Ali E

'The result of these collaborations have morphed this six track release into a stunningly elegant and thoughtful output.' - TONE DEAF

“Like a cross between PJ Harvey and Kim Deal, Ali E walks her own path. Hailing from Melbourne, her songs sound like she has let music and events soak into her neurons throughout her life, creating a turbulent mix of 90s post-rock and magic summertime vibes.” - Semplesize

Shades of Dinosaur Jr in the sprawling tonal palette, Track One is a mellow driving force, deftly striding a tightrope between restraint and indulgence, crafting a breezy form of tension. - Beat Magazine

Shot in a nostalgic, sepia haze, the clip sees Ali E in full rock chick mode, pounding power chords on a sticker-plastered guitar and tossing her scruffy blonde locks to the drumbeat. - Speaker TV

A very happy Tunesday to you, frankie friends! We have a little exclusive for you this afternoon, straight from the sticky-floored rehearsal room of Melbourne's Ali E.

Titled "We Are Strangers", the clip is an unexpectedly crafty endeavour for the local lady of rock – hours of photo-snapping, cutting, pasting, collaging and animating went into the final result, which is a wee bit psychedelic, and grunge at its DIY best. The whole shebang was whipped up with her bass player, Anto Skene, and also features an extra-special cameo from her guitar-wielding sidekick, Patti the pooch.

Hit play below, then pop over here for more Ali E goodness. If you like what you hear, you might like to contribute to her just-launched Pozible campaign, raising dollars for the release of a spanking new EP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pof2d6MH4xw - Frankie Mag

'We Are Strangers’ is impossible to waver away from. Also, that guitar solo at the end is the softest but most alluring thing since looking into the eyes of a kitten. - Soundly Sounds

Melbourne singer-songwriter Ali E recently released her stellar EP Creatures. We had the opportunity to ask her about the EP, her current tour, as well as any advice she has for independent artists trying to breakthrough.

You released your EP ‘Creatures’ recently, how does it feel to finally have it out?

Great! It's so good to finally have it out in the world. It was a pretty drawn out process with doing 2 tracks the summer of 2014, then the other 4 the summer of 2015. We had a couple of single launches in between the recording dates so that was good to keep the momentum up, but yeah, it's really nice to have it all packaged up and ready to go. We're still waiting on the vinyl to arrive from Czech Republic though (there were a few technical difficulties), so hopefully that gets here soon, because CDs and digital versions don't really cut the mustard. That is such an odd saying, 'cut the mustard'. Mustard seems to have pretty high standards.

What was the inspiration behind ‘Creatures’?

Well, it was a follow-up to my album 'Landless' that I released in 2012, I wanted the sound to be a lot fuller and more thought out. After the album I formed a regular band with Leigh Ewbank on drums and Anto Skene on bass. We toured around the country a fair bit and got in guest musos and vocalists along the way, so the songs and the sound did naturally progress that way. It was also the first time I'd worked with a producer, Anna Laverty, who also recorded and mixed the EP, so this really made me construct the songs and the EP with a more of an agenda. Most of the songs are inspired by the terrible political state that we're in, along with the social issues that come with that.

The music video for ‘Track One’ is very eccentric, how did the concept for that come about?

We're just a bunch of weirdos who like doing weird stuff. So, the noir baby dolls, the action figurine and the dancing aliens seemed really fitting. Actually it doesn't have any correlation to the song, which is about being sucked into systemic patterns and schedules as determined by a particular scene or phase in time i.e. in the music, arts, fashion industries. Or maybe it does. I don't know. Often trying to find connections in things is exhausting, so sometimes I like just putting something out there without over thinking it, and seeing what happens. People will most likely form their own conclusions anyway.

Your tour starts next week, what are you looking forward to most about touring the EP?

We just got back from Adelaide and Warrnambool this weekend, actually. That was fun, but the drive between Adelaide and Warrnambool was so much longer then we expected. And the Cafe at Keith was closed for lunch! KEITH you do this everytime! haha. Anyway, no I really like going back to cool places that we have been to before - places, like Mandoo dumplings in Adelaide, Reverends in Brisbane, Tyms Guitars and in Brisbane; humans like familiarity, especially when you're on tour and there is a very fine line between feeling like crap and feeling good! It's also always nice to be able to catch up with friends and family who live in those towns as well. Oh, we also have a new song that we've finished writing and are playing on the tour - so that's exciting.

Is there a particular stop in the tour that you’re excited for?

