When the name Ali Love is banded around the office there is a distinct realisation that no-one really knows enough about this enigmatic individual. The basics spring to mind like his vocals on the latest Chemical Brother’s smash hit ‘Do It Again’, and the resounding fact that his recent offering ‘Secret Sunday Lover’ is a memorizing anthem perfect for getting ready for a dazzling Saturday night on the town. It’s time to delve deeper into the space-obsessed mind of Ali Love.
‘Secret Sunday Lover’ pays homage to the first club Ali really loved, Secret Sundaze, which was a summer party that ran from noon to midnight in various venues in London’s East End. Surely having a nightclub inspiring a hit single and living above an East End Nightclub must be too much of a good thing? “I’ve really made a party album with this record, mainly because of the life I was leading. I was using my bedroom as the VIP room at one point it all got so entwined,” explains Ali.
Ali grew up in the Norfolk countryside, where his parents were part of a community of artistic, hippie bohemians. At school he was a model pupil until the inevitable happened and he “fell in with the wrong crowd.” Music however was a constant influence for Ali, his earliest memory of music was sitting in the car while his mum drove through the flat landscape with 70s soul blasting through the speakers: Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Womack & Womack. In his brother’s bedroom it was electro and hip-hop, boys practicing break-dance moves on a patch of lino to ‘Electric Boogaloo’. Ali also recalls having quite an affinity to “De La Soul, Tribe Called Quest and Public Enemy”.
Releasing his first two singles on his own ‘I Love Records’ label Ali came to the attention of major players Columbia Records. ‘K-hole’ became an undeniable sensation, relentlessly blasting out of ‘Nu-Rave’ nights across the country with half-cut ‘scensters’ waving their glowsticks in appreciation to a new cult classic. Hey it even gained a spot on the latest Modular compilation.
Ali is gaining coveted pats on the back from every angle with Chic’s Nile Rogers even hot-footing over to the studio where Ali was working after hearing some of his tracks, “he taught me how to play ‘Good Times’ guitar,” says Ali excitedly.
Following this was a late-night encounter with Ed Simons in the tepee field at Bestival, which led to Ali being invited to collaborate with the Chemical Brothers first single from their new album ‘Do It Again’. The collaboration didn’t phase Ali who enjoyed every minute of it. “Everything flowed really easily and I even coaxed Ed and Tom into the vocal room to join in on the ‘do it again’ bit,” chuckles Ali.
Music isn’t Ali’s only obsession. Space has also made a lasting impression on him, with Ali owning up to still owning five light sabers from his interest in Star Wars as a youngster. This obsession with space has inspired the recent ‘Secret Sunday Lover’ artwork in all its space age glory, something even Daft Punk would perhaps be proud of. “I actually designed the cover using the space and disco theme but Tim [graphical genius] took it to the next level digitally,” enthuses Ali.
A distinct interest in space led onto an inevitable passion for comics with Ali enjoying replicating their ‘drawing style’. He also developed a love of French New-Wave films including the works of Jean-Luc Godard, whilst also favoring Buck Rogers. Ali can however now feed his film addiction whenever he fancies, “I now live next door to a video shop so I manage to nab free dvds which is excellent,” says Ali.
Fashionably individual, Ali steers toward a mixture of early New York Dolls/Ramones style with George Clinton touches splattered throughout; keeping it ‘space funk’ as he fondly refers to it. Musically however, Ali is often compared to Calvin Harris which he says was “inevitable really as my first two songs were quite up tempo and he is kinda funky, and has great basslines. However, our albums are quite different; ‘Love Music’ is a culmination of disco and rock ‘n’ roll.”
Ali can’t be labeled as a one trick pony however with folk induced tinkering trickling through gently on a hidden track with Hank Wangford on the album. “There are a lot more sides to me than people realize. There is the electro shouty stuff on K-Hole and the disco funk stuff but there is also this folk-country influenced side,” he explains.
As Ali reminisces about the time he fell out of a tree recently I realize that any chances of him calming down are slim. Let’s pray that we will hear a lot more out of this multi-faceted boy wonder for years to come - well if he keeps out of trouble that is.
Now I feel like I know everything there is to know about Ali Love, Mission accomplished? “Perhaps next time I will try and make a come down record.” Guess Not.
Words: Kimberley Owen
Illustration: Lajla Toullec