A gentle, nostalgic folk moment from an artist rediscovering her voice.
There’s something wonderfully fitting about Michellar releasing a song called September at this stage of her creative rebirth. After a remarkable forty-year hiatus from songwriting, only recently reignited by her inclusion in the deYoung Museum’s 2023 Open Call Exhibition, she has burst back into the musical world with rare momentum — twenty-two singles in just nine months. Yet September might be one of her most evocative pieces yet. Rooted in the folk traditions of James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan, the song carries that unmistakable softness of classic singer-songwriting: warm acoustic textures, clear storytelling, and a melody that feels both familiar and quietly striking. Michellar has always had a painter’s sensibility, and here she uses it with real care, crafting lyrics that feel like little snapshots of early autumn — fading light, shifting colours, and the gentle melancholy of summer slipping away.
Recorded in San Francisco with its final touches completed in Staffordshire, UK by Tobias Wilson, September is also a testament to Michellar’s global approach to music. The track flows effortlessly between continents, blending the intimacy of her home-grown demos with the polished, atmospheric sensitivity of Wilson’s production. And then there’s Helen Walford, whose gorgeous vocal delivery gives the song its emotional heartbeat. Her voice — clear, expressive and quietly tender — captures the feeling of recollection perfectly. She doesn’t over-sing; she just lets the song breathe. The result is a piece of music that feels both beautifully simple and emotionally spacious. It’s the kind of track that sneaks up on you — not with bombast, but with mood, memory and a sense of stillness. Michellar wrote the song during a period of changing light and changing seasons, reflecting on the summers of her life, and that authenticity comes through in every line. It’s a song about noticing — the world, one’s past, and that wistful tug that autumn has on the heart.
What makes September stand out is its sincerity. It isn’t trying to reinvent folk music; it’s honouring its roots. And in doing so, it highlights who Michellar is becoming as an artist: thoughtful, grounded, and unafraid to write from a place of quiet reflection. There’s a confidence in that restraint — the kind that only arrives with time and lived experience. With art exhibitions and musical performances lined up for September and October, Michellar continues to bridge her visual and musical worlds in a way that feels entirely her own. September is not just another release; it’s a marker of her evolution, a small but striking moment in a creative journey that has reignited with astonishing force. A song for the season — and for anyone who has ever paused at the edge of autumn and found themselves remembering.
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