I'm really looking forward to playing the Jet Black Cat gig at the End in Brisbane (i've heard great things about that record shop), and the home-town Melbourne gig at Shebeen and the last gig on the Tour at Trainspotters in Brisbane. Oh and Sydney with Bec+Ben! So, basically the whole thing.

Is there any advice you can give to fellow independent artists who are trying to breakthrough?

Don't take yourself too seriously. Don't be afraid to speak your mind - especially female musos and artists out there. Be supportive of each other.

What’s next for you after the tour?

We'll most likely take the rest of 2015 to play fewer gigs and concentrate on writing. I'm really keen to work on new songs and look to record again next year. We have a few songs in the pipeline already. There will be a few gigs later on in the year though... can't resist, and we've got to try and sell those 10" vinyl records... - Wickedd Childd

Track One is the kind of angsty indie-rock that makes you sit up and listen, with a soft but captivating chord progression, delicate but fed-up
vocal harmonies and easily relatable lyrics. - Howl & Echoes

Stoking a slow burn of instrumentation into an impressive bonfire of skittish drums and lush fiddle, Ali E elevates an intimate introspection, similar to that of Liz Phair, into a track brimming with a multitude of shifting moments of spacious melody. - Beat Magazine

Even if you haven’t heard the name Ali E before now chances are you’ve heard her music on multiple occasions with Ali keeping busy with Damn Terran, Heavy Beach and Little Athletics. And she has her solo project too which proves she is a gun at multi-tasking, while some people (like a certain sub-editor*) struggle to tie their shoelaces and chew their bacon at the same time.

Seagull is the second single from her upcoming solo album due out in early 2015. That may seem a way away, but don’t you worry kid, Seagull is more than capable of tiding you over until then. Ali penned the track during a difficult time, the raw nature of the song making that fact very clear. Yet everything isn’t a total downer as Seagull maintains an upbeat character, instead of wallowing in difficult times Ali E is a lady who takes a proactive approach to get over the shitty things in life and focus on the things that matter; love, relationships, drinking, friends, writing and dogs.

The song itself is quite muscular, Ali E’s voice growls gently over the track which is propped up by the intertwining guitars and bass. Seagull feels like a very personal song, almost as if it is a bare-all confession. As the song continues it begins to swell with fantastic harmonies courtesy of Katie Scott, Matt Storey and Rich Davies. As the song reaches its conclusion a swirling string section makes an appearance, and coupled with the layered guitars and crashing cymbals it gives Seagull a dramatic crescendo before falling back to its raw begins and fading out.

It’s a beautifully crafted song. The introspective nature of the lyrics don’t only ask questions, but make clear the path that needs to be taken to find answers as well. Like I said before, if Seagull is any indicator of what is to come from Ali E’s new solo album we’re all in for one hell of a treat. If you love this track, then chances are you’ll be eagerly awaiting Ali E’s new release like a seagull waiting to snatch a chip from the oblivious by-stander.

If you are feeling like a hungry seagull then make sure to get your butt down to The Old Bar in Fitzroy on December 3 to catch Ali E do her thing. Maybe they serve chips there too. - Happy Music Blog

Stripped back and leaning towards quiet singer/songwriter fare, Ali Edmonds’ 2012 debut album Landless stood out as notable counter programming to the louder three bands she juggles: Damn Terran, Heavy Beach and Little Athletics.

By contrast, her first single as Ali E since then swings closer to the rough-hewn, stoner-friendly rock of Heavy Beach. Kicking off with a great muddy guitar hook from Edmonds, ‘We are Strangers’ sees her slip into full-band mode alongside drummer Leigh Ewbank (until recently of Damn Terran), bassist Anto Skene and violinist Lucy Rash (Tantrums). It’s a driving single that nevertheless showcases a disciplined cool in Edmonds’ vocals – as restrained as the music is free.

Recorded at Sing Sing South by Anna Laverty (Nick Cave, Paul Dempsey) and mastered by Mikey Young, ‘We are Strangers’ is self-described as “the story of living in a world of apathy, where people are content with their share; those who are not prepared to break the social mould, [and] instead pretend to be happy, while the world goes on around them.” - Mess and Noise

You might have encountered Melbourne-based Ali Edmonds (aka Ali E) in cahoots with a handful of bands including Damn Terran, Heavy Beach and Little Athletics. Well, now she returns with ‘We Are Strangers’ from her forthcoming solo album. We asked her to tell us more about herself:

I am Ali E. The E stands for elephant, or egg, or epiphany, or Edmonds. I spent a lot of time in the You Yangs where I developed a taste for small, crunchy bugs and building mud-brick houses. After living on the cusp of being heralded queen of the broken twigs and undergrowth, I made my way to Melbourne and discovered I had eight siblings and grew up in a country town called Hamilton. I’ve been playing music ever since.

