In the middle of playing her first-ever European headline shows, rising star Dora Jar released her new song ‘The Explorer’ on the 6th of June. Due to her name, Dora Jar has no doubt been the subject of many “Dora the Explorer” jokes, so it has to be acknowledged that singing “I’m the explorer” as someone named Dora is an incredibly funny thing to do. But ‘The Explorer’ is a lot more than just a good joke opportunity; it is also an interesting song full of intriguing contrasts.
The song has a mystic atmosphere to it, carried by Dora Jar’s wonderfully hushed vocals. The first chorus feels like a mermaid setting off on an adventure, with lyrics that make just enough vague comparisons to keep an air of mystery: “Oh, my little ocean, look what I’ve chosen, I’m always chasing the sun.” This calm then takes sudden turns, as the lyrics become more explicit and violent: the ocean turns into a city, “Not very pretty, never know who’s got a gun.”
Most of the song has minimal instruments, just consistent soft drums and bells, carried by vocals as the central point. In the second chorus, the mellow sound suddenly turns harsher for just a few lines, mainly by a sudden different use of her voice – this almost screaming plea is very interesting, only a few seconds to recapture attention and give a new meaning to the lyrics. In the first chorus, the lines “Open the door, I’ll tell you where I’ve been” sound sweet, an explorer, perhaps a lover, coming back from adventures, whereas in the second chorus, with these louder vocals, these same lyrics sound more desperate, begging to be heard.
With its quick contrasts and jumps, this song can very well be compared to the ocean mentioned multiple times in the lyrics: it contains both quiet waters and sudden crashing waves, Dora as a (sea)star in the middle of it, proving the world is her oyster with yet another great release.
Written by: Marieke Weeda
Edited by: Shanna Henselmans
