A departure from her trip-hop and electronic catalogue, Rocking Horse signals a new direction for Kelli Ali, former lead singer of Sneaker Pimps. With focus placed on whimsical vocal work and sparse arrangements, Rocking Horse is influenced by Kelli’s nomadic past, wherein she traveled across California and Mexico.

Soft spoken as it is powerful, dreamy as it is melancholic and enchanting as it is haunting, Rocking Horse marks the beginning of a new Kelli Ali, one influenced by her loves, losses and life experience. Here, Kelli talks about her extraordinary journey and the music it has created.

We understand that your new album signals pastures new for you. Tell us more…
Rocking Horse is a completely new exploration of sound and song for me. I was greatly influenced by a haunting and gentle spirit I found whilst traveling around Mexico and California, the nature and beautiful wildernesses where we spent many of our days and nights camping and wandering.

I wanted to challenge myself and create something mysterious and dreamlike. Writing on my acoustic guitar encouraged me to figure out the song before I began layering sounds. Therefore, I had a lot of time whilst traveling to really craft the songs and the album before going into the studio. The sound of Rocking Horse is dark and haunting as opposed to my earlier work, which only hints at the whispered magic of Rocking Horse. My earlier work was much more influenced by electronic music and synthesizers, whereas Rocking Horse is all about the acoustic guitar, strings and woodwinds.

Technically, it's a very organic and sumptuous album, in the respect that we recorded the quartet and woodwinds in large takes, rather than editing the hell out of the songs. Therefore, the string parts we recorded are real performances and I feel there is a magic to the album because of the natural way in which it was made.

We approached the vocals in a similar manner and went for naturally superior takes, as opposed to editing and tweaking mediocre takes. Also, my approach to singing the songs is completely new. I feel this came from writing many of the songs outdoors.

"It's a very organic and sumptuous album...I feel there is a magic to it because of the natural way in which it was made."

What are you most proud of about Rocking Horse?
Rocking Horse is the first record which I made independently. My partner and I struggled and strived to bring the album to life. From its concept to its end, the Rocking Horse album is very much a labour of love and a testament to perseverance and hope. At the time, I had no record deal and I had no idea what would happen after the record was finished. The fact that we made Rocking Horse at all makes me incredibly happy. 

We heard your track ‘Urique’ was written in a sacred canyon in Mexico after hitching a ride with a meth-addicted truck driver – come again? What happened?!
Yes, we were hitching rides with the Mexican truckers. We were pretty used to the ritual by now and we were used to drivers sometimes popping amphetamine pills just to stay awake. Sometimes they drive non stop for a whole day, and the Mex 1 is a narrow and winding highway which can be very treacherous at times. One afternoon, we hitched a ride with Louisio, a young trucker, about 24 years old.

We hadn't met many young truckers and we were surprised, but he was sweet and we looked forward to the prospect of sharing a night ride with the guy. I guess in hindsight, night riding isn't the best idea on the Mex 1 - a two lane highway through the mountains and deserts of Baja - but we were pretty fearless back then! Anyway, not too long into the journey, our driver pulls over to the side of the road and pulls out some foil and some meth and takes a hit, offering us some, as you do! We gratefully decline and he continues to bomb it down the highway!

The whole eight hour journey was like this, with our driver Louisio pulling over every so often to do his thing and, the darker it got, the more courageous his driving became. He began overtaking other trucks at really risky places and driving faster and crazier. I'm not sure if it was for our benefit or if this is was the way he always drove, but we were sure happy to get out of that truck when we finally came to our destination! I learnt to trust in fate that night.

What happened next?
We found ourselves in a part of Mexico near the Copper Canyon region. I had misread a map and took a foot trail to be a dirt road. Big mistake! The only way out of the little town we were in was to walk a three day hike over two 8000 ft mountains and through a place called Urique Canyon. This turned out to be one of the most grueling but wonderful adventures I have ever experienced.

We went with a local guy who assured us he knew the way. We took a mule, food and water, but ran out of water pretty early on. The climb was steep and, by the time we got to the peak of the first canyon, we were very dehydrated. Our trusty guide had assured us that there would be water at the top of the mountain but, when we got there, all we found was a stagnant pool of green mosquito infested swamp water. We were really downhearted. We continued on and eventually we became very lost. Although by this time we were over our climb and the canyon had become much greener and magical.

We wandered through a large ravine which emerged into the most beautiful, golden canyon. The sun was incredibly hot and the sky was a fierce Mexican blue. We began to notice huge rock formations stood on the edges of the cliffs and hills. The formations resembled all kinds of animals and our guide - who I guess wasn't really a guide at all - explained to us that the canyon was sacred to the native indians there. There was a magic to the place that cannot be described with words. We were in awe and realized that, through becoming lost, we had stumbled on a truly magical place. Our hike through the canyon was dreamlike and sanctifying and I will never forget it.

I wrote 'Urique' because I wanted to remember that place and that being lost can be a very beautiful and enlightening experience.

"Being lost can be a very beautiful and enlightening experience."

What is your favourite place in the world?
I am fortunate enough to love many places in the world. I can't choose one. I love Mexico and California, Japan and many other places.

You were the lead singer of the Sneaker Pimps. What was that experience like?
Amazing and lonely and ultimately devastating, but I was young and it now feels like a long, long time ago.

What’s the worst gig you’ve ever done?
With Sneaker Pimps. Terrible sound, bad ju ju! Mentally blocked out the location. Brrrrrrr!

What makes you angry?
Dead music, dead films, dead food, dead words and dead thought with no heart or soul, being churned out and regurgitated by the corporate gloating monsters of our age. Abuse of power. Ignorance.

What makes you happy?
Love and friendship. Singing and making music and records. Writing stories. Traveling. Camp fires. Great literature, films and art. Sublime music. Good dinner parties. Pussy cats. Sitting on a soft chair on a balcony overlooking a desert canyon in the twilight with a fine wine and a cigarette.

Do you get much attention from gay fans at all? Are you popular with the ladies?
Some of my fans are gay but I don't think about it much, to be honest. I tend to communicate with people on a musical level. I never discuss sexuality with my listeners. It just doesn't come into my communication with anyone, really. If my friends are gay or straight, it rarely comes into our topic of conversation. It's like that with my fans, too.

What would your ideal date entail?
A desert sunset, a cold beer and an open road full of opportunity stretching far, far out into the distance.

What’s next for you?
Rocking Horse is released on 24 November, so that is the next great event on my horizon. I am hoping that I can play a lot more live shows in the future. I would love to tour America and, of course, I hope to keep making records. I tend not to plan too far ahead. Nothing makes the great spirit laugh harder than the big important plans of humans.

What else would you like to say?
I hope that you all enjoy my new Rocking Horse album. Bon voyage, happy trails, good luck to you.

Rocking Horse, by Kelli Ali
Label: One Little Indian
Released: 24 November 2008
ASIN: B001HQJYTO

Buy Rocking Horse, by Kelli Ali, online now. You'll save some money to put towards her earlier albums Psychic Cat and Tigermouth. Plus, check out the video below to see Kelli recording vocals for her new album at the Way Recording Studio in London.