A Conversation With Alessi’s Ark

Sometimes you just get a good vibe when interviewing people and the conversation flows. Such was the case with Alessi when I caught up with her in Norwich.

Mark: First of all what a pleasure it is to finally meet you, I ran a Q&A with you way back in late 2007 I believe on Rocksellout. Both Sean and myself have been singing your praises since the Horse E.P.

Allesi: Yes I remember that Q&A we did it via e-mail is that right?

Mark: So for anyone who might not of heard of you can you give me some background information on yourself? I know everyone must ask you this!!

Alessi: Ok lets go for it! Well I’m Alessi, I have released two E.P.s and last year I had an album out. Basically, I have been playing seriously since I was sixteen, my mum came up with the name Alessi’s Ark. The name is a way of acknowledging the people who are involved in the project along with myself. I was lucky enough to make my album out in Ohmaha with some lovely people and my new E.P. comes out in April.

Mark: I was going to move onto that, I have loved your work since the first time Matt from Stay Loose sent me over the Horse E.P. I was like wow who is this voice?! You then obviously went out to Omaha and recorded the album with all these amazing musicians working with Mike Mogis as a producer. It must of been incredible to work in Conor Oberst’s studio there. Sorry I’m talking too much now!

Alessi: No you carry on you are a hell of a lot more interesting!

Mark: I read that when you came back that you felt slightly detached from what was going on in London because you had been in that Omaha scene? So can you talk about how that sort of felt?

Alessi: Yeah of course. Before I went there I didn’t really play music with anyone else, I had just been playing shows on my own and I didn’t really have any friends and especially ones I could play music with. I just mainly used to hang out with my parents. I went out there and met just the most lovely lovely people! My mum came out there with me as I was only just 17. You know at first it was quite difficult to come home because I was just pining for that time and just what I had got used to. I also knew that the search would have to begin to find other musicians to play with as a band. You know musicians for the Ark. I knew that Virgin/EMI wanted the live sound to represent the sound that we had on the record. I really didn’t have a clue where to begin, so the first person I played with live really was Ben Lovett from Mumford & Sons. Ben was and still is my right hand man and he introduced me to some of his friends, I mean all power to him as he is super busy. It’s getting harder to spend time with Ben but we meet up whenever we can so yeah, that’s all good and I really appreciate it!

Mark: I was going to move onto that, I wondered whether that gave you drive and made you feel more at home again in London? I guess you kind of answered that one for me!

Alessi: It was definitely a treat to meet people who played music and we all happened to live in the same area. I have made some really good friends with all of them. It’s like a really big family and they all sort of bounce off each other. It’s a really special thing you know, everyone sparks off each other in a creative way. I must mention Jake Burns who I met in Omaha and recently did a tour with, he is a really great guy. All these people have made me feel a lot more comfortable!

Mark: I’m slightly confused now, was it a one album deal you had with Virgin/EMI?

Alessi: You know, I was signed to EMI then as we know it hit the financial shitter and it was split down the middle into two labels – Parlaphone and Virgin. And it was felt that my music was more suited to Virgin. So they released the album, the deal was for one album plus options to make another and they let the music go a few months ago now. It was quite nice to feel free again and now my music is in the hands of Bella Union.

Mark: You see now I think that’s a great link up for an artist like yourself. I mean Bella Union for me represents all that is great for the bodies of work you produce. If you look at the the roster they have? I mean as well they link up with Sub Pop a lot in the States!

Alessi : Well yeah, fingers crossed hey! Who knows maybe the most amazing thing is that you are really welcomed with a small team. They really care and are passionate about what they do. My music feels very safe now with them!

Mark: I was going to talk a little about the Communion Compilation album that you are part of if you don’t mind?

Alessi: No, No please do.

Mark: There are some amazing artists on there and I am really hoping it is going to give a platform to some of the lesser known artists to be discovered by a wider audience.

Alessi: Do you know I don’t even have a copy yet; that’s more by design as I want to buy it from the shop!

Mark: Well you could have mine but it is my constant companion in my car at the moment. I know you are friends with Broadcast 2000 – “That Sinking Feeling” is an amazing track!

Alessi: I don’t know them that well but we are doing some shows together. So do you have any favourites on it?

Mark: You are putting me on the spot now! Well, I love the Mumfords track, your track “Hands In The Sink”, Elena Tonra “Peter”, Jesse Quin and The Mets “Scupltor and the Stone”,  Pete Roe “Bellina” – who was amazing on tour with the Mumfords – you know I could go on and on.

Mark: Ha ha lets move on before you interview me! Your love for the Graham Nash album Songs For Beginners and how it inspired you is well documented as well as your love of the White Stripes. I was wondering, stepping outside of the box, what inspires you musically now and who are you listening too now?

