Surinamese / Dutch folk-pop singer-songwriter néomí returns with the captivating new single 'red balloon', out October 20th through PIAS
Following the release of her highly-praised debut EP ‘before’ earlier this summer, which has since garnered one million streams and 100k monthly listeners since its release, as well as recently landing her first global Apple Music playlists in ‘Breaking Singer/Songwriter’ and ‘New in Singer-Songwriter’, néomí, aka Surinamese/Dutch folk-pop singer-songwriter Neomi Speelman, has now returned to unveil her captivating new single ‘red balloon’.
Although she aims to capture more of that warm and rousing aesthetic she conjured during her initial collection, ‘red balloon’ sees her embark on the next sonic phase in her career so far. Maintaining another beautifully wistful and alluring texture throughout, she builds upon her heartfelt direction to date and delivers a wonderfully mesmerising return in the process.
Speaking about the offering, she said, "red balloon was written in the winter of 21. I’d moved into a new home together with my boyfriend and we were going through a tough time. He suggested we write a song together so we went to the piano, sat down having not discussed a lot, and just let the music speak. Little did we know we were writing a break-up song as we parted a couple of months later. Maybe we did know, but we were just very content at that moment creating a song together. I still love that man very much, but love is a very complicated thing as you might understand. The song wasn’t finished so months later I decided to finish it up with a good friend of mine. I gave it a twist, as my heart literally burst like a red balloon at that time. Now I just hope that one day I'll be lifted like a beautiful red balloon that didn’t rip open.
"The song is about knowing you love someone very much, knowing you want to be with someone still, knowing it doesn’t work out the way you want to, knowing that it might be over soon, trying to hold on, trying to let go, losing yourself and for that reason hoping that one day you can cope with the fact you let that one person go and feel gracious again without them."
2020 was set to be the breakout year for néomí as she recorded her first singles with British engineer/producer Edd Hartwell (Tom Walker, Birdy, Tom Odell), supported singer-songwriting legend Don McLean and was also invited to the UK to play her first shows abroad. However, the out-break of a pandemic quickly followed by a life-changing event scuppered these plans with néomí using the next 12 months to develop as a songwriter and add to her growing catalogue of songs. Now, with the world returning to normality, néomí finds herself signed to [PIAS] with dozens of songs ready and waiting to be uncaged and take flight.
néomí: “It hurt me that I couldn't connect with people last year through my music, but I know now even more, that when the time comes, we will connect. And I hope people are just as eager as me to experience my music together. Like an artist I admire much once said: “the music has served me, now let the music serve you.”
As a youngster néomí’s first step into music didn’t exactly start on the right foot. After begrudgingly attending piano lessons as a child, when she was given the choice, the unimpressed Neomi quit and vowed never to play music again. I wasn’t until years later, during a browse on a popular Internet video website that she stumbled across a live video of Ben Howard performing ‘Old Pine’ with a cellist in tow. Spellbound and inspired, néomí came out of her musical retirement, picked up a guitar and began teaching herself how to play from online tutorials.
As a teenager, néomí was invited to audition for a music school in Amsterdam despite being a year too young to apply. Luckily the administrative error was overlooked as néomí was accepted on her raw talent and potential. Over the next 4 years she would hone her song writing and sound, her main influences stemming between Bon Iver, Bob Dylan, and Ben Howard. She says of the trio “their lyrics are outstanding and insanely beautiful. I don’t think they make songs, but they make art, poems. That’s something I also really try to do; make little poems instead of songs.”
néomí released her debut 5 song EP ‘before’ on June 24th 2022 via [PIAS] which was supported by CLASH, The Independent, GIGWISE, Under The Radar, La Blogotheque, Cool Hunting, Ones To Watch, LOCK Mag, Record Of The Day (Song of the Day for each track) and many more. She soon found herself opening for for Novo Amor, HAEVN, The Slow Show and Celine Cairo on their 2022 shows in the Netherlands and was named both OOR and 3voor12 Talent for the upcoming Popronde tour.
néomí recently supported fellow PIAS labelmate Jonathan Jeremiah on his recent tour of the Netherlands, playing to audiences of between 750 – 1000 each evening, and is also set to share the stage with Nettwerk’s Nina June this month as well.
Follow néomí online: