Oceans of waste: Novo Amor's new video track 'Birthplace' highlights the problems of water pollution
Novo Amor, aka Ali Lacey's new video title track from his most anticipated debut album 'Birthplace' highlights the monolithic problems of plastic in the oceans. Shot in Komodo and Bali, Indonesia, the song follows a slow rhythm pattern, with the melody coinciding with the rhythm to create an atmosphere of composure and tranquility.
Amor's thin high-pitched voice is in perfect sync with the aqua blue color which is the dominant hue of the video. The depiction of a whale swimming in an ocean through plastics (or covered in plastics), inside which there are thousands of sea-creatures residing, grabs the immediate attention of viewer when accompanied with the slow-progression of the violin.
The Welsh multi-instrumentalist rose to prominence after the release of his debut EP 'Woodgate, NY' in 2014. The video production for 'Birthplace' was done with the production duo Sil and Jorik who had previously worked with Amor and his collaborator Ed Tullet (the Brighton-based artist, with whom Lacey collaborated for 'Faux' in 2014) on the emotional and cinematic video for their track 'Terraform'.
Sil and Jorik shared their thoughts on the concept behind the film, "We want to make films about stories that matter, especially when those in disadvantage can't speak for themselves. The pollution of our oceans is one of the most important stories of our time. They are under attack by a rapidly growing tumor of plastic waste for which we are responsible. We've been exploring ways to make a video that touches on this topic for a while, and when we heard Ali's music, the specific idea came to us almost in a flash.”
In the video of 'Birthplace', the central character (the character of humanity) is played by world-renowned freediver Michael Board. Board is known to have performed over 250 free dives during the shoot which involved the crew spending about 35 hours underwater. The video shows Board appearing alongside a 13-meter bamboo humpbacked whale sculpture, covered in plastic that was collected by local children in return for schoolbooks as part of an environmental initiative started by a local primary school.
Sil and Jorik recall, "On the last day of filming the whale, we disassembled it and took it out of the water. We removed all the plastic and nets and transported the segments back to the mountain village where it was created. Here, the builders will add extra, woven bamboo to replace the plastic. Soon, it will find its final resting place on a waterfall near the village where it will become a permanent tourist attraction with a water fountain shooting from its mouth.’'
Ali Lacey himself adds, “The presence of plastic waste littering our oceans is not a new issue, but it’s an issue that has been worsening for years and is something that we can and should be addressing. The problem is not only a threat to marine life, but to the entire food chain, our whole ecosystem. When something impacts wildlife in such a profound way, we can expect it to impact upon us. The problems are manifold, the repercussions shocking, but there are ways in which we can raise awareness of such an urgent issue, and counter it.”