With her Jamaican roots, June McDoom was pretty much born with the notion of using the studio as a cutting-edge instrument. Growing up, she became transfixed on 70s West Coast folk sounds while earning a degree in jazz and soul music in New York. All of these undertakings have dovetailed into an astonishing sonic vocabulary that defies easy categorisation.
Her new song “On My Way” seems to bend the march of time to its own will, a stunning alchemy of analog and digital recording techniques. McDoom’s voice almost sounds like an unearthly inner voice haunting the song, which is built about a very earthly sentiment: the unyielding yearning to fall into a loved one’s arms.
McDoom: “‘On My Way’ is about making my way through life while sharing it with another person. About how grounding and scary it can be to share a life with someone, while both working to fulfil life’s passions and dreams. Living in NYC always feels like a journey just getting from one place to another and life can feel just the same.”
“I recorded several versions of this song, with earlier versions at a slower tempo. Then one day I had an idea to try recording it one more time from scratch a little faster, after continually feeling like it needed something more/dragged a bit and it ended up fitting a lot better so we followed through with that final arrangement. With the tempo change of the final version, I wanted to also texturally mirror the message of traveling and working towards a destination with low and high moments. “
“On My Way” offers a glimpse of June McDoom’s debut EP, which is out early 2023. You can preorder it here via Temporary Residence.
Check the visualizer for “On My Way” below.
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