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Ali Lacey, better known as Novo Amor, returns with his “optimistic” new record Cannot Be, Whatsoever, a marked shift toward the light after the melancholy of much of his back catalogue. In March 2020, in the final stretch of the writing and recording progress, the worldwide pandemic led Lacey to undertake the final part of the process alone. This afforded him an opportunity to consider his songs from the perspective of his audience.‘It allowed me to appreciate why people need art and music at a fundamental level, as an escape, as something to hold onto and fall in love with. It can be a friend when they can’t go outside, creating a moment of calm or evoking nostalgia from their life before. The thought that you can create things out of thin air that affect people so deeply… sometimes it can really overwhelm.’
As he prepares to release the album, Lacey contemplates a past soundtracked by songs of quiet hope and longing. ‘I can still see Round Lake, Woodgate and my time in upstate New York when I picture ‘Birthplace’. The songs feel surrounded by evergreens, sheltered by this place I’ve romanticised, that doesn’t actually exist anymore. These new songs feel immediate and noisy in comparison. If ‘Birthplace’ is the countryside, then ‘Cannot Be, Whatsoever’ is the city.’
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
RNCM - Royal Northern College of Music, 124 Oxford Road, Manchester, United Kingdom
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