After the release of her highly-praised debut EP ‘before’ earlier this Summer, néomí, aka Surinamese/Dutch folk-pop singer-songwriter Neomi Speelman, is now going back to where it all began to unveil an acoustic rendition of her spellbinding debut single ‘If I Wasn’t Made For Love’ which XS Noize is very pleased to exclusively premiere today.
Returning to the warm and subtle majesty of how she first conceived the song, the new acoustic version of ‘If I Wasn’t Made For Love’ highlights the strong and powerful message at its core. Keeping the production as stripped back as possible, the performance gives prominence to the heartfelt lyrics running throughout and sees her step back into a more organic and humbled aesthetic.
Speaking about the new rendition, she added, “I originally wrote ‘if i wasn’t made for love’ a long time ago. It was just me and a guitar and I kept it for myself for quite some time. I think this version resonates most with how I wrote it in the first place, just small and mostly about the message of the song itself.”
2020 was set to be the breakout year for néomí as she recorded her first singles with British engineer/producer Edd Hartwell (Tom Walker, Birdy, Tom Odell), supported singer-songwriting legend Don McLean and was also invited to the UK to play her first shows abroad. However, the outbreak of a pandemic quickly followed by a life-changing event scuppered these plans with néomí using the next 12 months to develop as a songwriter and add to her growing catalogue of songs. Now, with the world slowly returning to normality, néomí finds herself signed to [PIAS] with dozens of songs ready and waiting to be uncaged and take flight.
néomí: “It hurt me that I couldn’t connect with people last year through my music, but I know now even more, that when the time comes, we will connect. And I hope people are just as eager as me to experience my music together. Like an artist I admire much once said: “the music has served me, now let the music serve you.”
Listen to ‘If I Wasn’t Made For Love’ acoustic – BELOW:
As a youngster néomí’s first step into music didn’t exactly start on the right foot when she was told she had to attend piano tuitions. It was agreed that she would attend the lessons for five years and, after these five years, she could decide whether to continue or not. Nevertheless, five years passed, and the unimpressed Neomi quit the piano and vowed never to play music again.
Four years would float by until néomí would find herself at a musical junction. During a browse on a popular Internet video website, she stumbled across a live video of Ben Howard performing ‘Old Pine’ with a cellist in tow. Spellbound and inspired, néomí came out of her musical retirement, picked up a guitar and began teaching herself how to play from online tutorials.
As her skill and confidence grew, she looked at applying to music schools and, due to an administrative error, was invited to audition in Amsterdam. Despite being too young to apply, néomí was accepted on her raw talent and potential. Over the next four years, she would hone her songwriting and sound, her main influences stemming between Bon Iver, Bob Dylan, and Ben Howard. She says of the trio, “their lyrics are outstanding and insanely beautiful. I don’t think they make songs, but they make art, and poems. That’s something I also really try to do; make little poems instead of songs.”
Before EP tracklisting
if i wasn’t made for love
redemption
not good enough
i’ll be there
eyes filled with sky
néomí recently supported Novo Amor at Paradiso, Amsterdam, Celine Cairo on her Dutch tour in May & June, and HAEVN in June. She will be supporting Jonathan Jeremiah on his upcoming tour of the Netherlands, which will see her play to audiences of between 750 – 1000 each evening.
28/9/2022 Doornroosje, Nijmegen
29/9/2022 Paradiso, Amsterdam
30/9/2022 Muziekgieterij, Maastricht
1/10/2022 Paard, Den Haag
2/10/2022 Oosterpoort, Groningen
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