After The Thunder

2012.05.26，欧洲歌唱大赛Eurovision的决赛於位居欧亚大陆腹地的外高加索地区的亚塞拜然共和国的首都巴库登场，主办单位邀请该国的商场鉅子与乐坛瞩目歌手「艾明Emin」担任中场表演嘉宾，他以浪漫、瀟洒的欧式流行乐歌曲〈Never Enough〉吸引全球三亿收视观眾的目光，為2012年夏季发行的最新专辑《After The Thunder》做了最强的造势曝光。 Emin出生在亚塞拜然的巴库，有个非常国际化的成长背景，三岁时，举家迁往莫斯科定居，年轻时转往欧洲的学校就读，最终在美国的纽泽西完成学业，在大学期间就创办网路销售商店，随后在纽约的曼哈顿开鞋店，再回到俄罗斯开创时尚品牌事业与连锁店。Emin拥有显赫的身世背景，他在俄罗斯房地產富商老爸Aras Agalarov创办的Crocus集团担任副总裁，妻子是亚塞拜然共和国总统Ilham Aliyeva的第一千金Leyla， 在政商名流的光环之外，Emin对於音乐也有无与伦比的热情，Elvis、Tom Jones、Engelbert Humperdinck、Sade、Dionne Warwick、Aretha Franklin都是他所欣赏的歌手，尤其喜欢Elvis驾驭全场，热情大器的歌唱风格。Emin在2006年啟动音乐旅程，发行首张专辑《Still》，专辑销售十万张，接连在2007、2008、2009年发行《Incredible》、《Obession》、《Devotion》等专辑，Emin完全投入每一张专辑的歌曲创作，编曲，製作与造型设计。 2010年，Emin放眼英国乐坛，与伦敦当地的音乐製作高手Brian Rawling（*One Direction、Kylie、Enrique Iglesias、Olly Murs）展开长期合作，2011年双方交出《Wonder》专辑，Emin以此张专辑成為首位出现在英国BBC Radio 2电台特别推荐专辑名单的东欧歌手，也进入葛莱美奖最佳新近艺人项目决选阶段的名单，这些优异的表现让他赢得了EMI的唱片合约。2012年与製作人再度合作的《After The Thunder》专辑，整张专辑在欧式流行乐的曲风中也绽放了Emin更加沉稳，真诚与自信的歌唱风采，专辑中除了有在2012年欧洲歌唱大赛中献唱的单曲〈Never Enough〉，2012年五月初闯进英国电台金榜Top 40的畅销曲〈Baby Get Higher〉等轻快雀跃的流行乐，还有真情流露的流行情歌小品〈Oxygen〉、〈I`ll Be There〉、〈Anytime You Fall〉。 Emin表示：「受邀在我的祖国所主办的欧洲歌唱大赛表演，在全球观眾面前演唱，这是改变人生的机会。 A consummate performer and entertainer with undoubted star quality, Emin Agalarov returns in May with his forthcoming second album ‘After The Thunder’. Emin’s debut album ‘Wonder’ saw the singer’s signature blend of adult pop with contemporary production received extremely well in the UK, with BBC Radio 2 naming it their Album of the Week and A-listing both singles, while Emin also became a favourite on daytime TV. The singer notes “in many respects we found our direction with Wonder and with the new album we have made major leaps in the sound.” The support from radio, press and fans in the UK gave Emin the confidence to contribute a great deal in terms of the songwriting when it came to make the follow-up. For this new record, Emin has once again worked with producer Brian Rawling (James Morrison, Olly Murs, JLS, Enrique, Cher) – “Brian pushed me to try new things and has especially helped me to discover the true potential of my own voice” – while he’s also reteamed with some of his co-writers on ‘Wonder’, including Patrick Mascall, Jamie Scott and Adam Phillips. Opening track and first single ‘Baby Get Higher’ came fairly late in the recording process. Co-written by Mark Read (A1), Emin’s upbeat, positive rendition made it an instant addition to the album and a clear choice of first single; the perfect reintroduction to the more self-assured, more expressive singer whose charm and personality informs every moment of this new record. With Emin having a hand in more of the songwriting, the result is an album with a consistent lyrical and musical perspective. Writing on both piano and guitar, Emin finds the words and melody often come to him simultaneously; “I usually write both at the same time. That is the most immediate aspect of writing for me … I like to write stories in my songs … based on observations about life and relationships or a memory.” So the album includes the likes of raw, piano-led ballad ‘Dead Roses’, which was written with Mascall and Read and is about the end of a relationship. There are several moments on ‘After The Thunder’ when Emin reassesses how he approaches songwriting. ‘Walk Through Walls’ sees him collaborate with Tim Bran (Charlatans, The View) and Bnann (Infadels), and Emin states it was an inspiration to see them “look at my music from a new angle … I love it!”. There’s also ‘Heart Keeps Beating’ which has unusually been recorded in both English and Russian, the first time Emin’s been able to re-record one of his songs in both languages – “the translation between the two is usually incredibly different … It means a lot to me to finally have a song out in Russian - some Russians must think I am a foreigner!” Other highlights on the album hark back to some of Emin’s musical touchstones, such as ‘I’ll Be There’ which was written by Emin and Jamie Scott (Michael Kiwanuka, Enrique Iglesias, Marcus Collins) and was inspired by listening to one of his favourite artists Sade. ‘After The Thunder’, meanwhile, sees Emin channels his love of Bryan Ferry for a song about words said in the heat of the moment. Emin is particularly looking forward to releasing his new music in the UK, commenting “Britain has been a huge influence on popular music and the amazing singers and bands that have come out of this country are simply too many to mention … If you can make it in Britain then I think you can make it anywhere - it is music's Mount Everest!” After the UK success of ‘Wonder’, Emin was able to secure a global record deal with EMI Germany, who will be fully supporting the release of ‘After The Thunder’ in what is set to be an astonishingly busy 2012 for the star from Azerbaijan. In addition to capitalising on his huge pre-existing fanbase on the continent, in May he’s been asked to make a special live performance during the country’s first staging of the Eurovision Song Contest. “It will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to perform both as an artist and an Azeri.” As well as being a personal highlight for Emin, he sees this as an important event for Azerbaijan saying “I think it’s an incredible showcase for my country, a small country that many people would probably not even be able to find on a map … hopefully this will inspire an interest to ‘Google’ Azerbaijan and see where it is and perhaps go there, and enjoy its beautiful culture and people.” In the UK Emin is signed to Saffron Music, with A&R and Marketing being handled by Nick Phillips (ex Warner Music and Universal MCA Chairman) and Adam Hollywood (ex Warner Music General Manager), who have also been responsible for guiding the careers of the likes of Mariah Carey, Michael Buble and Josh Groban. Having already had great success in Europe with several previous albums, where he regularly performs to arena audiences, ‘After The Thunder’ is the culmination of Emin’s musical career to date; a mature, honest and confident pop record with highlights and surprises at any turn, and the result of a lifetime’s passion.