It could be the fair hair, the haunting high voice or the fact that both of their debut records are heavily inspired by time spent in the American wilderness but one can’t help but draw similarities between upcoming Welsh artist Ali Lacey aka Novo Amor and distinguished emotional powerhouse Justin Vernon from Bon Iver.

And that is by no means a criticism. Lacey has managed to join Vernon in that elusive sweet spot somewhere between folk and electronica while mastering his own unique sound combining the aesthetic pleasure of synth with the emotional chokehold of folk.
His debut track ‘From Gold’ was a masterpiece. As Lacey describes “the whole song is a crescendo”. He originally wrote it for the score of a friend’s film, creating it in his bedroom one night after coming home from his job at a Cardiff ice cream parlour.

He described it as:

“a building piece, but it had delicate subtleties on the guitar and vocals which bring a bit more of an emotional element to it. Though it’s just four chords repeated over again for three and a half minutes, it’s the simplest thing, and simplicity is key sometimes.”

It sure is. But Lacey’s latest material is a far cry from simple. That’s thanks in part to the collaborative input of English electro-folk artist and producer Ed Tullett, who has helped add a layered complexity of digital instrumentation and sound.

Tullett himself rose to prominence online after amassing a large following on Tumblr and releasing free tracks through bandcamp before solidifying his place on the music scene with the release of his debut record Fiancé in 2016.

The two first collaborated on the gorgeous track ‘Faux’ in 2014 a song that was subsequently featured on the TV series’ ‘Bones’ and ‘Pretty Little Liars’. That was followed up two years later with ‘Alps’ an elegiac, choral track with over seven million plays on Spotify.

They evidently enjoy working with one another and appear to complement each other brilliantly. Speaking on the experience of working with Tullett, Lacey described how:

“It gave me an insight into how other people write songs… and it’s just nice to have ideas from other people sometimes, rather than me being stuck in my narrow-minded thinking..”

You can get a taste of what’s to come on their upcoming record by listening to the first track
‘Cavalry’ on Spotify here:

The full album “Heiress” is out November 10th.