International artist Nominjin is bringing her trademark soulful R&B to the US with the release of her brand new EP entitled “Free Soul”. The EP includes 4 new original songs that transition between smooth R&B and high energy dance. “Kiss Me At Midnight” is a great introduction to the artists incredible vocals and intelligent story telling through her songwriting. The EP was recorded at Radonai Records in Los Angeles, California.
Nominjin began her musical career at age 12 in her native country Mongolia, going on to become Mongolia’s first ever and only pop teen idol. As a multi-linguist solo artist, singing in 15 languages, Nominjin has performed and toured all across the world in more than 15 countries in front of audiences of up to 70,000 people. Nominjin has also performed alongside such greats as Erin Hill (Billboard #1 artist), Shoji(Grammy nominated 2010), and Rupert Hine (producer of Tina Turner, Duncan Sheik and many others).
With an incredible career ahead of her, I gratefully accepted the opportunity to talk to this international superstar;
Photo Courtesy of EMPKTPR
At what age did you discover your love for music? Was there anyone in particular that inspired it?
I started singing when I was a year and a half. Although my mother is an academician she is musically gifted and I learned a lot from her.
How were you discovered?
I guess the first person who gave me courage to pursue music full time would be my vocal coach Roger Love whom I started working with when I was 12 years old. He had coached the biggest stars in Hollywood and my father sent a demo recording to him and he took me on as a student. I had decided to become a professional singer when I was 11 years old and my parents brought me to Hollywood as a birthday gift to study with Mr. Love and I continued to work with him until I was 17 years old. His technique really helped me conquer my voice and later on when I performed at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium and many other prestigious stages worldwide I was very thankful for his vocal program.
Going into the music industry at such a young age, did you face a lot of challenges?
Definitely, the music industry has gone through and is still going through many changes. The most challenging aspect is maintaining my artistic integrity while navigating the business aspects of music. I’ve had record labels heavily auto-tune my voice and also impose songs that I prefer to not utilize, which resulted in me not moving forward with them. Many deals on the table that fell through because my lawyers felt it wasn’t a fair deal. So, I feel blessed to finally partner up with a team of incredibly talented people and have complete creative control while working under Radonai Records here in Los Angeles.
How did you cope being a normal teenager while at the same time embarking on a career as a pop artist?
One word. Meditation. It is hard growing up in front of the public eye. People tend to pick you apart, but it didn’t affect me even though I was a teenage girl. Thanks to prioritizing my mental health through meditation and a great support system I was able to stay resilient in the rather judgmental world of entertainment.
What musicians would you say have had the biggest influence on your musical style?
I grew up listening to lot of great old school music thanks to my American father who introduced me to legends such as Sam Cooke, Etta James, Aretha Franklin and Bonnie Raitt. I love Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Alicia Keys and Bruno Mars. I don’t have one specific big influence but you could say I’m inspired by Soul and R&B music.
You have a new EP on the way called “Free Soul”, what can you tell me about it?
Free Soul is a collection of songs that can be best described as a Stevie Wonder meets Frank Sinatra type of record. I wrote the lyrics and the melody and co-produced all the songs. It is soul music but it’s fueled by optimism and romanticism inspired by the Golden Era of Hollywood.
“Kiss Me At Midnight” is the lead single, was it written from a personal experience?
It is a melody that eventually turned into a love song when I wrote lyrics to it. I purposely created a super old school Latin Soul vibe for this song because it felt right for this particular record.
What do you find most inspires you to write a song?
It almost feels like my songs drop down from the sky. Eternal Romance was written in 5 minutes with both lyrics and melody at the same time. Sometimes I’m sweeping the floor and I get hit with a new song. I feel like the more effort I put in the harder it is to write and if I let the creativity flow I am given beautiful songs at random and unexpected moments. So I’ve learned to let go and just be free. All the songs of my “Free Soul” EP was written with that in mind.
You’ve toured a lot of countries, where would you say has been your most memorable place to perform and why?
It was a great honor to perform at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall as well as Llangollen Eistedfodd with the Welsh National Opera Orchestra in England. As a Soul/R&B singer it was an out of this world experience performing as a soloist with the biggest orchestras and choirs in the world on notable classical stages in more than 5 languages. I performed a few times in Japan and once I performed at a Peace festival there in front of 50,000 people which was amazing. The Japanese are such detail-oriented people and made sure my stay there was smooth. I also love performing in with my Indian musician friends such as Sivamani and Louiz Banks who are legends over there. Each country and each experience is unique and beautiful in its own right. So, I always carry a grateful heart to have had the chance to perform for people from all over the world.
Do you have any more tours in place this year?
I don’t have specific dates scheduled in for this year but I’ll let you know if I do.
Are you planning on releasing or recording any more music for later on in the year?
Yes, absolutely. I can’t wait to get back into the studio to record more original songs. Meanwhile, you have my “Free Soul” EP coming on February 14th. And also for those people who want to hear me sing often I just started a YouTube channel where I will be posting weekly cover songs.
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