Nigerian-born and London-based musician Steven Umoh, better known by his stage name “Obongjayar,” has been an up-and-coming name in the UK music scene for some time now. A string of well-received EPs from 2017 onwards saw steady, incremental gains in recognition for “OB” (as he’s affectionately referred to by some fans) and his unique amalgam of Afrobeat and Indie, and the release of his 2022 debut album Some Nights I Dream of Doors exponentially swelled that upward trend. “Adore You,” his 2023 collaboration with producer Fred Again, went as far as #4 on the UK’s primary charts. Now, OB eyes still greater heights with the release of his sophomore album Paradise Now – supported most recently by his latest single, “Holy Mountain.”
“Holy Mountain” begins with a single, annunciatory hand drum roll, followed by the introduction of an upbeat, elastic guitar-lick. OB’s silky falsetto joins shortly afterward, and finally a joyously insistent Afropop beat completes the scene. This instrumentation – aside from a few extra percussive effects that occasionally filter in to add some spice – carries the song through it’s entire 2 minutes and 29 seconds of life with a vivacious simplicity that never sounds scant. All the while, OB’s exultations are put forward with an delicacy found in the most effervescent indie pop. The end result feels at once relaxed and celebratory: a perfect portmanteau of Afrobeat jubilation and Indie contemplation.
The video released alongside “Holy Mountain” is yet another example of a trend of in the greater music industry of late towards simple videos that serve as something of a mid-way point between a full-on, mini-feature style of production and the more simplistic visual accompaniment typically given to “lyric videos.” While the former may include everything from complex set changes to special effects to high-concept narratives, and the latter might be restricted to a background still of an album cover or some similar vignette, this hybrid style limits its action to a smaller scale – often just one single, continuous shot. The video for “Holy Mountain” exemplifies this tactic, featuring OB miming to the song in the bed of an in-motion pickup truck as the song’s lyrics scroll underneath. It’s an uncomplicated and effective means both of giving a song a visual pairing, and of providing a pathway toward greater engagement in the heavily saturated video-sphere, replete with clips and reels and featurettes. In the case of “Holy Mountain,” OB’s relaxed posture mirrors his laid-back vocal line, while the mile-a-minute exuberance of the music matches the constant motion of his perch.