Kelli Ali
an Interview by Auralgasms
| Info |
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| Website: |
www.kelliali.com |
| Latest Release: |
Psychic Cat
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There’s no-one in pop quite like Kelli Ali. A straight-talking Brummie with exotic good looks, a rock chick who first found fame with a dance act (Sneaker Pimps) and a singer/songwriter who has recently recorded with both Bootsy Collins and Linkin Park. Ask Kelli about the time she spent working on her new album and she’ll mention sitting on a beach in Malaysia with an acoustic guitar, playing keyboards and computers in bedrooms in London and meeting psychic cats in California. It’s no wonder Kelli’s sound isn't easy to pin down. But then, that's just how she likes it.
Since leaving Sneaker Pimps in the late '90s, after a hit debut album, a clutch of classic singles and a successful tour of the States that found fans in the likes of Madonna, Kelli has launched a solo career that harks back to her rock roots - she grew up playing in guitar bands in Birmingham - but also boasts a growing interest in electronica. Two years ago, ‘Tigermouth’, her solo debut, recorded largely in L.A. with Marius De Vries and Rick Knowles, was the first step to finding her own sound. With her forthcoming follow-up, Kelli has come into her own with a batch of tracks that shimmer and swagger in equal measure.
Auralgasms is pleased to present this interview with one of the most original voices in modern music.
You have a very exotic look about you. What is your heritage?
My father was an Indian- Irish cocktail and my mother is English.
Is Kelli Ali your given name?
My mom and dad never got married but my dad's surname was Ali.
I was named Kelli Dayton (after my mom's surname) because they were afraid I would be discriminated against if they named me Kelli Ali. When my father died, I decided that I would make all my future music as Kelli Ali, as a mark of respect and love to him.
Did you always plan a solo career or did this just come up after you left Sneaker Pimps?
I had always known that eventually, I would make my own music my own way, I can't imagine
being part of a band now, I'm much more content with me and my mad old self!
Six Underground is how most people came to hear of you. Do you still think of that as YOUR song or have you left it behind?
I think of Six Underground as a Sneaker Pimps song, it was the reason I joined the band in the first place, they gave me the demo of that song and I thought it had something very special, when I hear it now, it feels like another lifetime and almost another person singing it but the beauty of a good song is its timelessness.
How does your sound as a solo artist differ from Sneaker Pimps?
Well, you tell me! To be honest, I'm not into describing 'my sound'. It's best described by who ever is hearing it at the time, anything else would be dictatorship : )
How did you come to record with Bootsy Collins?
I was at the Ivor Novella awards in London with a friend and Bootsy entered the room and when Bootsy enters the room you just gotta feel good about things. He just has such a great vibe about him, he looked so sharp and sexy, just like he always does on his record covers and he came and sat on the next table, so it was real easy to introduce myself , we started chatting and really hit it off. Bootsy was making his album at the time and asked me if I fancied working on one of the songs with him, of course, I said yes and a few days later we were working on ' Play with Bootsy '. He's a wonderful person and I really enjoyed spending time with him, he's inspiring.
What artists would you like to record with?
I'd love to work with Air, Ennio Morricone, God Speed You Black Emperor, Primal Scream, the list is endless but I'm enjoying concentrating on my own work. I enjoy working with others though, I feel like I learn something every time.
Describe the progression of your sound and your songwriting from Tigermouth to Psychic Cat.
Tiger Mouth was an amazing musical learning experience for me. It was my first solo album and I spent a long time writing it. I learned a lot about structure and production, as it was the first time that I had ever been in the driving seat and co-producing the album with Rick Nowels was an experience I will never forget, he taught me so much and helped me see the song in the idea. From there, I needed to explore a less structured way of working, I wanted to my next album to embrace the more abstract way of writing which emerged in Psychic Cat.
Working with Dave Mc Cracken on Psychic Cat was a very different but just as rewarding experience. We made Psychic Cat in a month as opposed to a year (Tiger Mouth took about a year to complete), so it was more of a spontaneous way of working. We experimented a lot in his home studio and Dave and I came up with most of the musical parts with a couple of friends playing the guitar parts, so it was more of an intimate album in that sense.
Each record I make is a progression towards my ultimate work, looking back on each one, I can see where I was at, at that space and time and how that point is a departure point to my next work.
Is there some kind of Cat theme we should know about on the titles of these records?
LOL! I know, it would seem that way! That's just the way it worked out but the next record will not be anyway connected with pussy cats (unless, I have some other strange encounter with one that persuades me otherwise!)
My favorites off each record are Fellow Man and Home Honey Im High. What are your favorites? Any of your own songs you are sick of playing or wish you never recorded?
My favourites change from moment to moment. I never really get sick of any of them cos I don't play my records too much after finishing them. There are a few songs that I know I could have made better but I don't regret making them, that's just the way it is.
How have your records and live shows been received in the US as opposed to the UK?
I haven't played my solo music live in the U.S. yet and Tiger Mouth was never released in the U.S. so it's kind of difficult to answer that one.
Where has been your favorite and least favorite places to play?
I love playing in America. I love playing in the small desert clubs and also San Fransisco, man I love playing everywhere!
Least favourite place has to be Stoke in England, when I was with Sneaker Pimps, it was very depressing. Hopefully, if I ever play there again, it will be a happier time.
Anywhere you would live to play that you haven’t yet?
I would love to play Central and South America and Mexico.
What artists were you listening to at the time of each of your records that influenced you?
I was listening to a lot of Ennio Morricone a lot of other people too like Susumu Yokota, Toru Takemitsu, Aphex Twin,
Radio Head, Joan Baez, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Primal Scream,PJ Harvey , brian Eno, Roxy Music, but I don't think that Tiger Mouth reflects much of any of those people very much.
Without mainstream airplay what have you found to be the most effective way to get your name and your music out there?
Actually, I doubt that that many people even know who I am. I don't worry too much about getting my name out there in the big old world cos if it is, then it is and if it ain't then I'll live. . . .
What are your future plans? A new tour? A new record?
Actually, we are leaving London in a couple of weeks and we're gonna go traveling around Mexico with our tent and a guitar for a few months, where I plan to write my next record, I hope to be playing a few gigs some time later in the year in the U.S. but nothing's written in blood yet : )