Adele - 21 werd grotendeels opgenomen in Malibu met de legendarische producer Rick Rubin (bekend van
Johnny Cash, Jay Z en Red Hot Chilli Peppers) en gedeeltelijk in Londen met producer Paul Epworth (Bloc Party en Florence And The Machine). Voor de totstandkoming van 21 werd
Adele vooral geïnspireerd door artiesten als Wanda
Jackson, Yvonne Fair, Andrew Bird,
Elbow, Mary J Blige, Mos Def, Tom Waits en
Kanye West. Het album wordt voorafgegaan door de single
Rolling In The Deep. Dit nummer werd geschreven en geproduceerd door
Adele en Paul Epworth. "It's a dark bluesy gospel disco tune," aldus
Adele over de single.
Adele over het album:
Over haar album 21 zegt
Adele: "I'm very excited, nervous, eager, anxious but chuffed to announce my new album! It's taken a while and it knocked me for six when writing it. It's different from "19", it's about the same things but in a different light. I deal with things differently now. I'm more patient, more honest, more forgiving and more aware of my own flaws, habits and principles. Something that comes with age I think. So fittingly this record is called "21". The whole reason I called my first album "19" was about cataloging what happened to me then and who I was then, like a photo album you see the progression and changes in a person throughout the years".
