Ali Love: The ups and downs and ins and outs
SF: The Skinny gets up close with Ali Love and finds out what he has to give.<br/><br/>PQ: ""I wanna perfect my art the same way as a martial artist, you wanna be able to do the one inch punch of death technique but with music!""
| 07 Nov 2007
I'm a musical schizophrenic! says Ali Love in his laid back and affable way, as he explains to the Skinny just where he fits into our genre-free musical landscape. "I just do what I feel like; some people like it and some don't," he continues, seeming not to stress out either way. This is a man who is releasing his first album Love Music in the near future, a normally stressful time for any artist, but Ali Love is genuinely carefree on the matter and knows that all will come good regardless. "Once people listen they will see where I'm coming from, a few different styles like disco, punk and rock and roll but I just make tunes, it's all just music."
This chilled attitude may come from the fact that Ali is now doing what he has always wanted. Previously a session player and part-time producer of underground dance music, he decided to start becoming the main man in his performances. Last year, he independently released the drug referencing K-Hole before being signed up by Sony BMG. Love also sang on the Chemical Brothers' recent single Do it Again, although Ali reckons this will be news to many: "I don't know that the general public know it was me on Chemical Brothers but I wanna do more collaborations," he says.
This collaboration was followed by the release of the excellent singles Secret Sunday Session and Late Night Session; they are somewhat less controversial than his previous work but Ali is philosophical about the whole matter. "It's made it a lot harder in some ways having a label to get things done, its hard to make music by committee so you have to stick to your guns at times, you can't do everything you want to do. On the other hand however, when you're doing things alone it's hard 'cos of lack of money. As with everything there are good and bad points!"
Love is also, at times, very self-deprecating. Slipping between strong self-confidence and analytical worry, he certainly is not afraid of pulling punches on his own music. Although saying he loved his recent singles he's happy to give a little bit of cheeky critique on them: "The last single was the cheesiest I've ever done - I enjoyed making it but even when I listen back I go, 'fucking hell'!" But he isn't worried about this and is happier to point to the fact that he is still growing as an artist and finding his direction. "I've been working out my style, you just do what you do really naturally," he explains.
Having recently completed a tour with good friend Just Jack and another short tour with Mark Ronson, Ali Love is definitely moving with some of the biggest stars in the indie beat scene. Not that he's too enamoured with the whole touring process, preferring to focus on creating his passion within the confines of his bedroom: "The thing I like best is just sitting till 6am just twiddling around; touring can seem like lots of service stations at times. I did this job where I used to spray paint band adverts across the country and it's not that much different!"
Ali Love is certainly a man who likes to have fun (his name is rumoured to be a nickname appointed due to how much 'love' he has to give) and he previously devoted his energies to a club night under his flat in Shoreditch in London called On the Rocks, a passion he would like to rekindle: "I'm gonna start my club night up again, it's a dirty club just like Phoenix Nights!"
As for his musical future, Ali will take it as it comes, but the perfectionist is definitely there behind the calm exterior. "I'm just planning on having a good time; I wanna perfect my craft, [and] I've already forgotten the last album in a way... I wanna perfect my art the same way as a martial artist, you wanna be able to do the one inch punch of death technique but with music!"
This chilled attitude may come from the fact that Ali is now doing what he has always wanted. Previously a session player and part-time producer of underground dance music, he decided to start becoming the main man in his performances. Last year, he independently released the drug referencing K-Hole before being signed up by Sony BMG. Love also sang on the Chemical Brothers' recent single Do it Again, although Ali reckons this will be news to many: "I don't know that the general public know it was me on Chemical Brothers but I wanna do more collaborations," he says.
This collaboration was followed by the release of the excellent singles Secret Sunday Session and Late Night Session; they are somewhat less controversial than his previous work but Ali is philosophical about the whole matter. "It's made it a lot harder in some ways having a label to get things done, its hard to make music by committee so you have to stick to your guns at times, you can't do everything you want to do. On the other hand however, when you're doing things alone it's hard 'cos of lack of money. As with everything there are good and bad points!"
Love is also, at times, very self-deprecating. Slipping between strong self-confidence and analytical worry, he certainly is not afraid of pulling punches on his own music. Although saying he loved his recent singles he's happy to give a little bit of cheeky critique on them: "The last single was the cheesiest I've ever done - I enjoyed making it but even when I listen back I go, 'fucking hell'!" But he isn't worried about this and is happier to point to the fact that he is still growing as an artist and finding his direction. "I've been working out my style, you just do what you do really naturally," he explains.
Having recently completed a tour with good friend Just Jack and another short tour with Mark Ronson, Ali Love is definitely moving with some of the biggest stars in the indie beat scene. Not that he's too enamoured with the whole touring process, preferring to focus on creating his passion within the confines of his bedroom: "The thing I like best is just sitting till 6am just twiddling around; touring can seem like lots of service stations at times. I did this job where I used to spray paint band adverts across the country and it's not that much different!"
Ali Love is certainly a man who likes to have fun (his name is rumoured to be a nickname appointed due to how much 'love' he has to give) and he previously devoted his energies to a club night under his flat in Shoreditch in London called On the Rocks, a passion he would like to rekindle: "I'm gonna start my club night up again, it's a dirty club just like Phoenix Nights!"
As for his musical future, Ali will take it as it comes, but the perfectionist is definitely there behind the calm exterior. "I'm just planning on having a good time; I wanna perfect my craft, [and] I've already forgotten the last album in a way... I wanna perfect my art the same way as a martial artist, you wanna be able to do the one inch punch of death technique but with music!"