NEONE the Wonderer: Obscuro-Soul Meets Psychedelic Rap on Latest Single 'Heartwing'

 

Photography by Tatiana Glorilovsky (@tatianaglorilovsky)

Every once in a while, a certain artist comes along who’s sound, though entwined with a multitude of influences and styles, is completely independent to them as a musician. NEONE the Wonderer fits perfectly into this category. The Wolverhampton native’s music allows for a vast array of styles to cross, combine and birth their own, which comes through in his work as a completely newly crafted sound, entirely unique to himself. For those yet to be acquainted with his expanding discography, one can expect to hear something that would only seem way too vast and ignorant to regard solely as ‘experimental hip-hop’. While 2021’s sublime ‘Nose Dive’ is a hypnotic blend of scatty drums, captivating bass lines and soul-soothing sax interludes, ‘Grass is Greener’ adopts grimy, east-coast psychedelic hip-hop qualities that would not sound out of place next to the likes of A$AP Mob or Meechy Darko. The uplifting ‘Never Die’ explores the rhythms of UK drill, incorporating shimmering keys and melodious rundowns that grant the song its addictively memorable quality.

Contrasting this, however, are tracks like ‘Holding on’ and ‘Imagine’, which encapsulate his appreciation and lust for life through the track’s sonics, shining with bright, floaty piano and a blissful choir layering NEONE’s own vox. What separates NEONE from his peers, however, is his capability to use a variety of instrumentation, from horns and strings to keys and guitar, in conjunction with typically ‘hip-hop’ oriented beats. Jazz and classical seeps through into almost all of NEONE’s tunes, genres of which he claims as an inspiration to his music, laying the foundations for him to project his raps over.

NEONE’s music does not only explore light and shade both tonally and melodically, but lyrically and thematically. Offering his outlook on life through the medium of poetry, NEONE’s words force emphasis on the alienation that living in our society can cause, in his case from a first-hand view. This kind of introspective lyricism offers insight into the inspiration behind a lot of the Wolverhampton rapper’s songs, with certain numbers taking a cognitive deep-dive into the mind of the creator. Tracks like ‘Headphones On’ journey through the struggles of depression and paranoia, with a positive message of mental metamorphosis, of seeing life from a new perspective:

“Tell me are we living in a paradise or is it paranoia?

Comparable to the afterlife, no judgement day no lawyer

Anyone recollect when my ego died? Hello my destroyer

It felt so bad, yet so good and I just didn’t know that” 

- Headphones On

 

Collaborative single with Paal Singh ‘Imagine’ explores similar themes, cascading with an appreciation for life and creative expression, while still acknowledging his own psychological chiaroscuro. NEONE fittingly depicts the joys, and equally the perils of our conscious and of our own existence in the form of an ocean in the opening verse, just one example of the vivid imagery that he is capable of creating through his bars:

 

“I wanna be chasing the waves ‘til I heard them crash

And then I was afraid I’d drown”.

- Imagine

 

On top of the actual composition of NEONE’s tunes, the melodic hooks, boundary-pushing production, and the effortless use of entendre and intelligent wordplay, his insightful lyricism is carried by an impeccable flow. Adaptable in both speed and tone, NEONE’s individualist style of rap sits in-between the breaks within his beats and makes use of space, all the while dropping back when necessary and giving way to a more melodic style of singing during choruses. Serene two-part harmonies will often crop up in-between high tempo verses, creating exciting vocal pockets of their own amongst tongue-twisting raps that earn NEONE his growing reputation as both a potential hit-maker and a poet in his own right.

 

I spoke with NEONE the Wonderer on his latest collaboration with Hemai on recent single ‘Heartwing’, recording instruments over sampling, the visual arts and plans for the future involving both music and cinema.

Photography by Tatiana Glorilovsky (@tatianaglorilovsky)

(DH) A late congratulations on the release of latest collaborative single ‘Heartwing’. How has the tune been received by fans so far, and how was it working with Hemai?

(NEONE) “Thank you very much, people really appreciated the song and I’m glad, I have a few friends that give me in-depth reviews of the songs I make and remember them playing it on repeat. It’s a very heart-warming tune and that’s because of Hemai pouring his creative energy into it. Hemai is an amazing producer and musician and genuinely a joyful and humble person to be around. We had so much fun in that studio session watching documentaries, theorising and trying to find paper (we ended up using a brown paper bag to write lyrics on).”

'Heartwing' cover. Artwork by @marniemoodyart

Your discography displays a  variety of influence and style, combining rap with jazzy bass hooks and acoustic percussion, with elements of contemporary soul and psychedelia. Who or what first inspired you to combine hip-hop stylistics with experimental instrumentalism and production?

“I would say the ‘who’ is the variety of music I’m grateful to have been exposed to in my lifetime and that’s thanks to my family. My mom showed me about RnB, hip-hop and jungle. My brother with his tape collections introduce me to grime. I don’t remember how but I came across an old blues CD in a family member’s collection and I took a massive interest in that, and I think my enjoyment of classical music came from cartoons. One of my first productions, which I still have, was a fusion of grime and classical because I was inspired by IMP BATCH’s Gype Riddim. I didn’t know back then that fusion was gonna be my thing but I would always explore different genres of music just for fun. I think a lot later in life I gave the fusion purpose when I wrote an essay based around fusion realising how it brings together cultures.”

You released your first collection of singles during 2020, was this your first time delving into song writing and production or had you experimented with making music prior to this?

“I’ve been messing around in music since I was about eleven attempting to take it seriously but never quite being serious. I look back now and consider what I was doing to be ‘class-clown music’. After a lot of life-things happened, I had a name change and started making music that would mean something. I still appreciate those years of clowning, it meant I got to experiment and explore to hone my craft.”

As a producer of your own music, are all sonics recorded by yourself and fellow musicians, or do you ever dabble in sampling parts?

“I guess it’s different for different songs, some are entirely my recordings, some are by a different producer. On my track 'Nose Dive’ I was fortunate enough to be supported with a budget to get musicians in to play the parts that I had pre-recorded as MIDI, it really brought the track to life. I tend to avoid sampling as I enjoy trying to come up with new chords or melodies, but I will sample drums! I’m trash at drums, still learning though.”

Are there any producers in particular who’s work you favour or look to for inspiration toward your own music?

“I dunno if they can be called producers, I look to composers like Henry Manchini, Miles Davis and whoever produced Busta Rhymes.”

The vibrancy and colour of your single artwork perfectly reflects the vividness of your songs. Aside from the music, are there any visual artists whose work inspires you in everyday life, lyrically, or sonically?

“I’m quite involved with the visual arts so there’s looooads of artists I follow, to name a few, @bod.machine has great conceptual art in a comic style, @lilblackgoat for that inner wild godlike being, there’s an artist that does really ethereal African dreamscape art but I can’t remember the name. One of the most memorable paintings I remember from when I was young was Sugar Shack by Earnie Barnes.”

'Sugar Shack' by Ernie Barnes (1976)

Finally, what does the near future hold for yourself?

“I’ll be dropping a single that’s kind if a prequel to ‘Nose Dive’, and I’m currently working on a project themed around seventies cinema.”

Listen to Heartwing on all major music platforms now.