Two months into the worldwide pandemic-necessitated lockdown, Minnesota-based Kenyan singer-songwriter Ondara released his nostalgic, melancholy new album, ‘Tales of Isolation’, and we have been unable to get his ruminative, poignant lyrics out of our minds since.

Tales of Isolation

‘Tales of Isolation’, written and recorded while most of us did not know which way was up and were still trying to come to grips with working from home, contains 11 tracks, or ‘tales’, that perfectly capture the state of America and the world amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ondara does not shy away from the anxieties and realities faced by people worldwide this year. In the first track off the album, ‘Pulled out of the Market’, Ondara captures the moment of impact, when our world was brought to a grinding halt and the job market saw many workers immediately furloughed or laid off. “I’ve been pulled out of the market, I am a restaurant worker,” he sings, “I’ve been pulled out of the market, I am a factory worker.” The song closes on the impactful statement, “I’ve been pulled out of the market, I’m not an essential worker, Oh, I’m not an essential worker.”

In ‘From Six Feet Away’, Ondara explores what it means to be an essential worker now, greeting us with, ‘My name is Rita Lu, I work at the emergency room.’ Immediately, he poignantly and painfully captures the reality for emergency workers, singing:

“Yesterday a patient came in and I had to attend to him

He had the bug, he held the word

But the scripture did him no good

Back home, my love she’s waiting

Back home, my love she’s waiting

But I’m afraid to hold her.”

‘Mr. Landlord’ addresses the reality of weeks or months without income, with Ondara appealing to his landlord not to evict him from his home. Resonant and exquisitely crafted though these songs are, a personal favorite is the more hopeful, nostalgic ‘Lockdown on Date Night Tuesday’, in which he sings:

“I’m gonna put my grey suit on 

If you will put your red dress on 

I’m gonna meet you at the dining table 

I’m gonna meet you at the dining table.”

The beautifully-shot music video for the song shows a family in isolation, with a little girl helping her estranged parents to reconnect in lockdown. 

The song and video illustrate the other, more positive reality of the lockdown; that it allowed us to slow down and forced us spend more time with our loved ones, something which, in the relentless hustle of our pre-pandemic lives, we perhaps missed.

About Ondara

Grammy-nominated Ondara, previously known as J.S. Ondara, is not an artist that shies away from difficult subject matter. In one of the most haunting tracks from his debut album (for which he received the Grammy nomination), ‘Tales of America’, he tells the tale of an immigrant coming to America:

“Will you let me in, or are you at capacity

Will you set me free, are you holding onto history

Will you be sincere, are you averse to honesty

Will you dare to hear those children marching on the street

Oh God bless America, the heartache of mine

Oh God bless America, the heartache of mine

Will you let me bring, Isabela here from Nairobi

On the phone she was ill, and so was the economy

In fifty years, when I’m frail, barely on my feet

Will you be kind, oh dear, like you promised at the embassy

Oh God bless America, the heartache of mine

Oh God bless America, the heartache of mine”

—Ondara, ‘God Bless America’

Having moved from Nairobi to America, settling in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2013 at the age of 20 (after winning in the green card lottery), Ondara keenly understands both the promise and challenge of America for an immigrant. With ‘Tales of Isolation’, he continues to explore that dichotomy through the lens of the pandemic, with the result being a poetic rumination on humanity and adaptability that resonates worldwide.

by Illona Meyer

Africa Global News Publication