Idris Elba hints that Mi Mandela could be first in a line of role-based albums

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/29/idris-elba-mi-mandela-music-inspired-by-roles

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Idris Elba says he may create music inspired by his roles in Luther and The Wire. As the British actor prepares to release a record inspired by Nelson Mandela, he is also considering making albums for Stringer Bell, John Luther and other characters.

“[Mi Mandela is] part of a series of albums that I’m going to make called character pieces, character albums,” Elba explained in a new interview with NME . “[For each one] I take the character that I played and sort of explain the journey playing him, and the journey of the character, in music. What would he have listened to, what might have influenced him, what influenced me as an actor … This suddenly becomes these new songs, these new ways to write songs and [to] express [the] emotion attached to a character.”

Elba’s role on these proposed records is still not completely clear: he only sings on one of Mi Mandela’s tracks, he revealed, because he doesn’t want it to seem like a vanity project. Instead, the 42-year-old has worked as curator and executive producer, “bring[ing] musicians together with some concepts, ideas and musical inspiration”. He worked directly with performers such as James Blake, Cody ChesnuTT, Nothembi Mkhwebane and George the Poet.

When it comes to future records, the Luther and Stringer Bell albums still seem far off. “I’d be lying to you if I said I hadn’t thought about doing a character album for Stringer Bell ... but not enough to turn it into music yet,” Elba said. “Luther is another one that’s a big question mark.” He recalled Kasabian’s song Black Whistler, from the Luther soundtrack; “That [track] inspired me [to want to] make an album about that,” he admitted. “It might happen, it might not.”

For now, the next character album will most likely be inspired by Idris Elba’s role in the forthcoming film Beast of No Nation. Elba plays Commandant: “A nasty character who is basically the ruler of a child army.” “I’m thinking of doing that as the next record,” he said. “ There’s something about that sort of leadership, that sort of tyranny, that has drawn me and inspired me to think about some songs.”

• Mi Mandela is released 21 November.