Alessi’s Ark was tipped by many as an artist-to-watch in 2009, but the acclaim never came. Still, given that Mumford & Sons were also tipped and they’ve only now cracked this fame thing, perhaps 19-year-old Alessi Laurent-Marke’s time is still imminent. The signs are good; the Londoner has just signed to Bella Union to release her new EP, Soul Proprietor on 5 April. Not sure if that means she’s no longer with Virgin, but I sorta hope not in a all-big-labels-are-bad way.
Will this change Alessi’s sound? Time will tell; at the moment that sound is a sleepy folk-fairytale, her babyish farm-girl voice - á la Joanna Newsom – interwoven with various instrumental flourishes, from muttering strings to brassy elegance. At times she upgrades to a more coquettish pop (eg Over The Hill), but on the whole this is music to close your eyes and drift along with, a readymake audio escape from the occasional drudgery of London life.
Also just announced is a gig on Fri 26 February supporting Rachael Dadd at Cafe Oto in Dalston (tickets), a late-night den filled with worldly sounds and the coolest of cats, and one the night before supporting Broadcast 2000 at Kilburn’s Luminaire (tickets), blessed with famously good sounds. I’ve also heard wind of a show at Notting Hill Arts Club on Sun 28 February, but no confirmation of that one yet. Later in the year Alessi’s supporting her fellow wide-eyed warbler, Laura Marling, on a UK tour, and also doing a couple of dates with Tallest Man On Earth at Bush Hall.
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MP3: Alessi’s Ark – Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)