We Are Strangers is a song that I used to play with a loop pedal for solo gigs. Actually there’s a little bit of Little Athletics in there. The very first riff is a adaptation to a riff I wrote for a Little Athletics song way back in the dark ages. I always liked that riff though. Anyway, for We Are Strangers, I worked on it with my current band and it came together pretty well. So we recorded it. And now it’s my new single. It’s about a bunch of stuff including people being complacent, hating crockery, and following orders.

Melbourne is sunny, cold, windy, quiet, noisy. And it’s the same. It’s the same all day, everyday. Nothing really changes. It’s good to leave Melbourne and it’s good to come back to Melbourne. Melbourne’s a pretty great city to live in.

I spend too much time thinking. And cleaning. I clean to think; I clean to get things done. I think to get things done. Then I usually just have a nap.

My single launch at The Workers Club will be on Friday July 18. Right, smack-bang in the middle of winter. And at this rate the weather will most likely be windy, cold and rainy. But inside at the Workers Club it will be warm, friendly, alcoholy and musicy – it’ll be a place where everybody knows your name (*cue Cheers theme song). But quite seriously, it will be fun – I’ve organised a line up of bands that I’ve never played with before so am really looking forward to seeing them play – Bad Family and Grand Prismatic. Also there will be some guest appearances from other local musos during my set.

It might surprise people to learn that if I could be a cartographer I would.

In the future the battery inside the clock that I’m looking at will, eventually, die. Once dead, I’ll take that battery to the Aldi supermarket in Brunswick, and put it in the battery recycle bin, and I’ll wonder, if it will ever really be recycled. - Something You Said

I remember seeing Ali E a little while back, supporting Salad Boys on their recent tour of Aus. Or more specifically, I remember being struck by her voice-it’s the kind of voice that belongs to a girl that your Mum warns you against, and your Dad encourages you to go after. It’s a voice packed with subtleties and one that weaves a billion stories into a single sentence. That’s why her latest single ‘We Are Strangers’ is impossible to waver away from. Also, that guitar solo at the end is the softest but most alluring thing since looking into the eyes of a kitten. - SoundlySounds

Ali Edmonds is a lass that has knocked around the Aussie music scene for some time now. You may be familiar with the songstress’ smokey vocals from the likes of Little Athletics, Heavy Beach and Damn Terran – or perhaps you were a fan of her kickass debut solo effort of 2012, Landless.

No matter if or where you first dug the Melbourne artists’ sounds, Ali E has returned to her burning solo project with ‘We Are Strangers,’ and man has it left us begging for more.

The track is a raw example of Ali E’s grungy prowess that flits between swirling guitars to all-out buzz-fuzzers, whilst sonically featuring guests including old bandmate Leigh Ewbank on drums, Anto Skene playing bass and Lucy Rash of TANTRUMS on the violin.

Edmonds herself has described the narrative behind ‘We Are Strangers’ as “the story of living in a world of apathy, where people are content with their share, those who are not prepared to break the social mold; instead they pretend to be happy, while the world goes on around them.” Joe Harris - Tonedeaf

I'll always have time for Ali, no matter what group or project she comes under. This one's got a nice rattle to it that gives way to big surges of noise. - Triple J Unearthed - Dave Ruby Howe

Headliner Ali E starts her set solo, making use of a looping pedal to add incremental layers to her songs, which seem to be part of that grungy, sugar-free, bittersweet ilk of Cat Power circa You Are Free. Her solid background in the local music scene (playing in bands Little Athletics, Ferry Tails and Damn Terran) shows – despite her (appropriately) unaffected vocals, she comes across as a guitarist first, singer second. In parts, she seems to shun her place in the limelight to concentrate on a riff. However, it's kind of refreshing to watch: something exotic in the field of noxious-if-pretty mic-flowers blooming everywhere. Ali E's So It Goes is stealthily contagious and she brings up a backing band to compliment the harmonies and instrumental backing of the song. With the backing band in tow in general, she seems to slip out of the dark PJ Harvey-style category and more into a country/folk genre. My friend prefers this, but this scribe enjoys her solo stuff more. All in all the set is a step toward establishing Ali E's musical ability as the new solo act in town. - Alice Body - Inpress

Another record that I've had kicking around my MP3 player for months is the debut LP from Melbourne's Ali E. You may recognise Ali from local bands Ferry Tails and Damn Terran but her solo tunes are a world apart from their frenetic sounds.

