Emin has already established himself in some parts of Europe and now he has the UK firmly in his sights.
He is about to release his new track Walk Through Walls and it is the latest song to be taken of his recent album After The Thunder.
I caught up with him to talk about the new single, the success of the album and how he found recording in the UK.
- You are about to release your new single Walk Through Walls so what can we expect from the new track?
Well Walk Through Walls is a very uplifting and brand new track. It barley made the album and the reason that I say that is because we were pretty much done with the album, which consists mostly of my co-writes, but the song was pitched to us and soon as I heard it I was like 'hell yeah, this is my next single'.
- Tim Bran has produced this track and Ash Howes has mixed it so how did you end up working with these guys?
I was introduced to Tim by my manager David and so it was accidental on my side but David is very well connected in the industry and he thought it was a good idea for us to try and do something together.
So we thought about planning a writing session but schedules would not allow and so we ended up using one of the tracks that the guys had freshly written.
And Ash has mixed many of my previous recordings, including Baby Get Higher, Anytime You Fall and Obvious; both were from last year and were Record of the Week on Radio 2.
So Ash knows what to do to make a song sparkle on the radio. So I am really grateful for all of these connections and all of these collaborations.
- I was reading that you really enjoyed the recording process so how did you find working with Tim and Ash and what did their experience bring to the record?
Very much so. I think they looked at my music from a different perspective. They had heard the album Wonder and they had heard the unfinished After The Thunder and they realised the songs that they should pitch should be something completely different that I haven't done.
As a singer songwriter you might realise that some of the lyrics and the melodically solutions are similar from one song to another and so it is always good to collaborate.
When Walk Though Walls was pitched clearly it was the song that I was missing and I have never recorded anything like that - it had a lot of lyrics to memorise but I guess that is my problem (laughs).
- So how has the new single been received so far?
We are on Radio 2 and we have done BBC Breakfast this morning and I think it went really well.
We have done a lot of radio stations and everyone who played it seem to be really excited and happy about it; especially the ones that have played my records before as they say that this is the best they have had from me.
And that really excites me because I didn't know if that would be the case because I thought Baby Get Higher was really strong and last year's singles were quite strong. But it looks like things are looking up for me.
- The single is the new track from your album After The Thunder so how does Walk Through Walls introduce us to the rest of the album for people who haven't heard it yet?
I think it does the justice for the up tempo songs and the mid tempo songs. The album is very diverse, just like Wonder was; where you have the strong ballads and the big ballads and then you have the mid tempo tracks and then you have the dance records.
So I think that it does perfect justice for the upbeat side of the album but you are yet to hear the ballads such as Dead Roses.
- After The Thunder is your sixth studio album so how do you feel that you have developed as a musician in that time?
I feel that I am still developing and I think that as long as I feel that I am still developing then I will continue recording; as soon as I spot feeling that then that will be the end of it (laughs).
I get bored doing the same thing and I want to progress vocally, lyrically, as a song-writer, as a singer and as a performer and it is crucial that I feel that growth - if I don't feel that growth then maybe I shouldn't be on stage anymore.
- As you say you are always developing and growing as an artist so how do you feel that After The Thunder is different to the other records that you have released?
I think it is the brightest album that I have done because it doesn't have as many sad songs on it and it has happier songs such as Walk Through Walls and Baby Get Higher.
I think it is probably the most mature music and material that I have created so far - and I am happy to report that most of the album are co-writes between me and my writing partners.
And that always makes me happy because it means that I am living up the level and beating the songs that are pitched to me by just writing constantly.
- Brian Rawling has produced the album so what were you looking for in your producer this time around?
As always his guidance, his expertise and his sense for the right song; which is not necessarily a good or a bad song but how much it suits me and my voice.
The last two albums After The Thunder and Wonder were both produced by Brian Rawling and he has revolutionised my music life within fifteen minutes of me being in a recording booth with him.
I have changed the way that I view my vocal, my music, my style because of the way that he pushed me the very first day that we recorded - I am forever a grateful student of Mr Brian Rawling.
- I believe that you were keen to record the album here in the UK so how was that experience?
It was great. To be honest with you some of the vocals that I have done have been done in Moscow because of the time issues but in today's digital world I guess it doesn't matter.
I love coming here and my wife and my kids are coming here constantly. So every opportunity I get to fly over here and work and combine that with some family time I do. Being in London makes me happy.
Being at Brian's studio just outside of London makes me doubley happy because of the environment that he has there - you feel like you are on vacation but you are creating amazing stuff.
The writing partners that he has introduced me to over the years such as Paul Berry, Jamie Scott, and Ben Adams have been absolutely fantastic.
We have written over sixty or seventy songs in the last couple of years and only twenty four made my two albums - so that is a lot of days of work (laughs).
- I talk to a lot of musicians and some really don't like the recording process so how do you find stepping into the studio?
I like it. For me the writing process can get a little annoying towards the second half of the day because the song is written within the first couple of hours - polishing is 80% of the song.
Recording is always simple as I go in the booth, I never had a problem with my vocal thank god, and three hours tops we have the song recorded. Then it is up to the engineers to put it together and make it sound right. So it doesn't bother me.
Sometimes I will record demos that everyone is uncertain about because I have a gut feeling that this might sound right with my vocal on it - sometimes I am wrong (laughs).
- This is only your second album release here in the UK so how have you found trying to crack the UK market?
It is close to impossible (laughs). But it excites me as it is a challenge. I am already established in Russia and Azerbaijan and I feel like I am starting over a little bit here - but it definitely inspires me because it is a challenge.
On the other hand I think given the fact that I have had some success already with the support of Radio 2, Magic and Heart for my single - so I do think I stand a chance and I intend to pursue it.
Hopefully I will pick up even more success and not just in the UK but in Europe and we are in talks with the United States - my music could become international.
But that doesn’t stop me from continuing to write and try to find the very song that will ease that path for me.
- Well you have slightly touched on my next question really as I was wondering what plans you have for the U.S.?
Well we have a couple of directions that we are moving in as we are talking about a TV series, we are talking about doing a duet there and we are talking about finding a label; I am signed to EMI but we feel that for America we might consider an independent label who will do more for us than a big label would.
We have a couple of big events this fall including a show with JLo in Baku for a sporting event at the end of September. She has been invited as a big act and we have been asked to do an opening for her and that will be the first half of the show and that is very exciting obviously.
Ten years ago in my business world I opened her first fashion store in the world - it was actually eleven years ago - in Moscow.
We opened a chain of her fashion boutiques across Russia and then I met her six or seven years ago when she flew over to see her store. Ten years go by and we are going to be performing on the same stage - I guess paths cross sometimes.
- Finally what's next for you - will we be seeing you play any live shows here in the UK?
You will, we can’t announce any dates yet because we don’t know them. But we do have big plans for the UK - until this becomes a success I am not going to let you guys go.
Click here to buy the album After the Thunder
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw