Video: Ondara “A Nocturnal Heresy”

Photo credit: Nate Ryan

The latest single from Ondara is the gorgeous ‘A Nocturnal Heresy’.  The accompanying performance video is brilliantly directed by Nate Ryan – the camera zooms in and out and pans around Ondara as he fills the space with sound and character.  Ondara’s lyrics are like free-form poetry: “She was always but a metaphor // For my spiritual path…She was always but a miracle // The scientist kind // Her man was a neanderthal // With pain came design.”  As ever, Ondara’s vocal performance is simply stunning, rising and falling, then soaring in angelic melody over a thumping rhythm.

The single is taken from ‘Spanish Villager No: 3’, the upcoming album due out on 16th September 2022.  The album is based around a mysterious character with a potent message: the enigmatic Spanish villager of the title.  Initially, the character appeared in a short story Ondara wrote, which he then turned into a graphic novel before building a collection of songs around him.  Ondara has also announced a North American and European tour for the autumn, which includes a date at Lafayette in London on 23rd November.

Growing up in Nairobi, Ondara developed a love for Bob Dylan and other American roots musicians and dreamed of one day emulating his heroes.  As a youngster in Kenya, he could barely have imagined that he would become a GRAMMY-nominated artist himself, living in the USA, releasing critically-acclaimed albums and opening for acts like The Lumineers, First Aid Kit and Neil Young.  He often writes about his experiences far from home and he has, indeed, come a long way.  Ondara’s music is simply beautiful.

Check out ‘A Nocturnal Heresy’, a rhythmic, melodic joy, and previous single ‘An Alien in Minneapolis’, while you wait for the highly-anticipated new record.

 

About Andrew Frolish 1570 Articles
From up north but now hiding in rural Suffolk. An insomniac music-lover. Love discovering new music to get lost in - country, singer-songwriters, Americana, rock...whatever. Currently enjoying Nils Lofgren, Ferris & Sylvester, Tommy Prine, Jarrod Dickenson, William Prince, Frank Turner, Our Man in the Field...
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