Discovering America: J.S. Ondara’s “Tales of America”

"Ondara offers insight into his newly American ways as he stumbles across his days in a new world while living a new life."

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“'Tales of America' is a first-person account of an immigrant’s take on his new life in America."

The native Kenyan J.S. Ondara grew up in Nairobi where he listened to American alternative rock until he discovered the music of Bob Dylan and decided to move to Minneapolis in 2013 to pursue a career in music.

Ondara moved to Minnesota without any songs written prior to the move, no guitar in hand, and only the thought of having a career in music. It was in Minneapolis where Ondara started to flourish. He made his way throughout the local music scene by writing songs about what he saw, felt, and experienced in America.

“Tales of America” is a first-person account of an immigrant’s take on his new life in America.

Ondara uses his debut record to signify the dedication he put towards himself to achieve his vision through his hard work and determination.

With a Dylan flare but an immigrant’s take, Ondara touches on his troubled past, his journey to the states, and all of the encounters he has experienced in America.

Songs such as the first track, “American Dream,” tackle Ondara’s aspirations for his new life whilst engraving melodious harmonies and a hypnotizing groove into the mix.

Meanwhile, “Days Of Insanity” offers contrasting grooves amongst a sense of irrationality that this world provokes. Ondara’s take shows glimpses of what his first encounters in the states might have been like as he describes a tale of, “there is a bear at the airport, waiting on a plane; there is a cow at the funeral, bidding farewell.”

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Ondara entertains the listener with a unique sense of compassion and utter honesty about how frightful yet entertaining life can be in America, as well as pursuing one’s vision.

“Television Girl” brings about a common theme that relates to most people throughout their lives as Ondara becomes intimate with a woman that “likes those gazing eyes,” and he even goes as far as describing her thighs. Yet she is not good for his health. Ondara spins the tune into a personal soliloquy, and a relatable one at that.

Ondara confronts the distaste from his peers, and he disregards them as he still lies there on her bed and on her chest.

In “Good Question,” Ondara shows the other side of love as he begs for the loss that he has suffered. With a continuous cycle of questions, Ondara pleads for his lover to love him “now, love me like you will never again.” Here, the listener is introduced to such an intrinsic side of Ondara compared to the upbeat folk-swinging “Saying Goodbye,” which holds similar features with the prior song yet encapsulates a meaning of its own. The chorus warms up the heart and suggests a simple shrug of the shoulders as goodbyes become a common entity.

It is here where Ondara acknowledges the embrace that he has felt and accrued from America.

Love has taken over the folky crooner throughout half the record as “Lebanon” dedicates the amount of effort Ondara is willing to put in. With a sleek riff and a slight sway, “Lebanon” provides a catchy chorus amongst other musically-pleasing qualities.

“Master O’Connor” continues the trend of this tug-of-war type of love Ondara gets himself wrapped up in, as “this love of mind is so unkind.” He even goes as far as saying that “I was made for her leash.”

Ondara offers insight into his newly American ways as he stumbles across his days in a new world while living a new life.

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This immigrant shows his passion and charismatic qualities that reflect a young and unbattered Dylan, yet his music contrasts that statement as Ondara’s inflection and elegant falsettos open up about all of the insanity and suffering he has encountered in his time far away from home.

“Give Me A Moment” begs for this often recurring lover to give it one more chance, one more shot, and to just give Ondara a moment. His raspy yet silky vocals carry the chorus as the listener begs for the woman to give him one last moment to “break my heart, come tear it apart.”

Ending with “God Bless America,” Ondara captures the heart of this record to come full circle and recognize the freedom, possibilities, history, and the certainty of everything around him. “God bless America, the heartache of mine” can be echoed and pleaded from Ondara’s eloquent and intricate harmonies as he strums an acoustic guitar, in search for what lies ahead.

With a personal account and the tales of love, Ondara shows his personal side with the first encounter of ever hearing him. “Tales of America” dives into a deep-crested place in Ondara’s heart where love, broken hearts, confusion, insanity, and the blessings of America can be found. This and so much more lies inside the mind of the crooning and broken-hearted Kenyan folk singer-songwriter.