Nori - World Anew (2016)

World Anew is an album best experienced in its entirety. Morning begins with A New Sun, a song evoking the longing for something bright, fresh, and meaningful. From a whisper to a scream, the album builds with The Garden. The song is a metaphor tracing the tragic life cycle of a black child as he grows in the womb and transitions into the nurturing arms of his mother – only to have life cut short at the hands of a racist brute. Just A Man marches forward expressing a camaraderie in the modern struggle for basic fairness and equality. The lyrical centerpiece of the album is Footprint, a song about motherhood and the embracing of a new world. Plain Gold Ring is a moving tribute to one of Nori’s heroes, Nina Simone. The arrangement of the Korean folk song Arirang strips away constructed boundaries revealing the unexpected commonalities between music from different cultures. The poignant song Lullaby conveys a sleep-deprived state of utter despair with hopes delicately hinging on the promise of beautiful dreams ahead. The final note of Waiting To Fall hangs on a feeling of suspension...the anticipation of falling in love. Leaving the last impression, Coda represents the fleeting yet eternal sunset that belongs to each new morning.