In Conversation with Alex Amor: Inside the world of ‘Heavenly Bodies’.

As a big fan of your music, I’m so excited for this album — congratulations! How long did it take to finish, and do you have any favourite memories from its creation?

Thank you! It took roughly a year to finish Heavenly Bodies from its inception to completion. My favourite memories are really just messing around in the studio, jamming with my producers, Pete and Baz, and that electric feeling of stumbling across a great song. The day we made Only the Beginning was especially memorable. I was messing around on the flute, Baz was on acoustic guitar, and Pete was playing some gorgeous piano. The song kind of just fell out of us. That was a perfect day. 

How would you describe your music to new listeners? 

I’d say it’s quite an introspective listen. My producer actually calls it “cosmic Americana,” which I think fits it really well. 

What song on this album was the hardest to get right? 

Weirdly enough, Icarus took a while to get right. We added quite a lot to the song while experimenting with different versions - more guitar, more rhythm - and eventually came to the conclusion that it worked best stripped back, so it could keep the melancholy of the song’s message. The missing piece ended up being the live drums we added at the very end. 

What artists would you say have had the biggest impact on your sound? 

Beach House are definitely up there. The feeling I get from their music makes me feel like I’m ascending somewhere. Lana Del Rey is, of course, mother, and her ability to mix conversational lyrics with abstract, universal concepts was a real inspiration for this record. Cigarettes After Sex were also a huge inspiration, and listening to them gave me the confidence to relax my sound a little. I’ve also been listening to a lot of Carole King recently. 

What lyric on the album resonates most with you now? 

Because of the season I’m currently in, it would have to be: “Born again like the morning condensation / New like the sun that rises, no room for trepidation.” (Only the Beginning) 

Which song from the album are you most excited to play live? 

Definitely Inside! It’s a five-and-a-half-minute banger about all my biggest insecurities, the grieving process, and all the roadblocks I faced in my twenties. It’s a euphoric, sad-happy song, which I guess is my favourite kind to perform live. 

What’s your favourite song from the album? 

It genuinely changes all the time. At the moment, my favourite is Roses. But I struggle to listen to it because it makes me cry every time.