There is a tension between the heartfelt and longing voice and the captivating groove that Jonathan Stephen Simons and his band produce. A juxtaposition mirroring the song’s message of finding nuggets of happiness even on a bad day.
Wayward Water has its roots in such a bad day, as Simons explains. But intuition, gut feeling, or whatever you’d like to call it, told the musician to go outside, watch the rain, and calm down. „As the water came down, getting blown wayward by the wind, I found peace in the smallness of self and a subtle happiness within,“ tells Simons.
The new single is officially released tomorrow, May 23. Today, Wayward Water celebrates its premiere alongside a beautiful video capturing the stunning South African landscape, directed by Dave Kennedy.
Jonathan Stephen Simons’ Wayward Water is a light and breezy indie-folk song, channelling the likes of Hozier, Ben Howard, and Bon Iver, and an appetiser for his upcoming album Time Flows Like Water.
At first glance, Wayward Water naturally follows the modern South African singer-songwriter tradition: the music sounds light as a feather, summery and accessible. It seems almost ironed out and polished. And yet Wayward Water is not just arbitrary, superficial folk pop.
There is melancholy resonating beneath the fingerpicking guitar, subtle bass capers in the background, almost invisible behind Jonathan Stephen Simons' passionate performance, which combines wonderful references to blues and soul. Behind the accessibility lies substance.
