Ex Sneaker Pimp Kelli has just  released her ace new  album ‘Rocking Horse’. Full of whimsical vocals and sparse folky arrangements, it’s just the thing to keep that warm glow inside in these cold winter months.

What have you been up to since the last album?
After Psychic Cat we decided to leave London and go travelling around Mexico and California. It has been a really amazing last few years, having no fixed abode; we’ve just been on the move. We sold everything and we didn’t miss any of it. I sold all my books, all my vinyl. It’s much better that they go to someone who really enjoys them. What is the point in material things if they are not being enjoyed? 

Do you think a lot of people would dream about doing the same but don’t have the get up and go?
I think they would and I think they should. You don’t realise how easy it is until you do it. A lot of people thought it would be pretty disastrous but since we left we’ve not looked back. When you haven’t got that much to lose you may as well make a really brave decision and really push it – usually I find it works out well. Now we can’t imagine settling down. We’re very nomadic; we have relied on the generosity of our friends.

What was your favourite place you went to?
It’s really, really hard to have a favourite because we went to so many beautiful places. I loved Mexico so much; I don’t think I went anywhere in the country that I didn’t love. We travelled all over, hitchhiking all the way through Baja. It was phenomenal – the truckers are so generous, hardly any of them spoke a word of English and we got by trading cigarettes, laughing and smiling. But my Spanish did get better, I had to learn a few words pretty fast! 
And California. It’s so amazing because again it’s such an open place – it’s very friendly and very positive. It seems like the perfect place for the love revolution. I think Americans have a great attitude; they must learn it in school! People are genuinely friendly, helpful and tolerant – it’s beautiful. I actually think we could learn a lot. When we think of Americans it’s usually only the wealthy ones on holiday in London and that’s obviously not a broad section of the population. The politicians and the tourists don’t paint a good example of their culture. Unless we travel there and experience that kind of warmth we don’t really see it. It’s a bit of an affront to English people and our reserve, but now when we come back from America we always try to bring a bit of that friendliness with us. 

Did you do any gigs on your travels?
I played at a guitar festival in Mexico that was the greatest fun, in Zihuatanejo. I had my guitar on me because I was writing songs, we just asked if we could come and play and they were cool with it. But we didn’t really go away to perform, it was to write and get some head space. I love playing the guitar and I love writing with the guitar but I am not that confident. I just wanted to explore and write – I was not compelled to busk for example!

Are you still travelling now?
We are a bit more rooted, but we are certainly all over England. I made the album in Scotland with Max Richter, so we were living there for a few months. Since then we’ve been getting the band together so I have been commuting between London and Birmingham.

How are you finding it being back in Birmingham?
I love it. I used to hate Birmingham, getting out was all I thought about as a kid and that’s why I went to London. It seemed so depressing and so grey. And now I love it, I love coming back, and obviously I love being around my family. I don’t want to sound corny, I hate that kind of patriotic stuff about where you come from but to me there is a friendliness and a warmth to Birmingham. There’s a really lovely feeling of being at home.

How are people taking to the new sound of Rocking Horse?
It’s all really positive so far. For me it’s really natural to want to explore more organic ways of making music, but to other people it is quite a big change. It’s the most personal album I’ve made because I wanted to try and make something that was really relevant to my own experiences.

Where does the title Rocking Horse come from? 
I feel like life is a paradox and we are always going between light and dark influences and the album is very much like that. Some of the songs are very light and airy and then some are bordering on the macabre. For me Rocking Horse personifies that paradox in human nature. 

Are the songs a product of your time on the road?
That’s were they were all conceived, if you like. They were mostly written around campfires. We had a tent, and that’s were we were living. Part of it was born out of desperation. When we were in London and I made ‘Psychic Cat’ not much seemed to be happening for us. We weren’t really getting the exposure that you need to be able to tour a record and to be able to do all that a record needs. It just went really quiet. I was left feeling like I needed something new, we didn’t have very much money and we weren’t happy. The best we could come up with was to sell everything and fuck off to Mexico and California for a bit! 

‘Rocking Horse’ is out now
www.kelliali.com 

Photos by Steve Gerrard