Surinamese-Dutch folk pop singer-songwriter néomí was all over our pages in 2022 and 2023, but we haven’t featured any of her music for a few years now. Gladly, that’s now changed.

By Graeme Smith

We found ourselves enchanted with her sound, both on her own, and in collaboration with the Amsterdam-based singer-songwriter Will Knox. Fortunately, her music hasn’t lost any of its charm in the last few years. Her new single, Do You Want To Be Honest?, is a beautifully nuanced and intimate number. Néomí’s vocal tugs at the heartstrings in a stripped-back verse before things become lush and stirring in the chorus.

“This song is about trying to find middle/solid ground when you can’t control the movements and actions of the people/world around you.” explains néomí. “When I was writing it, I was fed up with guessing what everybody says or thinks, and in this instance, one specific person. We were making excuses, trying not to be friends, and stopping me from finding a solid base from which to rebuild. It feels difficult sometimes when things don’t end the way you thought they should, when it hasn’t felt like a proper or honest goodbye. Over time, we did manage to find distance, but even now, there are the occasional tremors instead of an earthquake.”

It’s a welcome return for néomí who is newly signed to Nettwerk. Do You Want To Be Honest? is out now and you can give it a listen below.