Kelli Ali, also known as Kelli Dayton (born 30 June 1974), is a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
vocalist
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
, who was formerly the
lead singer
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
of the
trip hop
Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...
group
Sneaker Pimps
Sneaker Pimps are an English electronic music band, formed in Hartlepool in 1994. They are best known for their debut album, ''Becoming X'' (1996), and its singles " 6 Underground" and "Spin Spin Sugar". The band takes its name from an article ...
before going on to a solo career.
Career
Before Sneaker Pimps, Ali was part of a group called Psycho Drama, which she joined when she was 16 years old. A few years later, she was asked by Russell Cross of the band The Lumieres to join his band (as their songwriter, singer, and lead guitarist). The Lumieres only had one major single, "Cinder Hearts".
With
Sneaker Pimps
Sneaker Pimps are an English electronic music band, formed in Hartlepool in 1994. They are best known for their debut album, ''Becoming X'' (1996), and its singles " 6 Underground" and "Spin Spin Sugar". The band takes its name from an article ...
she was featured prominently in both the songs and the music videos for the album ''
Becoming X
''Becoming X'' is the debut studio album by English electronic band Sneaker Pimps. It was first released on 19 August 1996 in the United Kingdom by Clean Up Records and on 25 February 1997 in the United States by Virgin Records. The album marked ...
'' (the group finding fame following the release of the hit single "
6 Underground"). Ali was released from the group in 1998 when they decided to do vocals for their own songs.
After leaving Sneaker Pimps, she moved on to a solo career under the name Kelli Ali after her father who had passed away before the release of ''Becoming X''. Her first solo album, ''
Tigermouth
''Tigermouth'' (so named for the lead singer's unique canine teeth dentition) is the first solo studio album by singer-songwriter Kelli Ali released in 2003.
Previously, Ali was the lead vocalist for Sneaker Pimps, a trip-hop group, who are bes ...
'', was released in 2003. It includes tracks "Sunlight in the Rain" and "Kids" and features ex-
Doors
A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security b ...
drummer
John Densmore
John Paul Densmore (born December 1, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, author and actor. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band the Doors, and as such is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He appeared on every recordi ...
. She toured alongside
Garbage
Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produc ...
in 2003 and released a follow-up album, ''
Psychic Cat
''Psychic Cat'' is the second solo album by Kelli Ali, released in 2004 on One Little Indian Records
One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by memb ...
'', in mid-2004. The second album was more of a return to Ali's
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
roots and featured musician-turned-author
Tony O'Neill
Tony O'Neill (born 1978, Blackburn, Lancashire) is an English writer based in New York. A one-time musician with Kenickie (1997–98), Marc Almond (1997–98), The Brian Jonestown Massacre (1999) and Kelli Ali (2001–04), O'Neill is also the ...
on keyboards.
In April 2006, she travelled to Japan to record and write tracks with
Hoshino Hidehiko
, nicknamed "Hide", is a Japanese musician and songwriter. He is known as the rhythm guitarist for the rock band Buck-Tick since 1983.
Life and career Buck-Tick
In 1985, when Hide and Yutaka Higuchi graduated from high school they moved to Tok ...
from
Buck-Tick
Buck-Tick (stylized as BUCK-TICK) is a Japanese Rock music, rock band, formed in Fujioka, Gunma in 1983. The group has consisted of lead vocalist Atsushi Sakurai, lead guitarist Hisashi Imai, rhythm guitarist Hidehiko Hoshino, bassist Yutaka Hig ...
and
Cube Juice
In geometry, a cube is a three-dimensional solid object bounded by six square faces, facets or sides, with three meeting at each vertex. Viewed from a corner it is a hexagon and its net is usually depicted as a cross.
The cube is the only r ...
for the band
Dropz. The same year, producer
Paul Oakenfold
Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mass ...
recorded the Kelli Ali penned song "
Faster Kill Pussycat
"Faster Kill Pussycat" is the first single from British producer Oakenfold's second studio album, '' A Lively Mind'' (2006). The song features American actress Brittany Murphy's vocals and was co-written by singer-songwriter Kelli Ali (former v ...
" with actress
Brittany Murphy
Brittany Anne Murphy-Monjack (; November 10, 1977 – December 20, 2009) was an American actress and singer. Born in Atlanta, Murphy moved to Los Angeles as a teenager and pursued a career in acting. Her breakthrough role was as Tai Fras ...
. It is Murphy's only single release.
On 24 November 2008, Ali released ''
Rocking Horse
__NOTOC__
A rocking horse is a child's toy, usually shaped like a horse and mounted on rockers similar to a rocking chair. There are two sorts, the one where the horse part sits rigidly attached to a pair of curved rockers that are in contact wit ...
