“Growing up in the age of CDs—which quickly turned into the age of mp3s and illegal downloads—my interest in owning vinyl only arrived once I hit around twenty years old.”
“I think my first vinyl purchase was the album Early In The Morning by James Vincent McMorrow. It soundtracked my 2011 and 2012 and was a turning point in my musical tastes. I was never much into traditional Irish or Celtic folk, so to hear banjo, mandolin, and acoustic guitar arranged around melancholy pop songs was just incredibly refreshing at the time. Songs like ‘We Don’t Eat’ and ‘Hear The Noise That Moves So Soft And Low’ really inspired my writing style back when I first started recording. This record ushered me into the worlds of Keaton Henson, William Fitzsimmons, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver etc.
I would occasionally visit old record stores around Cardiff and pick up cheap vinyl of artists I knew but hadn’t given much of a chance to. I’d essentially be judging a book by it’s cover, which was fine when I was going home with Fleetwood Mac, Art Garfunkel, and Carpenters records for 50 pence a pop.
These days I’d say I only buy a handful of vinyl each year. They’ll usually be smaller artists that I’m playing shows with or seeing play locally. My latest purchase was Anna Leone’s debut EP ‘Wandered Away.’ I was lucky enough to have Anna support my most recent fourteen date European tour. Naturally, I fell in love with her music and had to buy her vinyl.
I love that there’s been a resurgence in vinyl over the past ten years. I feel as though it’s brought up new considerations in terms of the aesthetics of music and how it can be presented. We see examples of this with coloured and shaped vinyl discs.
My new album Birthplace is pressed on all-recycled vinyl, meaning that each piece is unique in colour and a complete surprise to the buyer. Some are grey, some are smokey blue, some have a marble/pearl effect, while some are translucent, deep red. It’s exciting! The outer packaging is also made from recycled cardboard. It’s nice to know that we can release music in such a non-wasteful way.”
—Ali Lacey
Birthplace, the debut album from Novo Amor is in stores now—on vinyl.
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PHOTO: DANIEL ALEXANDER HARRIS
TOUR DATES:
Wed 14 Nov – Union Stage, Washington DC, US
Thu 15 Nov – Bowery Ballroom, New York NY, US
Sat 17 Nov – The Sinclair, Cambridge MA, US
Tue 20 Nov – Theatre Farimount, Montreal, CA
Wed 21 Nov – Velvet Underground, Toronto, CA
Fri 23 Nov – Lincoln Hall, Chicago IL, US
Sat 24 Nov – Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis MN, US
Tue 27 Nov – Bluebird Theater, Denver CO, US
Wed Nov 28 – The Commonwealth Room, Salt Lake City UT, US
Fri 30 Nov – St. James Hall, Vancouver, CA
Sat 1 Dec – Columbia City Theater, Seattle WA US
Sun 2 Dec – Doug Fir Lounge, Portland OR, US
Tue 4 Dec – Swedish American Hall, San Francisco CA, US
Thu 6 Dec – Lodge Room, Los Angeles CA, US