Landless is the kind of record that makes you stop what you're doing and pay attention to the sound. Edmonds is an accomplished guitarist who uses looping to great effect, creating an ethereal vibe as her husky vocals shimmer across the ether. The raw emotions that exude from her minimalist tunes is striking and her bold delivery sends shivers down the spine as she bares her soul as casually as one smiles at a stranger as they pass by on the street.

Key tracks are "Lovely Water", "Landless", "So It Goes" and "Charlie Brooker", with the instrumental "Rue Marcadet" showing that Edmonds can indeed shred. She moves from light to dark to harrowing shades of grey with the layered vocals and guitars all swirling around the eye of the storm - her strong riffs that intoxicate and consume.

Ali E's music is breathtakingly honest and intense. Landless is an outstanding debut that is easily one of the best local releases of 2012.

Review Score: 8/10 - hot men look hotter in skinny jeans

This is the debut solo album from Melbourne’s Ali E formerly part of bands Little Athletics, Damn Terran and Ferry Tails. Full of atmosphere, imagery and emotion, this is an extremely promising debut effort.

Ali E’s music has a shoegaze/grungy sound in the vein of Sonic Youth or Mazzy Star. There is a great amount of hazy atmosphere that surrounds the listener, taking them off onto an epic journey full of vivid imagery along the way. Her guitar work creates some amazing distortion producing a solid wall of sound while also exerting solid melodies. This is topped off by gutsy vocals! Full of passion and angst, they lead the charge in each track and topping off their emotional soundscape.

The album opens with the melancholic Lovely Water. The music creates a vivid imagery to make you feel like you are at the edge of a beach in the middle of winter. The various sounds combine to create a surrounding atmosphere which is further enhanced by Ali E’s dark vocals that are full of emotion.

The tempo picks up with the fast, almost rocking Eye to eye. There is a heap of energy here as the song races along lead by a strong stoner rock guitar.

The title track is really strong folk / shoegaze offering. The guitar work creates a hazy atmosphere that surrounds you and takes you off on an epic journey.

Way over the world is a slower, darkish indue tune in the vein of Veruka Salt’s slower moments. The echoing guitars create a great atmosphere to the song making you feel like you are out in the woods at dusk.

In So it goes, the distorting guitars give off a deep hazy atmosphere while still having solid tunes that hold everything together. Ali’s voice is really strong, giving off a powerful yet mellow vibe that complements the soundtrack brilliantly!

Rue Marcadet is a chilling instrumental that allows Ali to completely show off her musical talent. Over the four minutes are all manner of dark but utterly beautiful sounds produced by a collage of guitar riffs.

This is a brilliant effort full of powerful sounds and lead by amazingly strong vocals. There is not a single dull moment to be found over this long-player while the level of emotion reached is utterly incredible! Hopefully the fact that this is the debut album means there will be much more to come! - Tomatrax

Ali E is a local Melbourne based singer songwriter who also plays in Melbourne punk peeps Damn Terran.

Ali has a really sweet solo track out, So It Goes. It does have that whole Adalita vibe of disorted guitar and vocal…and I like that. It does feature drums, but towards the end, and it’s restrained which lets you focus on the lyrics a lot more.

Track is taken from Ali’s debut full length which she recorded over Easter. Not sure about a release date, but hopefully soon! - Me, And All My Friends

There's something really spontaneous about the way Ali E sounds, almost as if she recorded guide vocals and then either fell in love with them as is or ran outta time. Guitar screeches are embraced, imperfections sit proudly in the mix and repetitive riffs echo as if they're being played in a dark tunnel. A raw experimment in simplicity. As for "He breaks into a wishing well" - what a Sea Hunt! - Inpress - Bryget Chrisfield

Damn Terran are one of my personal favourite local live acts (one of these days I will be sober enough to write a review of their show) and their bassist Ali E is displaying her versatility and revealing all with her solo work that is worlds apart from the trio's post-punk fury. "So It Goes" is the first single to be released from her forthcoming debut record and the music is raw, impassioned and bold as fuck. The track is sparse with a melancholic guitar fuzz making up the bare bones of the melody along with Ali's contemplative vocals. "So It Goes" is simple and direct and will go down well with fans of stripped back, integral sounds such as those made by Adalita.


Review Score: 8/10 - hot men look hotter in skinny jeans - Kat Mahina