Psychic Cat, Kelli's new album.
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.
“I wanted the album to be rock’n’roll, but with a modern, electronic
edge,” explains Kelli. “And I wanted it to sound spontaneous, not
studied. I wrote a trio of tracks – ‘Hot Lips’,’Psychic Cat’ and
‘Graffiti Boy’ - that set the tone for the record. They’re quite tough,
but they’re also good fun and quite playful. ‘Hot Lips’, in particular,
is just from-the-hip rock’n’roll. It’s a trashy love song with a sense
of humour.” ‘Psychic Cat’, on the other hand, reveals a more mystic
side to the singer.
“There is a mystic bent to several of the songs, probably because I’m
superstitious,” admits Kelli. “The cats I met just walking down the
street in Santa Monica. They were all dressed up and they had this
little machine that told your fortune. I’m not joking! They would tap
this machine with their paws and out would come a card with a reading.
I still carry that card with me everywhere. It’s like a good omen.”
Kelli, you may have guessed, isn’t one for soppy love songs. The
album’s double A-sided, first single ‘Voyeur’/’Speakers’ pairs a
groovy, grinding, Ecstacy-inspired party track with a slinky protest
song that draws from 70s anti-war demos and takes a stand against
modern-day, money-obsessed society. “There’s a line in the lyrics of
Speaker that goes “Honey, don’t talk to me about money, diamonds and
guns”. I hate the way so much music these days teaches kids those are
the things that make you someone special. Rock’n’roll is about being
real and having an attitude and your own ideas. It’s not about
possessions. It never will be.”
After a break in Malaysia where she wrote the album’s closing track,
the sweet, but stinging ‘Last Boy On Earth’, Kelli returned to London
last summer and began completing tracks with producer Dave McCracken.
The two had talked about working on Tigermouth, but back then, their
schedules had clashed. This time, McCracken tracked Kelli down and
invited her back to his bedroom.
“Rather than book a big studio, we just worked in his house,” explains
Kelli. “That way, there was no pressure, we could try out different
ideas and be more relaxed about recording. We were like two little kids
with new toys to play with.”
One track ‘Ideal’, a blistering, techno-rock song featuring Primal
Scream guitarist Andrew Innes, was resurrected from the Tigermouth
sessions and re-recorded. “The song has real spirit,” says Kelli, “but
it wasn’t quite right before. I knew it was special, so I wanted to
save it until I could do it justice.”
So an album that’s hard to pigeonhole, but distinctly Kelli Ali. She
could tell you her hero is Ennio Morricone, or that she loves Peaches
and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. But the album doesn’t sound like anyone else
and it won’t slot easily into one scene.
“I didn’t want to stick to a single style of music, or make a record
where all the songs were similar,” explains Kelli. “I don’t see the
point of that. I love raw guitar music, but I enjoy new technology too.
That’s why I want to get back out on the road, see how it all slots
together live. I toured with Garbage last time, now I want to get out
there on my own. I want people to hear what I have to offer.”