'', her third solo album. The album was produced by Max Richter (Fat Cat records) in Glasgow and Edinburgh in the first half of 2008. In 2009, she self-released the album ''
Butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
''. Ali released her 5th album in 2013, entitled ''
Band of Angels
''Band of Angels'' is a 1957 psychological drama film set in the American South before and during the American Civil War, based on the 1955 novel of the same name by Robert Penn Warren. It starred Clark Gable, Yvonne De Carlo and Sidney Poitier ...
''. She has collaborated with the UK band
Cult With No Name.
On 2 December 2016, on her Instagram feed Kelli Ali announced a new project, ''
Ghostdriver''. In her announcement Ali stated "...it will be a joint album & film project. A noir thriller and love letter to London." The project was being crowd-funded via a
PledgeMusic
PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...
campaign. On 30 December 2017, Ali posted an update to the site, stating, "Thanks to you, all the filming for ''Ghostdriver'' was completed and the edit is in full swing, all songs written and in the later stages of production."
On 24 November 2018, Ali released "The Fear Of London" as the lead single from ''Ghostdriver''. It was distributed as a seven-track digital remix single exclusively to fans who contributed to her PledgeMusic campaign. This was followed by an exclusive PledgeMusic-only digital release of the full 15-track ''Ghostdriver'' album on 26 January 2019, with an announcement that a full commercial release of the album and single will follow later in 2019 in conjunction with the release of the final film. In the album release announcement, Ali also revealed that her former Sneaker Pimps bandmate and notable producer and engineer
Liam Howe
Liam Coverdale Howe (born 29 September 1974) is an English record producer, musician and songwriter. Since co-founding electronic music band Sneaker Pimps in 1996, he has been a producer for Lana Del Rey, Marina and the Diamonds, FKA Twigs, Ell ...
contributed extensively to the mix and additional production of the album, notably marking the first collaboration between two original Sneaker Pimps band members since their disbandment.
As post-production work on the film continued through 2019, Ali released a stand-alone single, "Sadistic". It is a collaboration with producer
Satoshi Tomiie
is a Japanese DJ, record producer and musician.
Biography
A lifelong student of jazz and classical piano, Satoshi had an influential impact from his very first record. His debut single ‘Tears’, which he co-produced in 1989 with Chicago's †...
, recorded during the ''Ghostdriver'' sessions. It features additional mix and production from Liam Howe. Released in December 2019 was a limited edition, deluxe Lipstick USB set and a new music video. The ''Ghostdriver'' film's post-production suffered delays in 2020 due to the
Coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
. The soundtrack album was released November 26, 2020, with the film finally expected around summer 2023 after various post-production delays.
In September 2019, Kelli Ali appeared as a main feature in the
Visual Collaborative
Visual Collaborative is an American festival and publishing platform highlighting the intersections of people, commerce, and innovation. Acclaim for its social impact in humanities, it was featured by VOA, for advancing the cause of humanities and ...
electronic catalogue, in an issue themed ''Vivencias'' which translates to "Experiences" in Spanish. She was interviewed alongside 30 people from around the world such as
Dakore Akande
Dakore Egbuson-Akande (born Dakore Omobola Egbuson; 14 October 1978) is a Nigerian actress. She is an ambassador for Amnesty International, Amstel Malta and Oxfam of America.
Biography
Dakore was born in Bayelsa State as the first child of her ...
,
Adelaide Damoah
Adelaide Damoah RWA FRSA (born ) is a British painter and performance artist of Ghanaian descent who uses her body as the starting point for much of her work. Themes of particular interest include feminism, colonialism, religion and spirituality ...
and
Desdamona
Desdamona is a hip-hop and spoken word artist from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. She has won five Minnesota Music Awards for 'Best Spoken Word Artist' in the years 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 (the awards were not hosted in 2001 ...
.
In 2021, Ali's song "Rocking Horse" appeared on the soundtrack of the six-part
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
thriller series ''
Behind Her Eyes''.
Discography
Collaborations
* "
Long Hard Road Out of Hell
"Long Hard Road Out of Hell" is a song by American Rock music, rock band Marilyn Manson (band), Marilyn Manson and British trip hop band Sneaker Pimps. It was released as a single from the Spawn (1997 film)#Soundtrack, soundtrack to the 1997 mot ...
" with
Marilyn Manson
Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...
* "Almost Diamonds" with
Marc Almond
Peter Mark Sinclair "Marc" Almond, (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer. Almond first began performing and recording in the synthpop/ new wave duo Soft Cell where he became known for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He ...
