Elvis Presley of the Yukon is a big believer in karma.
Fitting, then, that he may be bound for India.
“I’ve probably seen every square inch of the United States,” says the King from his home in Ross River. “Now it’s like I’m hitting the rest of the world.”
Most Yukoners will need no introduction to Presley, born Gilbert Nelles, who claims that ever since a UFO struck him with a beam of light in 1986, he has possessed the soul of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
He legally changed his name to Elvis Aaron Presley after the incident.
He has released two albums, performed with Chubby Checker in Los Vegas, and has been the subject of a documentary film, The Elvis Project.
His peculiar brand of apocalyptic Christian hillbilly rock enjoys a small but loyal, albeit fringe, following in the territory.
Now, mainstream success lies just around the corner, he says.
He is in talks with a record company based in India, he says. It’s name is W.O.A. International.
“They sent me a contract. It’s in the works,” he says.
The company’s website claims it is “home to independent music’s biggest stars.”
It represents largely-unknown artists such as Alison Woods, Lloyd Paul and Oliver Sean.
It also produces a compilation CD called Goa Chillout Zone. Presley is enthusiastic that one if his songs may be featured in a forthcoming volume of the compilation.
The compilation CD will be distributed to big record labels, and its tracks are for sale on the iTunes music store, he says.
Presley sees one of his more mellow songs, “Seeking comfort in a can,” as a natural fit with the easy-listening lounge music featured in the compilation.
The song is a lament to 3 a.m. drinking that is accompanied by bongo drums and lazy saxophone licks.
“To me it’s a perfect song,” he says. He has received e-mails “from all over the world” about it, he says.
His last album, A King’s Ransom, was self-released in 2003. He has sold, by his estimate, about 1,000 CDs.
A tour of India is likely in the works once he has been signed, Presley says.
The label first wants to take him to Dubai, capital of the United Arab Emirates, he says.
“They say it’s the Lost Vegas of the world,” he says.
He expects he will need to dress light in the city, where temperatures are known to exceed 40°C.
With the record deal apparently pending, Presley is sitting on an updated version of A King’s Ransom.
The “platinum plus” edition is, in fact, much the same as the original 2003 release, except it includes gratuitous applause tracks layered over each song.
The applause was recorded from various live performances, he says. The studio allowed him to mix different audiences together, and to “actually make my own crowd.”
“I wanted to take every person I’ve sung to and touched, and put them in one room in a concert.”
“If I passed away, I’d be 100 per cent happy with the CD I’m putting out,” he says.
Presley also has more than 40 new songs waiting to be recorded, he says.
He already has a working title for the forthcoming album: Elvis Presley, E=MC2.
“I wanted to let people know my soul’s energy is eternal and is just as powerful as the atom,” he says.
“What you say and do in your life can affect an entire planet. People don’t realize how powerful they are if they plug into the whole consciousness of the world.”