OMAR APOLLO: Those All Important Roots
An interview by Sarah Kidd.
Armed with little more than a guitar and a laptop, Omar Apollo wrote a tune called ‘Ugotme’, an R&B composition that came from the heart and spoke to all who heard it. Convinced by a friend that he should upload it to Spotify, the track was soon being streamed fifteen million times over, the lifelong goal of a vivacious young man about to be realised.
Yes, Omar Apollo is living the dream. Not only his own that he has held since childhood “I always wanted to be a singer. Like when I was a little kid, anywhere and I would just start singing” but that of many artists following in his footsteps. Two EP’s already to his name – including the brilliant ‘Friends’ released in 2019 – and a debut album in the works, Apollo will not only be making his Australasian debut this month, but his first Laneway appearance as well, his set on the Princes Street stage at 1:25pm tomorrow one that is circled in red as a must see on many a person’s timetable (including mine!).
His work ethic is one that he undoubtedly learnt from his beloved parents; escaping gang violence in Guadalajara, Apollo’s mother and father settled in small town Indiana, opening a restaurant called Super Taco where they worked both day and night while raising their four children, “I have one sister and two brothers” Apollo informs me during the interview, “and they all live with me now”. Part of the success that Apollo has achieved that he deems most important is not the fame, but the ability to be financially independent while also being able to look after his siblings as well as his parents. Was this something that brings him great joy I ask? His answer; “Oh yeah, for sure. Like literally it’s a kids dream”.
Out of interest I then asked if his parents still owned the Super Taco restaurant to which Apollo just laughed and replied “No, they sold it quite a while ago now, it was just a bit too much to handle”. His desire for his parents now revolving around moving them to a warmer climate and continuing to cultivate their own self-discovery, a pathway they now have time to travel since work is no longer their first priority.
We discuss the fact that when it comes to music, he is completely self-taught. Youthful enough to have had YouTube at his fingertips for the majority of his life, he soon sought out self-help videos on how to sing correctly while utilising his diaphragm, his motivation no doubt egged on by both his friend and his father initially telling him that his singing was not up to scratch. “They told me I was terrible” he laughs, their honesty only making him practice even harder, “everyone didn’t help out by being nice to me”. Learning to perform live at church, Apollo soon went on to self-produce his own beats whilst simultaneously teaching himself to play guitar and bass, his part-time job at Guitar Centre providing even more fuel for his internal fire.
Like any other artist he has many musical influences, musicians such as D’Angelo, Prince, Neil Young, the Bee Gees, Stevie Wonder and Frank Ocean all inspiring him. Listening to his songs, one can hear their artistry flowing through Apollo’s work, tracks like ‘Ashamed’ in particular channelling the incredible song writing skills of Prince through Apollo’s own fingers. When asked about it, Apollo again laughs and replies “Oh yeah, in the beginning…” referring to the funk laced intro that immediately draws the listener in. But when probed with the more leading question of whether or not Prince is indeed his number one, he shies away a little, “He is definitely like number one… or number two on the influence list”. To be fair, who could choose a winner from a list of such great names.
More importantly however, is the effect that his own heritage and life experiences had on his arrangements. Born Omar Velasco, and raised in a predominiently white town, he was sadly belittled in school – despite continuously looking up to his teachers in the hope of guidance – and was often the victim of racial stereotyping; but instead of allowing these experiences to grind him down, Apollo has grown from them. Self-confident, yet eternally humble, he aspires to be seen as a role model to other young people in similar situations “I hope that other kids who are going through the same thing that I have can look at me and be inspired to do whatever they want, instead of not doing what they want to do in life”.
Apollo also incorporates a traditional element to his music; raised on a diet of Corrido’s [a ballad in customary Mexican style whose lyrics often narrate a historical event] they infiltrate his sound creating something quite unique. When the topic is raised during the interview, Apollo sounds quite chuffed that this aspect is being noted “Heh, yeah I often perform Corrido’s. They’re so cool”, the importance of them to his music one that he soon expands upon “I mean it’s just something I grew up on, something I really know. Also I think it’s cool that other kids who also grew up on it can hear it, so yeah, I think it’s cool to incorporate it”.
Performing live, Apollo does travel with a small band, but he also still loves to play the guitar on stage as well; would it be his favourite instrument I enquire? “I mean guitar and bass is my favourite”, the fact that guitarists and bassists often think they are better than the other a fact that we both find humour in. I go on to ask about what aspect of performing live does he enjoy the most, his reply of “I think the whole energy aspect of it, knowing that the audience is enjoying what is happening” one that would make complete sense to anyone who has already been lucky enough to attend his show. You see it would be hard not to enjoy an Omar Apollo set, his natural vibrancy on stage again stemming from his childhood where his mother put him in ballet folklórico. He would wear a mariachi suit and sombrero, his love of performing for people a discovery that came to him quickly.
Bringing the interview to a close, I enquire if there are any artists performing at Laneway that Apollo himself is looking forward to checking out, and without hesitation he answers “Yeah, I wanna see Earl [Sweatshirt]”. It’s an artist that we both agree is compulsory viewing on the day.
One final question, and it has to be the obligatory one; providing the opportunity for an artist to quietly promote themselves it instead harvests only an answer that Omar Apollo, a young man that is taking it all in his stride while enjoying both his time in the spotlight and the privilege of being able to provide for the ones he holds so dear could give…
Any message for your New Zealand fans?
“Yeah it’s going to be a really cool show, if you like music, come through.”
Omar Apollo is performing tomorrow on the Princes Street Stage at 1.25pm on the Auckland leg of St. Jeromes Laneway Festival ’20. Tickets are still available online & from the gate, so make sure you don’t miss out!
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