the sound and feel for "Elliot Yamin," your debut album?
A. I would describe it as being real soulful. It's got a very mature, sophisticated sound to it, it's kind of an artist's album, if you will. One of the great things about the deal that I got was that we did an independent partnership with Sony/ATV; my publishing company. The deal we did, and the way we did it, was unique and innovative in a way. That being said, I had a lot of creative freedom which is something you always hear an artist talk about. Coming out the gate I thought it was really important to be me and make the kind of music that I like. Write and co-write that songs I liked and wanted to do, I think it's important to stay true to yourself and not have to compromise your style or who you are as an artist and I don't think we did that with this album. It's all me, who I am, it's very genuine and not too overproduced and it's a great vibe.
Q. Where did you draw your inspirations from for the album?
A. Personal experiences and just being socially aware of what's going on. I think it's important to write from your heart, think of past experiences, to think of what you have been through personally. So, a lot of songs on the album are built around love and love songs, love this and love that. It's been great and I'm a very loving person and I've received a lot of love over the past year and so forth. I've got a lot of loving relationships with a lot of people; I think those are my main inspirations.
Q. How did "Wait For You" get chosen as the first single released?
A. There were various reasons, number one, I really liked the lyrics of the song and how I performed it. I didn't write the song, it was written by Taj Jackson, who is a writer for Stargate, they produced the track. I don't know if you know too much about Pop music and them; but they're all over the radio waves. They've got a bunch of hits under their belt; it's a combination of things. Obviously, your first single you want to be played on the radio but there aren't too many hotter producers on the radio than Stargate, so that was a perfect fit. Like I said, I really liked the way I performed the song and how heartfelt the performance was vocally and the lyrics were great too. It was also something different, just to give the audience something that is a different taste. We released this teaser, which is a song called "Movin' On," it's the first song on the album. It's got a Hip Hop, up-tempo beat to it. That was the teaser and I kind of wanted to give everyone a different taste to my sensitive side.
Q. When will listeners and fans get to see a live performance from you showcasing your new CD?
A. Yeah we do, we're going to do "Regis and Kelly" in New York the day of the release on March 20th and then we'll be doing "Jimmy Kimmel" on April 4th I think. I think more talk show dates are on the table right now. I think once the record comes out and once the single gets added to more radio stations we'll be getting more offers and those things on the table will become complete. I am doing a thing for Clear Channel like KISS in LA and Z100 in New York, they're doing this big promo thing in Bahamas the week of my release. They'll be a few artists down there, like JoJo and Akon, performing for contest winners. We'll be doing the acoustic thing down there the week of the release and doing a whole bunch of radio and satellite tours; we'll be all over the map.
Q. You mentioned that you didn't pen the song "Wait For You," but, how much hand in the production and writing on the CD did you have?
A. I was involved with it one hundred percent pretty much. I co-wrote all but four songs on the album and there are eleven songs total. As far as the songs I help put together the melodies and I definitely arranged the vocals. So, I was a big part of it and that's how it should be; that's how it should always be.
Q. What do you think it is about the music and songs on the album that will really resonate with listeners?
A. I think that the melodies and the lyrics are really intriguing, I know that sounds kind of broad, but I think people will really be drawn to the music. I think people will be drawn to the music and the vocals. There are some songs on there, the samples people are hearing, they are really touching people, they are really feeling the meanings of the songs. We're getting great responses from all the samples that we're putting out there
Q. Do you have a favorite track?
A. There are so many of them and the songs are so different. All of them have a different dynamic to them; it's hard to say which one I like the most. A lot of them are my favorites for different reasons. I really like "Take My Breath Away," I really love the lyrics in "One Word" and I love the song "Train Wreck." There is another song called "Find A Way," I love the lyrics in that. That song talks about things that are going on in the world today and what's going on socially. It's got really important lyrics and I think that people are really feeling that one and that one sounds really good live. We've included that particular song
Q. What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?
A. I just wanted to say I don't think there is a way to thank those people out there enough. I really get a true sense of family from my fans, everybody is in it together, that's how I approach this whole thing as a team project, we're all in it together. Let's just go out and do this and do this together. That's what I'm all about, when I talk about my album or the music, I always like to say we and what we're doing because it's a total team effort. We had so many great key players and everybody did what they do best individually and collectively. I like to take that approach with fans too, I owe them a serious debt of gratitude for their support and hanging in there with me. Everybody has been really patient because it's taken quite a while to build this album and come out with my own stuff. I think it's been well worth the wait and I appreciate all of their love and support. Let's do this together!
