Okorie Johnson, better known as OkCello, has a new track available on Juneteenth. It’s a teaser for his forthcoming new album.
If the phrase mournful beauty strikes your fancy, you need to hear the new track from OkCello, aka Atlanta cellist, songwriter and producer Okorie Johnson.
“Funny How Things Work Out” will be the title track on his upcoming album, but the single was released on Juneteenth.
The cello is predisposed to evoking feelings of longing, producing languorous phrases that convey profound feelings without words, and OkCello uses that to great effect on this beautiful instrumental.
The percussive intro, which underpins the whole composition, ensures that melancholy isn’t the overwhelming element. The forward momentum feels hopeful, taking listeners on an emotional journey in just under four minutes.
That all makes perfect sense, because the press release that accompanies the release describes the song as a rhythmically rebellious, soul-lifting celebration of freedom and artistic evolution in honor of Juneteenth.
“This song came out of nowhere,” says OkCello in the press release. “I was almost done with the album when I remembered a rough idea I’d recorded in February 2024. It had energy, edge and light — the missing piece I didn’t know I needed. Two days later, it was done, and it changed the entire direction of the album. It became the title track because it so perfectly captured the whole project: the universe working things out in our favor, even when we don’t see it.”
The release date for the album hasn’t been announced yet.