* "Faster Kill Pussycat" by Paul Oakenfold and Brittany Murphy (writing credit)
* "Up in Flames" with
Satoshi Tomiie
is a Japanese DJ, record producer and musician.
Biography
A lifelong student of jazz and classical piano, Satoshi had an influential impact from his very first record. His debut single ‘Tears’, which he co-produced in 1989 with Chicago's †...
* "Love in Traffic" with
Satoshi Tomiie
is a Japanese DJ, record producer and musician.
Biography
A lifelong student of jazz and classical piano, Satoshi had an influential impact from his very first record. His debut single ‘Tears’, which he co-produced in 1989 with Chicago's †...
* "Play With Bootsy" with
Bootsy Collins
William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and singer.
Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s, and later with Parliament-Funkadelic, Collins established himself as one of the leading n ...
from the album ''
Play With Bootsy''
* Remix of "My December" by
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...
, featured on the album ''
Reanimation'' (2002)
* "Still" with
Double Six from the album ''
Beyond Sci-fi''
* "Payback Time" with
The Dysfunctional Psychedelic Waltons single (March 2003)
* "Transient Man" with
Millenia Nova from the album ''
Narcotic Wide Screen Vista'' (2003)
* "A Paradise Inhabited By Devils" with
Ozymandias
"Ozymandias" ( ) is a sonnet written by the English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822). It was first published in the 11 January 1818 issue of '' The Examiner'' of London.
The poem was included the following year in Shelley's co ...
album (2010)
* "Above as Below" with
Cult With No Name album (2012)
* "Another Landing" with
Cult With No Name album (2014)
* "Heir of the Dog" with
Cult With No Name album (2017)
* "Mediaburn" with
Cult With No Name album (2019)
Albums
* ''
Tigermouth
''Tigermouth'' (so named for the lead singer's unique canine teeth dentition) is the first solo studio album by singer-songwriter Kelli Ali released in 2003.
Previously, Ali was the lead vocalist for Sneaker Pimps, a trip-hop group, who are bes ...
'' (One Little Indian Records) (2003)
* ''
Psychic Cat
''Psychic Cat'' is the second solo album by Kelli Ali, released in 2004 on One Little Indian Records
One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by memb ...
'' (One Little Indian Records) (2004)
* ''
Sweet Oblivion'' ( Victor Entertainment,Inc.) (2007) (project with Hoshino Hidehiko of famous Japanese rock band Buck Tick and abstract wonder boy, Cube Juice in Japan. The band of said trio called "DROPZ")
* ''
Rocking Horse
__NOTOC__
A rocking horse is a child's toy, usually shaped like a horse and mounted on rockers similar to a rocking chair. There are two sorts, the one where the horse part sits rigidly attached to a pair of curved rockers that are in contact wit ...
'' (One Little Indian Records) (2008)
* ''
Butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
'' (independently released
Kelli Ali's Butterfly Album Release Journal Entry
) (2009) (Acoustic reworkings of ''Rocking Horse'' album)
* '' A Paradise Inhabited By Devils (album)'' (Ozymandias & Kelli Ali) (2010)
* ''Band Of Angels
''Band of Angels'' is a 1957 psychological drama film set in the American South before and during the American Civil War, based on the 1955 novel of the same name by Robert Penn Warren. It starred Clark Gable, Yvonne De Carlo and Sidney Poitier ...
'' (Independently released) (2013)
* '' Ghostdriver'' (Independently released joint album & film project) (Exclusive PledgeMusic release January 25, 2019. Independent commercial release Nov 20, 2021.)
Singles
* 2003 "Inferno High Love"
* 2003 "Teardrop Hittin' The Ground"
* 2003 "Kids"
* 2004 "Speakers/Voyeur"
* 2004 "Hot Lips"
* 2008 "What to Do/One Day at a Time"
* 2009 "The Savages/Rocking Horse (Acoustic Version)/Willow's Song"
* 2013 "Kiss Me Cleopatra"
* 2016 "The Art Of Love"
* 2017 "The Hunter"
* 2019 "The Fear Of London"
* 2019 "Sadistic"
Filmography
* '' Ghostdriver'' (self-directed & -written independent film
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...
in which Ali also stars alongside ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to ...
) (Post-Production Due for release in Summer 2023 TBC)
References
External links
* – official site
*
Kelli Ali
on Last FM
Last.fm is a music website founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Using a music recommender system called "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm builds a detailed profile of each user's musical taste by recording details of the tracks the user listens to, e ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Kelli
1974 births
Living people
Women rock singers
English rock singers
Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands
One Little Independent Records artists
Freak folk
Ali, Kelli
English women in electronic music
British trip hop musicians
21st-century English women singers
21st-century English singers