Alessi: Well my dad had been to see White Stripes at the Astoria and raved about them, so when we were older my sister and myself caught a show. You see I never envisaged myself as being out front, that’s why I like playing with a band. You can kind of melt into the background a little bit more and not feel so self conscious. Hmmmm, I’m inspired by people, books and bands…of more recent stuff, Heartless Bastards, Magic Magic, Jake Bellows and a new Bright Eyes record that is wonderful It will blow your mind!! Lots of really old country music and some early T-Rex. It’s hard to pick out favourites as there is so much good music out there.

Mark: I know what you mean I always like to ask these kind of questions because my head is always full of music, mainly new music, and I quite often miss stuff that’s coming through the mainstream because of it.

Alessi: I’m enjoying this, it’s great to talk about other artists. Oh you should check out Karen Dalton she is one of my favourite singers though I mostly like men. One of my favourite songs of all time is one that Jake Bellows put on a mix tape for me “Madonna of the Wasps” by Robyn Hitchcock. My dad had seen him with the Soft Boys but I had never looked into his music. However I met Robyn by chance after a show and we kept in touch and he put on this thing called Pestival which was a celebration of insect life at the Queen Elizabeth Hall last year, so I went along and did “Woman” which was a bit cheap. Although it does mention a spider it was the only song I had with an insect in the lyrics. You know, it’s amazing how things come about I ended up playing guitar and singing with him. Sometimes you don’t even want to think about it, it kind of feels like a film! I mean, life isn’t always like that!

Mark: Yeah I know how you feel, I was lucky enough to interview Gary Numan and I was like Oh My God! That kind of came about by chance I just happened to be covering a festival and knew the right PR people who moved me to the head of the queue.

Alessi: Oh wow! You know these things happen more and more the wider your circle of people gets within the industry.

Mark: You see this is the reason I really love doing live interviews you can go off on crazy tangents like this rather than fixed questions! I should talk about your music but I am fascinated by the art exhibition you ran last year – can you tell me a little about that?

Alessi: Well I had never taken drawing that seriously, though I really liked doing it. I had never thought about sharing it with the public. However, a friend Linda really championed the drawings, and a gallery near where we live in Hammersmith called the Riverside put on an exhibition. Linda made it really unintimidating – I always had this idea that exhibitions were for fancier people. She made it really easy and put up the drawings I had been doing on tour previously. I had been posting them out with orders for cds as  a little present for people. So as I was doing them I would scan them and make a print of them and they ended up in the exhibition. It was just really good fun! I would do it again, Linda gave me the prod I needed to show them!

Mark: Sometimes I get really defensive about your music, especially when it is talked about in terms of being fluffy and nursery rhyme-like, does that ever bother you? Because there is a lot more substance to your songs if people actually bother to look beyond that.

Alessi: I think it comes with my age, I’m honoured that you defend my songs. People can say whatever they want you know!

Mark: Yeah absolutely.

Alessi: I think maybe, you know I was really young when I wrote some of those songs and I don’t even necessarily sound the same as I did then, and you grow and you change as an artist. Your voice changes everything, you have to move on, it would almost be wrong to stay the same. Listening to older recordings isn’t always comfortable for me either, but hopefully people will see beyond my age and not let that stump them and get in the way of them listening to my music. I like to listen to music completely blindly, whether it is old or new, just listen to it as if you don’t know the person. Because all those other things, whether you like music or not, you can learn about the person after wards. You should just let it be what it is. If it moves then that’s great and I don’t think it is fluffy.

Mark: Neither do I, I have this real big thing that I will never write a negative review. At the end of the day, it is someone’s blood, sweat and tears and if I don’t like it I don’t review it, period. I just feel there is far too much negativity within the music press, especially some of the online press people feel it is quite cool and clever to write in a negative way to get some kudos.

Alessi: Totally, that is such a lovely policy very similar to a girl called Anneka I know, she writes a book about London and does some comic drawings. She is really optimistic about music and I think it’s a really good ethos.

Mark: So plans for the rest of the year? See, I can be structured! You have the tour coming up with Laura then what?

Alessi: Yeah I’m going to do that, the E.P. comes out on April 5th. Then we are going to work on the new album until the summer, hopefully to release it next January.

Mark: So will that be on Bella Union as well?

Alessi: I think so. Hopefully. I’m just recording the album in blocks, there is nothing concrete with Bella Union but I would really like it that way. After the Laura dates I am not too sure live gig wise, although some more dates with a collective known as the Emerald Triangle Tour who I traveled around Ireland with last month are a possibility in May. I really hope so, those guys blew my socks off! Then in August hopefully I am doing some European dates. The main thing I think, for me is just to focus on the next album.

We carried on and chatted about festivals and life in general, I have to say it is the most pleasurable interview I have ever done. Alessi is unaffected, down to earth, friendly and an all round fantastic person to meet!

Alessi’s Ark – Simple Man

Tags: alessi's ark