It’s exhilarating to come across really great music, music with soul and flow. For example, the mysterious neo-soul/R&B artist Nova Moura, the Cincinnati prodigy now based in Los Angeles.
Only by way of intense sleuthing is any information about the elusive Moura available, and it’s not much. Obviously he prefers to focus attention on his music rather than himself. And his musical outpourings necessitate feeling rather than analysis. It’s a sound founded on emotional honesty.
Moura started out as a rapper, who decided to be true to himself and his musical sensibilities. Eschewing hip-hop, he embraced soulful R&B because when it comes to soul, he has oodles of it and he isn’t afraid of exposing his vulnerability.
Right now, Moura is working on his currently untitled EP, designated only as ‘forthcoming.’ The nameless EP will serve as the follow-up to his Ramona series, Volumes 1 and 2, which exuded burnished introspective colors, liquescent rhythms, altered melodies, and cashmere vocals rife with viscous tones and simmering sensuality bordering on the carnal.
“Gone Girl” opens with surfacing synth textures flowing into a soul-filled R&B tune with vestiges of hip-hop savors in attendance. The groove blends R&B and trap rhythms into a sultry pulse riding below oozing synth hues both radiant and opaque. The mood and feel of the music encompasses asceticism, austerity, and devoutness, like an erotic prayer.
Silky and tantalizingly nuanced with tumescent emotions, Moura’s voice mirrors a gorgeous spectrum of cool, palpable passion, as well as scorching intensity, avoiding any semblance of dreary flatness. It’s a rich voice, under exquisite lilting control. In short, it’s the voice of a demi-god.
“Gone Girl” lacks contemporary equivalence. It’s that superb. Lush, evocative, and sumptuous, you find yourself moving to the emotion of the music. This song is off-the-chain exceptional. If you don’t find it irresistible, book an appointment with your doctor. There’s something wrong with you.
