Popular Joburg-based folk musician, Steve Umculo has released “Fall From Grace” – the title track from his forthcoming EP. It’s available to download / stream on all digital platforms today.

“Fall From Grace” is the first single to be released from Umculo’s forthcoming EP of the same title and is a powerful representation of what to expect from his latest body of work. Steve lived in Nashville (USA) for a couple of months and the sound of his latest single draws on the major folk influences that the Music City has to offer.

Steve Umculo explains how the song came about

“Folk has always had a significant meaning in my life. I feel compelled to pay tribute to this through “Fall From Grace” by drawing influences from artists such as The Lumineers and Mumford & Sons.”

The 4-track EP, due for release on the 14th of May 2021, sees Steve Umculo explore the folkier edge of his craft while subtly maintaining his distinct afro-centric influences. Fans will soon be able to hear his use of iconic American roots based instruments such as the mandolin, cello, and banjo which is set to transport listeners into the folkier aspect of Umculo’s artistic realm.

Steve tells us more about “Fall From Grace”

“Fall From Grace is actually the newest song from this body of work. While the others were sporadically written from 2017 to 2019, Fall From Grace was one of those very rare spur-of-the-moment songs that came to me one day during lockdown in 2020. It started forming in my head while I was recording the guitar for ‘Running Out of Space’ and within 30 minutes I had pretty much written the entire thing. I took it to my good friend and co-writer, Cav Barry, to help me finish off the chorus and the song was done in only a few days. It’s by far the shortest I’ve ever taken to write a song.

It tells the story of how there are certain things or people in our lives that we know are not good for us but given half the chance, we would run back to without hesitation. In this scenario, I specifically refer to a relationship but I feel that almost everyone can identify with the dichotomous and debilitating struggle to get over something that has had such a profound and deep impact on one’s life. Whatever you may have dealt with in the past or are even dealing with today, know that we are all trying to navigate the extremely complex dynamics that seem to continuously form every day.

‘Fall From Grace’ is just the tip of the iceberg with 3 other folky tunes to follow suit on May 14th. Thank you for taking the time to listen, I hope you’re as excited about this release as I am.”

Check out the lyric video for “Fall From Grace” below:

You can download / stream “Fall From Grace” HERE.

I had the privilege to check Steve’s performance at Park Acoustics this past weekend and I have to say that I was impressed. I’m curious to see what will happen if he gets the extended exposure (with bigger crowds) that he deserves.

Watch this space for updates in the Music category on Running Wolf’s Rant.