Eliott Allemand, who came home last August after graduating with a degree in professional music from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, in the United States, says he’s been preparing for his "huge project" since.
"It’s a big collection of songs I’ve written, and it’s all about my childhood and my experiences as an artist growing up.
"It’s me singing, mainly, and also playing saxophone, piano, guitar, drums."
In the next three months he’s working in a studio with a producer who’s coming from the US — a fellow Berklee graduate whom Allemand’s performed with.
"The aim is to get them released throughout the year, kind of song by song, and hopefully, 2026, looking at a world tour with those songs.
"The project is going to take me to the next level."
The 22-year-old says his music style is "mainly mainstream pop, kind of drawing from Benson Boone, artists like Coldplay and Adele that I look up to".
Allemand, who moved with his family from New Caledonia to Queenstown when he was 11, took up the sax at 13 after already being proficient in piano and drums.
He’s been busking on Queenstown Bay since 2016.
"That was my practice spot — I never really practised at home.
"It’s a lot harder outside, so it was good for me.
"That’s where I polished my chops and my confidence and my showmanship."
It’s also helped him fund Berklee and his upcoming recording project and has landed him private gigs around the world.
While at Wakatipu High he won several awards at jazz festivals around New Zealand.
And in 2023 Allemand won five gold medals while representing NZ at the world champs of performing arts in Los Angeles.
He says he completed his four-year degree in just two and a-half years "because I wanted to get back into the music, into the real life".
