For the past couple of years, I’ve had some kind of weird obsession: writing a song about love, using space as a metaphore. I have no sci-fi fascination for the subject – in fact, I even dislike any movies involving astronauts or aliens – but maybe all these articles about Mercury retrograde, the new moon and astrology in general just got to my head. So I had this idea and I eventually managed to complete the task last year. Then came NAO‘s Saturn album and when I spotted a song titled Orbit, a bright smile raised on my face.
As soon as I pressed play, I was beaming from ear to ear. I mean, this is NAO. With Malay. With GRADES. How could that not be magical? And when I found out a few days that the British songstress chose track for her COLORS session, I couldn’t contain my excitement. With that being said, I had my doubts and fears: Orbit is one of the most unique songs I’ve heard last year, both on interpretation (can we talk about these brilliant distorted vocals on the second verse to share her ex’s point of view?!) and production levels (again: GRADES!). But…
… yes, of course she nailed it – I guess I forgot how effortlessly she could hit those low notes. Because NAO is a natural and that’s what I like the most about her. She’s not performing: she just IS. And she’s so solar that humility and warmth emanate from her entire soul every time she opens her mouth. Her voice being so atypical (to say the least) and playful, probably not everyone realizes how much technique her music require, especially for a masterpiece like Orbit where she constantly switches between head and chest voice in the same breath. Celestial.
And if like me you need more of that beautiful energy in your life, please suit yourself and check out her NPR Tiny Desk Concert. Now, go ahead and have a wonderful weekend!
Like NAO, follow NAO, stalk NAO.
