Omar Apollo Breaks Down the Meaning Behind Each Song on the 'Live For Me' EP

Find out what each song from ‘Live For Me’ means to Omar Apollo!

After releasing EPs like 2018’s Stereo and 2019’s Friends, as well as the full-length Ivory album, fans have been keeping track of Omar Apollo’s growth as a person and musician over the years. On October 6, 2023, the Grammy-nominated singer released his latest body of work, a new EP titled Live For Me.

Altogether, Live For Me has been transcribed as a “transitional” era for Apollo’s music. The EP features four tracks: “Ice Slippin,” “Live For Me,” “Angel,” and “Pilot.” On social media, Apollo has not only been hyping up fans with the explicit back cover of the Live For Me vinyl copies, but he is also sharing some personal facts and behind-the-scenes details behind the production of this new project.

Over the weekend, Apollo shared a series of Instagram stories breaking down the meaning of the songs featured in Live For Me – giving us some fascinating insight regarding what went into making these four tracks.

Scroll through to see Omar Apollo’s explanation for each of the songs in the Live For Me EP, which is now available on all music streaming platforms.

“Ice Slippin”

“This song will always mean a lot to me. It was my first time not writing about romantic love. I spent so many years trying to piece together my infancy. 9 Tours felt like a form of escapism from my own lived experienced. [Teo Halm] and I put so much love and thought into every sound I’m happy it’s out in the world.”

You can listen to Omar Apollo’s “Ice Slipping” below.

“Live For Me”

“This song started as a poem I wrote around the Prototype tour. So many emotions and thoughts that lived deep in me I could only ever surface thru writing. Sometimes conversation is too intimate for me. Thank you to John Shanks and [Dylan Patrice Wiggins] for bringing it to life.”

You can listen to Omar Apollo’s “Live For Me” below.

“Angel”

“This was a dark time for me, I’ll let the song speak for itself. I don’t feel this way anymore but it was important topic to let go and write about for me. Produced by me and my brother @oscarsantandermusic.”

You can listen to Omar Apollo’s “Angel” below.

“Pilot”

“Last but not least, ‘Pilot.’ This [is] the first song I ever made that actually felt like a baby. I’ve watched it develop throughout 2 years. I even almost put it on Ivory deluxe, but I felt it belonged here in this moment. This was the first day I got my MPC [Music Production Center], you can probably tell. Sat with a 14-minute instrumental of this song I made with [Jared Solomon], [Carter Lang], [Teo Halm], [Choker] used to drive to it at night, no words just music. Took me a month to start saying words. I think I have 7 versions of this song with different verses but this is how it ended up. Also feel like I should mention @nathyphillips he definitely probably feels the same way. Happy I get to [release] something short but meaningful to end the year. This is only the beginning. These songs have been done for a long time and felt transitional for what’s to come.”

You can listen to Omar Apollo’s “Pilot” below.