Listening to Omar Apollo’s very promising EP Stereo (2018) had me in a certain state of mind I can only describe as an uneasiness with the sensation of standing on shaky ground. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the album and became excited for this twenty-one year-old’s future prospects. However, I can’t say my enjoyment was full in any sense, in fact, I would call it a conflicted enjoyment. Why I can’t fully commit is due mostly to the slightly uncomfortable reaction I had to his voice being accompanied by sounds I could easily embrace. You can hear in his intoxicating single “Today”, posted above, the reverb-heavy, distorted guitars and echo-chamber percussion. I love this type of Lo-Fi Soul sound, but on the other hand, when I focus on the voice, it becomes apparent where the source of unease originates – that voice challenges my sense of masculinity.
While I immediately recognize the talent along with the ambition, which seems entwined with his deft ability to fluidly move between musical styles, I might be unable to overcome the sobering fact his voice is just too good. Stereo is a superb twenty-minute display of Apollo’s eclectic influences and infectious guitar playing, which already carries a penchant sound I can only describe as having a thick bite while effervescent at the same time. The most intriguing part of the music is it’s uncanny nature to feel both “Pop” while also feeling fiercely independent. Upon longer reflection I came to some sort of conclusion that the inner turmoil I was feeling was due to the contradiction I was hearing within Apollo’s crisp, refined voice and the DIY production of the EP.
So what is my problem with the voice? Omar has the kind of shimmering clean, youthful and pure voice belonging on someone riding Ariana Grande’s coattails to the Grammys. Sometimes it reminds me of Miguel’s, such as in the track “Unbothered”, and other times it’s more Pop-focused and less Soul. He has a beautiful falsetto we often hear from refined stars who receive Top 40 radioplay- a Justin Timberlake type comes immediately to mind. Maybe there’s also a bit of a singer-songwriter like James Blunt in there. James Blunt is from a bygone era, however he famously made all the early-2000 tweeners ga-ga with his blue eyes and naturally Blue-Eyed Folk-Soul, shamelessly evinced on the track “You’re Beautiful” (2004). Add just a tinge of rasp to Apollo’s voice and you might get something akin to Ray LaMontagne and the crossover appeal of his Folksy Blues. If Ray LaMontagne didn’t come off as such a jerk, I might actually still listen to his music.
So many questions begin to sprout-up when I listen to Omar Apollo, such as, “Is that falsetto too charming to remain Indie Soul? Is that voice too good, or is is too Pop, to the point he will inescapably begin making Adult Alternative hits for the sole purpose of enticing middle-aged moms and yuppy twenty-something ladies?”
These questions reminded me that I have, in the past, actually enjoyed the music of some dudes who straddled the line between Pop while also having a sense of originality and artistic merit. Two of the artists who come to mind quickest are Paolo Nutini and John Mayer.
Paolo Nutini has been labeled Blue-Eyed Soul, Soul Rock, and Blues-Folk by many people, yet what I really admire about him is his ability to shift from superstar Pop-musician to powerful craft artist very easily. Although his name indicated Italian ancestry, I was surprised to discover he is Scottish, and often considered the most popular Scottish musician of this Century. He had two commercially successful albums in the first decade of the 00’s (These Streets in 2006 and Sunny Side Up in 2009), but never hesitated to just go into the studio and perform an eight-minute Blues tirade if the reason was just. He has a tremendous voice, and you can see the curious dichotomy in the two tracks below, the first being his big-hit “New Shoes”.
My mom loved “New Shoes”, and we would enjoy it together on many a car ride. Yet I always noticed the contradiction in Paolo Nutini’s musical catalogue. And then there’s John Mayer……who holds a unique position in the American heritage of music. He has always been a walking contradiction, as his persona in the media sphere has clashed with his lighter Pop music. He has also always been a musical anomaly for being one of his Generation’s most gifted guitarists, yet producing some of his era’s most guiltless and cloying Adult Alternative music. Deeply venerated Blues musicians like BB King and Buddy Guy praise his virtuosic abilities with the guitar, some considering him one of the Top-10 most skilled guitarists of the 21st Century. And he has really shredded in live performances in the past:
He commands respect from a large portion of the music community, yet there’s always the other side of his public life and musical career that truly vies with the side where he jams alongside BB King. He has dated megastar Pop-sensations like Katy Perry and Jessica Simpson, and Hollywood royalty like Jennifer Aniston (not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s a curious observation). He has also been a controversial figure in popular culture, often saying brash and rebellious things attracting negative attention.
I can’t bring myself to post anything from his early 00’s albums Room for Squares and Heavier Things because they are far too saturated with Pop-dust for me to even process. We all know tracks like “Your Body is a Wonderland” and “Bigger Than My Body” for the shamelessly saccharine radio-friendly fodder they are. Most of his albums have flashes of the Blues he personally loves and cherishes, yet the overlordship on most of his albums is the over-designed Pop used to conjure the proud claps or restrained tears of soccer moms running errands over Adult Contemporary production echoing through the chambers of Dodge Caravans. I did pull up this track from John Mayer, a more recent one, which I think is a decent track showcasing a polished late-night R&B sound that is pleasing to the masses. I didn’t mind it…….
