this interview is taken from the original sockformation before it was deleted.  sticking it up again, just because we love alessi’s ark so much.

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you were writing songs for your gcses, but what prompted you to take that first step to turn a pipedream into a reality?
i didn’t really know what i was going to go on to do at school. i really enjoyed playing in the school band, in fact that was probably my favourite thing along with writing my fanzine. my parents said to me that if i wasn’t quite sure about what to pursue at school that they’d allow me to take a year to play shows and continue with the fanzine and i can honestly say that without them, everything would have been much harder. i wrote ‘constellations’ and ‘glendora’ then and my music teacher championed me to play glendora in assembly. i thought to myself that i had set aside this year to try my best and find my feet, so i did that.

what was that year like, was it all new experiences for you?
yeah, i had never really played shows to the public before, apart from playing in the school band. one of my first shows was up in manchester in 2005, it was halloween and i was playing with johnathon rice, i played one song and read a few poems. i’d never played before that and i’ve been paying since that christmas until now, really. i’d play all different places around london and we were lucky to go on holiday so i tried to take the music wherever i went.

who built the ark?
well, i think family and friends did. i feel like there are a lot of people to thank, people who don’t realise that their involvement in the music is more important than perhaps they think it is. i mean you are the ark, really anybody who enjoys the music and comes to the shows. it’s not so much a band but a gang, not a violent one though.

your first record is a significant point in your progression as a musician, what was it like recording ‘bedroom bound’?
i recorded it in my bedroom and it didn’t really take too long. the drawings on the cd cover had been ready for quite a while. the songs were played on my sister’s guitar and then a guitar that i saved up and bought after i had left school and i’d put them onto my laptop to see how they sound. apart from one track, ‘for one year’, which i recorded at a friend of mine blake’s house in california. we had a nice time at his house and a lot of fun trying to get the teacup sounds for the song. it was really good.

what was it like having such a widespread means of distribution for your music like myspace?
it means that you can write a song and people can listen to it as soon as you are willing to share, which is really exciting. the main thing i like about myspace is to be able to write and talk to people that come down to the shows, especially if they have questions about the songs or artwork or whatever. it’s always quite fun to talk to them about stuff that i would recommend, that they would recommend, it’s nice to compare things that they’d get a kick out of. all of those online communities kind of make that bridge that mean you can talk to people. i’d love to ask a few questions to my favourite bands and there was no way of doing that.

what was it like working with bright eyes producer mike mogis on your debut album ‘notes from the treehouse’?
he’s a really really good guy and i was a huge fan of mike’s work; in the fanzine i wrote, i’d talk about bands that he’d worked with. not in a creepy way, but i really admired the music and his involvement in that. you look at bands he’d recommend and you discover this whole web of good music that you thought you were missing out on. he’s a really lovely guy and he made the recording a really comfortable and kind of special process. his family are beautiful and my mother came out with me to nebraska and we were able to see all of the seasons and meet all of the people he introduced to us. it’s just a great town and everyone was so friendly and super talented.

how did the magical quality within ‘notes from the treehouse’ manifest itself when you were initially writing the album?
oh, i don’t know. i’m glad that you think it is magical. some of the songs are older than others, like ‘glendora’ and ‘constellations’ that were recorded in the second session of the record, some are newer like ‘hummingbird’ and ‘the dog’. i was just incredibly happy and learning a lot while i was writing the songs and also learning from being out in nebraska. i guess i was just sounding out with my voice, and possibly it’s the arrangement that put me into this dreamy kind of realm because everybody had this wonderful ability to put things together and realise ideas for the structure and sound. they had a good ear for what could accompany us that fitted perfectly to the song. i was working with the magical hands.

what does 2010 have in store for alessi’s ark?
after this tour with sons of noel and adrian, i shall be touring with rachel dadd throughout february. we start recording the next record sometime in march. we have an ep called ‘soul proprietor’ and that will be realised on april 5th, it’s so nice that i can actually say when it’s coming out. we’re playing with laura marling in april and then we’re off to europe for a few dates.

finally, who is the best act you’ve ever seen live?
is it bad to say 5ive? i saw neil young in hyde park and that was nothing short of perfect. all these bands are coming into my head now; white stripes, arcade fire. i saw jake bellows and he really is an amazing human being as well as a musician. how many have i got? i’ve seen television twice and big star, without chris bell. i remember seeing rilo kiley with bright eyes and modest mouse and that was amazing. i’ll stop there, but i know that when i leave more artists will pop into my head and i’d want to add that to the list.

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i’d like to give many thanks to alessi from alessi’s ark for her kindness in agreeing to the interview and the great answers given. i strongly recommend her album ‘notes from the treehouse’ and look forward to her next record.

-interview by lewis booth-