New Release: Carolina by Nomden
Diederik Nomden a.k.a. Nomden is a Dutch singer-songwriter. For most people Nomden isn’t a name that rings any bells. However he has played with quite a few famous Dutch bands, but for this review I’m not going to mention any of them by name. This is about Nomden solo and he deserves as much praise as the bands he’s played with.
In the past Nomden has often served as a wingman to songwriters and lead singers of other bands, hence why he named his 2019 album ‘Wingman Returns’. This album will be re-released with new mixes and bonus tracks in spring. ‘Carolina’ is the first single from this re-release. The song was remixed by Tom Pearce, who has worked with major artists like Elton John, Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney, to name but a few.
Carolina is an enchanting piano ballad with captivating and moving lyrics about an unfair battle. He wrote this song for one of his dear friends who was going through a difficult time.
Oh Carolina, you’re going down this this road. This train ain’t coming off its track. Sweet Carolina, you’re carrying this load and I can’t take it of your back.
I first heard an early version of ‘Carolina’ back in 2016. The song is piano driven, but a demo version of Carolina also had some guitar parts. For the album the guitars were replaced by strings and that definitely added an extra dimension to the song. The magnificent string arrangement was written by Victor Meijer and performed by the Dutch String Collective.
Despite the fact that Spotify mentions this song is from 1970, it was actually released early October 2020. However, it could’ve well be recorded in the ’70s as Nomden is inspired by a lot of artists and bands from the ’60s and ’70s. One could say he was simply born in the wrong era.