Zephaniah OHora Channels Bakersfield on New Song

Updated:

April 17, 2017 10:29 am

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Channeling the country icons of decades past is something of a trend these days, but only a handful of artists are able to pull off such homage without devolving into mimicry. Brooklyn’s Zephaniah OHora is one of those artists, blending the influences of Bakersfield and 1960s Nashville with modern sounds on his forthcoming new album This Highway.

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The album’s title track is the perfect amalgam of those influences, with leisurely pedal steel and electric guitar twang providing a lush backdrop for OHora’s nimble croon.

“This is the first original tune I presented to Jim Campilongo [producer],” OHora says. “I was listening to a lot of Red Simpson and I wanted to write a sort of truck-driving country road song that I could relate to as sort of an analogy to each person’s unique journey in life. And the struggle of accepting the passage of time and the mystery of death.”

This Highway is out June 9. Listen to “This Highway” below.