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Every Monday we will be bringing you interviews with UK or Ireland artists for Independent Music Monday. Recently we caught up with London based artist ALI to find out more…

Where are you from and how did you first get into music?
I’m from Spain, now living in London, UK. I always loved music but never found myself writing songs till I had so much time to explore it during the quarantine. We all know those were really tough months, and for someone being so far away from home and family, that was a great escape. Thanks to that, I realised I really enjoyed all the process of creating songs and being able to share them with so many people.

Who were your musical influences when you were growing up and who are your influences now?
I always listened to all kinds of music, never had a specific influence. I listen from Spanish pop, to country, rock or songs from many musicals. Now since I started creating music, I’ve influenced myself with Taylor Swift’s writing and LÉON’s sound.

How would you describe your sound?
Really personal and autobiographical. In terms of sound, I’d describe it as mellow retro pop. I take quite care of the songwriting as well, a good balance between theme/story and music. I like using warm synths and many drums and percussion to drive the songs. I want my songs to be dynamic, to let the listener feel in a journey through each part of it.

What is your latest release called and what was the influence behind it?
My new release is called ‘Trick of the light’. This song is a theatrical version of how I’ve been feeling since I moved away, the difference between what you let others see and what you keep for yourself, not letting others see through pass the spotlight. That all that glitters is not gold. It also exaggerates the feeling of failure expectation that people had when I started all this journey. Even I expected to fail. You always think that if that happened someday, everybody would come to you with the old ‘I told you’.

What’s your local music scene like?
I live in London. There’s literally music in every corner. It’s a great city to do live music and be able to share your music. There are many new talents and rising artists.

What do you have planned for the next 12 months?
I’m working on the production of my debut album that I’m planning to release by the end of this year. After that, there’s much more music to be released and shared.

Is there anyone you’d love to collaborate with?
I’d be really happy to be able to collaborate any artist. The simple idea of someone considering you to work with it’s already mind blowing. Although I can’t hide that having any of my favourite artists like LÉON or Taylor Swift or Post Malone asking me to collaborate with them would be something else.

What is the one thing that you want readers to know about you?
I’d like people to be able to identify with the stories in songs and feel whatever they might need to feel, that being nostalgia, relief, loneliness or happiness. I’d like people to feel they’re able to own them and make them personal to their own moments and experiences. I also want them to know I have a cat called Simba 🙂

You can find out more about ALI on her website or via Apple Music, Instagram, Spotify, Threads, TikTok, YouTube (channel) or YouTube Music.