Interviews - Ilikemusic.com

Kelli Ali chats to ilikemusic.com.

The road to Kellifornia stretches back to late 90s London. On the verge of beginning work on a second album, the boys in Sneaker Pimps suggested that Kelli was doing too well as the band's defining, spikily sensual edge and all round millennial X girl icon, so should leave. Kelli was surprised but not dismayed, seeing the split more as an opportunity to put an already half-formed plan into action, than as an obstacle to her musical path.

As the Pimps' vocally distinctive and alluring, half Indian, half Irish focus, the ex-punk minx from the suburbs of Birmingham wasa known and reckoned all over the world. With Spin Spin Sugar and 6 Underground from the 1996 album Becoming X, Sneaker Pimps had already conquered the UK and blown up globally. Their tracks were snapped up for movies, stars queued to get into their gigs, and Kelli was the face on the covers.

Now, with 2002 comes a fresh vibrant Kelli and the release of one of her debut album, Tigermouth, and single, Kids.

ilikemusic.com caught up with Kelli to find out how she's developed her own Kelli style and what the future holds.



ILM: Firstly, how was the tour with Garbage?

Kelli: The tour with Garbage was excellent fun.
They were very sweet and the crowd made us feel right at home.

ILM: Can you give us your description of Kids and of Tigermoth?

Whilst I was recording in L.A. I saw Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, the classic Tenessee Williams film with Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor. I developed a slight obsession for Paul Newman in that film and it started me thinking about idol worship, and the beauty of a passion that can never be consumated by a fan for his or her idol in the usual sense.

Then I started imagining how it would be if a group of teenagers decided to kidnap their idol and commit ritual suicide with him or her to truly link with that person's life and soul.

That's what Kids is about.Then John Densmore from the Doors agreed to play percussion on the track and that really made it kind of more potent. It all came together quite fast. It's one of those songs that made me think, yeah ,this song is why I love and make music.

Tigermouth was inspired by my studies of Kung-Fu. A Tigermouth is an energy point in the hand, but when I heard that name,Tigermouth it had a lot of connotations for me. I was born in the year of the Tiger and at the time, I was feeling very much on the verge of some sort of spiritual awakening with my music. Also me being very vocal about my opinions and often getting into trouble also seemed to be tied in to Tigermouth as a word.The album Tigermouth is a record of thoughts and stories about love and life, the way I see it, little spells to bring love to me and hopefully share it around I guess.

ILM: You've learnt kung fu and ancient magic, meditation and so on. How has that helped you creatively?

Kelli: I began studying Kung-Fu and Taoism when my involvement with Sneaker Pimps ended. I felt a bit isolated and uncertain about my purpose. It opened many doors for me spiritually, although, I'm a very poor student! I'm fascinated by ancient rituals and cultures and, though I don't practice magic, I feel that by studying people's beliefs from all over the world - different times, countries - one can learn a lot about how great civilizations have come to terms with existence and the infinite questions that life presents us with.


Creatively, it helps me a great deal to read stories about times and cultures who had an astounding array of wonderous myths, dragons that dance, tigers that talk, gods and godesses, temples the size of small towns. It all really thrills me, I also draw on dreams for some of my songs.

I really enjoy trying to capture something intangible and make it real. After all, sound is invisible but incredibly powerful.The fact that we can capture it on tape and record would definitely have seemed like magic to ancient cultures, but we just take it for granted.

ILM: What's the most magical thing anyone has ever done for you and your most magical experience?

Kelli: I'm lucky enough to have had quite a few magical experiences! I can't really prioritise them....But magic is all around. I think that love of any sort is magical. It's the one thing that makes life shine. Without love I think everything would be flat and static.

ILM: The Doors drummer, John Denmore appears on Tigermoth. What a brilliant collaboration! You've also joined forces with Bryan Ferry. Do you have any other dream collaborations you'd love to fulfil?

Kelli: I would love to work with Jason from Spiritualized and also Vincent Gallo and Ennio Morricone.

Angelenos loved Sneaker Pimps. I hope that they embrace me with the same enthusiasm. I love L.A. you see.

ILM: You're half Irish and half Indian. Does your music reflect this exotic mix?

Kelli: My grandfather was Indian, my grandmother Irish, my mother English, but I always feel connected to the world as a human being rather than being from any one culture. I think my music just reflects my experiences so far.

ILM: You're seen by many young women as inspirational, as you took a potential obstacle (being asked to leave by the Sneaker Pimps) as an opportunity. What advice do you have for young women about staying strong and motivated?

Kelli: I feel kind of funny giving advice as I'm sure we all do what we feel is right at the time. But in general, I guess it's important to realise that no matter how bad things look at the time, there is a world full of people with many many hardships much greater than ours.


Maybe by seeing the things we do have instead of those we do not, we can be strong. Most of all, don't take it all so personal, shit happens and usually for good reason.

ILM: Three years on from splitting with The Sneaker Pimps, what has been the lowest point and the highest point?

Kelli: The lowest point was thinking that no one might ever hear my music, thinking that no one cared less about what I was doing.

The highest point was completing Tigermouth.

ILM: Do you have any advice for unsigned talent?

Kelli: Again,I'm not that wise to be handing out advice but I guess I'd say give it your all. If you're gonna do it get damn good at it and I'm sure it will all work out.

ILM: Can you describe your favourite place on earth?

Kelli: The earth is my favourite place!

ILM: What are your early memories of music and what/who are your main musical influences now?

Kelli: I was very much into bands, Sonic Youth, Violent Femmes and The Pixies, when I was a kid. I am influenced by very many artists but a few are, Susumu Yokota, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Sonic Youth,The Doors,Yoko Ono, Ennio Morricone, Primal Scream,the list is endless.

ILM: How did you first get into music?

Kelli: I bought my first guitar when I was 15. I just had this burning desire for this white electric guitar that I saw in a music shop window. I saved for ages and finally got it.The rest is history! I must admit though, my mum and dad always liked to play their records,The Kinks, David Bowie, Joan Baez, Jimi Hendrix, these people are part of my childhood so I guess I owe a lot to my parents for that.

ILM: What is in your CD player right now?

Kelli: Now,we are listening to the soundtrack of the film the Pillow Book, it's one of my favourites.

ILM: What does the future hold for Kelli Ali?

Kelli: The future is always a mystery but I hope to be playing live all over the world soon and having a whole lot of fun!