Hotly-tipped singer-songwriter Elmiene has seen his career go from strength to strength since drawing a shock of global attention in 2021 when the nostalgic, unreleased cut “Golden” was featured on the soundtrack to Virgil Abloh’s final runway show for Louis Vuitton, shortly after the visionary designer’s death. His debut album sounds for someone makes good on those early signs of preternatural promise, cementing another rock-solid milestone along the British Sudanese talent’s creative path. Assisted by a litany of revered musical figures including Mercury Prize-winner Sampha, hip-hop heavyweight No ID and Raphael Saadiq (lending blissful harmonies to “Light by the Window”), Elmiene drifts effortlessly between soulful reflection and sophisticated funk. Big feelings are magnified in the small moments captured on tracks like “Special”—an ode to romantic gestures without occasion—or “Cry Against the Wind”, where distorted guitar licks haunt the hollowed-out space carved by grief. Elsewhere, “Saviour” combines driving rhythm with a breezy falsetto hook, while a jazzy groove makes even depression-induced isolation sound like a good time on “Reclusive”.