So let’s get back to Omar Apollo and the source of my unease. I fear he’ll end up sounding more like John Mayer on this “New Light” track instead of being a crossover pioneer espousing all the artistry of genre-blenders like Steve Lacy, Nick Hakim, and Janelle Monae. Apollo has a bright future (and a great stage name), one that gives me the feeling he is on a promising road that will fork at some point and force him to make a decision. Both will most likely go down a path of success, but they are very different pathways to success. That voice will charm the ladies, and could quite naturally be co-opted by Pop producers and made into Top 40 Gold- this is one pathway to commercial and critical success. The other pathway is the one the EP indicates Omar Apollo is leaning towards, however we can’t be sure at this point.
In reading a couple articles about his background, he is influenced by great independent and innovative artists like The Internet and Daniel Caesar, which sounds like a great start. You can hear The Internet and their groove-based late-night Soul in many of the tracks on Stereo, but again I’m not sure he’ll be able to stave off the Pop-branding and stick to his Indie chops with a voice that would make an Angel blush. Nevertheless, there’s always the chance he’ll follow the way marked by someone like Daniel Caesar, who is enjoying commercial success for impassioned Soul/R&B tracks showcasing his amazing voice. However, this success in mostly contained in cameo appearances and feature credits on the tracks of other artists including H.E.R., Jorja Smith, and Kali Uchis. His own records are far more challenging and less “accessible”. 2015’s Pilgrim’s Paradise and 2017’s Freudian show flashes of Pop and commercial appeal, yet are ultimately more eccentric and Indie-Soul bona fide.
To be succinct, I hear Pop in that voice. However, all the great music around it excites me, and makes me wonder if he’ll be a great Lo-Fi Soul musician who will remain an Indie darling or if he’ll run down the other side of that fork in the road. Will he be an innovator, using his talents for the good of musical exploration and genre-mashing, or are we expecting that sterling voice to dominate the Dodge Caravans?
Celebrating Omar Apollo’s Story and Stereo
Omar Apollo has a great 21st Century story. His birth name is Omar Velasco and his parents are immigrants from Mexico who settled in a small unassuming town in Indiana called Hobart. Lot’s of agriculture and rural pluck and not much else can be said about Hobart, Indiana- until now. Omar trained himself to sing and play the guitar watching Youtube videos and Disney Original Movies. His sound mixes the Chicano influences of his mother’s music with his father’s love of the dreamy lyrics and Pop wonderment of The Beatles. Omar wears a Concrete Blonde t-shirt and talks of his love of dancing to Hip-Hop at family quinceañeras in a lovely little article I read about him. He looks like an average American kid from a town in the Midwest, but that voice belies this humble background. He’s a whizz kid learning how to be a musician very quickly. After making a few “Bedroom Soul” songs in his teenage years and publishing them via Soundcloud, this EP, made when he was twenty, proves he is growing up fast. The lyrics are plaintive and full of winsome desire, all the vocals drenched in honey, however, it’s the guitars I gravitate towards most in the music. The thick and choppy treatment, especially on the below track “Ugotme” is made an alluring contradiction when the sounds flitter with quick hands on the fretboard.
One of my favorite tracks from Stereo is the track “Hijo De Su Madre” and it’s obvious Hip-Hop inspired form. I’m getting Joey Purp vibes in the rap cadence (being in Indiana, I imagine exposure to Chicago Hip-Hop isn’t too much of a stretch), with a bit of a Chicano-beat and a guitar-heavy backdrop. The bilingual aspects are added gravy to what is already an infectious track. “Hijo De Su Madre” hints at what could be even more sonic exploration and genre-fusion in the future.
I’ll close with “Erase”, the dreamy and yearning track featured on Stereo. The song has a simple, slow-burning structure, still utilizing those washed-in-reverb guitars, though still allowing his voice to ride more pronounced. You can hear his parents’ church gospel mingling with his R&B-Soul persuasions, and a voice to be undoubtedly tagged “Bedroom Pop”. It’s a track to build off of in future releases, hopefully picking more of the Soul out of it than the Adult Alternative themes. Still, this EP is a great introduction to an artist I really hope picks the path of greater resistance – one that will challenge me to accept the shaky ground I find in his contradictory music. To be even more optimistic, I hope I find myself embracing the sound for its many contradictions, as well as its crossover appeal.
Omar Apollo’s effervescent track “Today” will be featured on a mix I will include in a future post. Looking forward to defining more Lo-Fi Soul in the mix, which is tentatively titled “Tunnelgazing”.
