Johannesburg - Internationally acclaimed singer/songwriter Elaine is laying the foundation for her new body of work in the form of a single, kicking off with her first 2023 song release, Loving You, today.
The 23-year-old made the big move to America to join a US record label, Columbia Records, which records the likes of Beyoncé and Adele.
This single features another South African muso who is on the rise, Blxckie, who, according to Elaine, was able to step into her world and execute the song seamlessly.
"I actually sent the song to a couple of people who I thought would sound great on the song, and Blxckie was the first to respond. I feel like he took the time to understand me, my sound, and how I deliver messages in my music, which is what I was looking for in a collaboration.
“I didn’t want it to sound like two separate entities. I wanted it to sound like we were in the same room at the same time,” she said.
This is not their first time working together, with Elaine saying they were compatible in and out of the studio.
“The song is a romantic song. We sing about being in love, and he is reassuring me, in the song, that everything is going to be okay," she said, praising Blxckie for being supportive while making the song and afterwards.
The superstar, who is fast solidifying her name within the international market, said she plans to use her music to make international markets aware of what we can offer. Hence her dipping her fingers into the famous amapiano sound.
“I always made it very clear that I really don’t refer to myself as an R&B singer only, especially being South African. We have so much diversity here, and there are so many cultures and sounds that it becomes linear to just consider myself an R&B artist.”
She plans to take this new experimental sound to the world.
“This world that Blxckie has been able to tap into is somewhere in between R&B and amapiano, very much rooted in the sounds of South Africa, mostly Pretoria because I am from there.
“ I also want to give a fresh take on amapiano and R&B, with the lyrical content still very much emotional, as you would expect from me. But the tempo, the qualities of the beats, and the sounds are a little more experimental than what people are used to from me and Blxckie, I think.
"And because of my international platform, I intentionally wanted to incorporate sounds from home in my music. I feel like I always have this responsibility to open up the world to what South Africa is about, so that is why this song is so personal and is close to my heart," she says, adding that with the world looking in South Africa’s direction more, she wants to make the most of it by representing Mzansi.
Elaine came home for a visit last December and leaves today, heading back to her new home in the US. She says adjusting to the new environment was a crazy experience and still is, as she describes herself as a homebody – someone who is proud of being from Pretoria and of being South African in general. But, with all the adjusting, she credits God for everything.
“The time I’ve had here has been so refreshing, being able to catch up with everyone, especially because I love being around my family. It wasn’t at all easy moving to America. But since I've been here, I've got to catch up with the sound that is always evolving at such a fast pace. But I must say being in America has motivated me even more, because I always want to learn something new and bring it back home.“
She pledges to have a lot more local collaborations, as she has done with her new music in the pipeline.
“So much more music is coming. I think the biggest thing right now is that I am sitting on tons and tons of songs and packing them right now that I am entering them. How I want to feed my fans, packing – mostly because I understand my market and the importance of delivering the work perfectly,” she said.
The Star