Traditional country singer/songwriter Zephaniah OHora will release his highly anticipated second studio album, Listening To The Music, via Last Roundup Records. The album was produced by the late Neal Casal, who died in 2019 shortly after the mixing process was completed.
Written and recorded in his adopted hometown of Brooklyn, NY, the 12-track collection serves as a reminder that great country music doesn’t solely come from Nashville. Listening To The Music blends time-tested slide guitar twang with modern songwriting sensibilities, tipping its hat to the storytelling qualities of outlaw country legends like Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson (and featuring guest spots from members of Willie and Merle’s bands) while exploring a distinctly urban contemporary landscape.
“I’ve always seen music as a tool for uniting people,” OHora explained in a statement. “A good song can bring people together, no matter what ideology they’ve adopted. It can serve as a source of solace or a tool for self-reflection. It can remind us what we all share in common.”
“People think you have to be from Texas or Nashville to play this music,” added OHora. “But that’s not the way I see it. Country’s all about being true to yourself and telling honest, authentic stories. You can do that anywhere.”
In addition to the outlaw country greats, OHora is an avowed Grateful Dead fanatic who curates the weekly DeadStream for the NYC Grateful Dead Appreciation Club.
Born in New Hampshire to a deeply religious family, OHora first became enamored with music as a youngster in church. By his early 20s, he was living in New York, and though he wasn’t pursuing music professionally, his burgeoning love for classic country led to a regular gig performing and DJing at a small bar in Williamsburg. Soon, he was curating bands for the newly-opened Skinny Dennis, which quickly became the epicenter of the revitalized country scene in New York, and OHora found himself living and breathing the music 24/7 as he booked and performed with some of the finest instrumentalist the city had to offer.
Two of them, guitar wizards Luca Benedetti (Martha Redbone, The National Reserve) and Jim Campilongo (Norah Jones, Teddy Thompson), teamed up to produce OHora’s debut, This Highway. Songs from the record racked up more than a million streams on Spotify, and the album helped OHora land dates with the likes of Lee Ann Womack, Marty Stuart, Jim Lauderdale, Shooter Jennings, and Kelsey Waldon in addition to festival slots everywhere from Hopscotch to Pickathon.
Although Listening To The Music is available on all major streaming platforms, OHora openly agitates against Spotify for better artist royalty payments. He’s an outspoken proponent of Bandcamp as an alternative, so you can listen to the new album via Bandcamp below:
Zephaniah OHora – Listening To The Music – Full Album
For more information about Zephaniah OHora, head to his website here.