Patrick Watson & MARO – The Wandering

Patrick Watson and Portuguese singer MARO deliver ‘The Wandering’, a collaboration from Watson’s peculiar fascination with feeling like a ghost while touring.

The track serves as the fourth preview from Watson’s upcoming album Uh Oh, arriving September 26. This project was born from a rather dramatic predicament – Watson lost his voice and found himself crafting an album of collaborations while uncertain if he’d sing again. The irony of a singer losing his voice and responding by inviting others to sing provides the album’s curious foundation.

‘The Wandering’ blends bossa nova rhythms with Watson’s signature orchestral touches, recorded mostly in one take with just two microphones in what Watson calls “this strange mansion in the hills of Los Angeles.” MARO’s vocals intertwine with Watson’s arrangements, creating what he describes as capturing “the beautiful melancholy you feel while walking through the cities and spirits of Portugal.”

The recording involved some instrument-swapping novelty, with drummer Mishka Stein playing drums while guitarist Olivier Fairfield handled guitar duties. This collaborative approach extends throughout Uh Oh, which features everyone from Martha Wainwright to artists Watson discovered through Instagram scrolling.

Watson’s explanation for the song reads like a meditation on perpetual motion: the sensation of being “a ghost, quietly watching the world go by” that began during his teenage train rides to school and evolved into his touring existence. He frames this ghostly presence as eventually becoming “a companion on your journey” – a romantic notion about solitude transforming into guidance.