The ever prolific Ali Edmonds has been cavorting through the Australian music landscape for some time now. In cahoots with a handful of bands including Damn Terran, Heavy Beach and Little Athletics, she returns to her solo project, Ali E to unveil a sneak peek of her forthcoming album, with the single 'We Are Strangers’.

Describing it 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”.

We Are Strangers overflows with raw, resounding melodies combined with gritty gothic vocals. Ali’s voice punctuates the swelling guitars, eventually elevating the restrained percussion to an intoxicating intensity, and then slowly slipping away again. 

Recorded at Sing Sing South by Anna Laverty (Nick Cave, New Gods, Paul Dempsey), We Are Strangers features fellow Damn Terran band mate, Leigh Ewbank on drums, Anto Skene on bass and Lucy Rash (TANTRUMS) moonlighting on violin, while Ali takes care of everything else. Mastered by the esteemed Micky Young in his mastering castle somewhere over the rainbow, We Are Strangers is the first release from Ali E since her debut album ‘Landless’ in 2012.

We Are Strangers

Camera obscura

Where We Started

Barrel of Sunshine

The Measure

"There is an unmistakable and alluring Australian gothic feel to much of Ali E's music – a ruddy country sound with a post-punk attitude." Inpress

It's taken singer and multi-instrumentalist Ali Edmonds some serious soul-searching, long nights alone writing and in the studio, national touring, and playing with some of Melbourne's most beloved bands to arrive at the stridently stormy sound of Melbourne-based outfit Ali E.

Hard work isn't unfamiliar to Ali – formerly of bands Little Athletics, Heavy Beach and Damn Terran, she's now planted her roots firmly in her solo projects and indulging in her love for collaboration. While each of Ali’s tracks feature her personal trademarks of esoteric lyrics and lush, brooding sounds akin to a slow-motion gut-punch, each are brought to life by head-hunting a select handful of unique collaborators.

"I like developing a song by myself and then taking it to different people to pick apart," she says. For Ali, it's the chemistry that comes from collaboration, which takes a song out of the safe space of her bedroom, and to another level of musical complexity. In the recording studio she's picked the brains and talent of members from Forest Falls, Twin Beasts, Mangelwurzel, Howl at the Moon, Jess Ribeiro, and Rich Davis and the Devil's Union.

Her 2012 album, Landless, received critical acclaim for its sparse and dream-like quality and was consequently long-listed for the Coppers Australian Music Prize – an album Ali describes as more melancholy and introspective than her new material. Ali’s 2015 follow-up EP ‘Creatures’, was produced by one of Australia's most respected young engineers Anna Laverty (Meg Mac, Cut Copy, The Peep Tempel), and features Ali in a new light – her darkly Patti-Smith-esque vocals and esoteric lyrics being brought to the fore, with more driving, rolling and brooding instrumental parts. The EP was released along with a successful Pozible crowdfunding campaign for the production of 10" vinyl, a national tour and successful two music videos with plays on Rage and premieres via Frankie magazine.

Consistently receiving rave reviews, attention from JJJ, embarking on solid national tours, being invited to play at Canadian Music Week, and playing at Sydney Festival, Leaps and Bounds and Kyneton Music Festival, Ali E has established a solid fan base around the country and has shared the stage with artists including Courtney Barnett, Adalita and Ash Grunwald.

From a song writing perspective, the tracks shaped up to be anchored to issues she really cares about. Inspired by the rage she's witnessing in the people around her, her songs – although not overtly – explore the response to Australia's conservative political climate, particularly about having a voice and being ignored. “Current politics is so entrenched in people's minds, and sub-consciously it's also coming across in my song writing."

Ali's songs aren't all about capturing the rage. "I've also written about singing Kurt Vile and Those Darlins’ songs in front of an open fire with friends," she says. "And if I could, I'd probably just write songs about my dog."

2016 sees Ali maintaining the momentum surrounding ‘Creatures’ by getting straight back into the studio with her band to record a fresh new single called ‘Two By One’, due to be released in July followed by plans to once again hit the road and record another EP.

“a mellow driving force, deftly striding a tightrope between restraint and indulgence, crafting a breezy form of tension”
- Beat Magazine

“a raw example of Ali E’s grungy prowess that flits between swirling guitars to all¬-out buzz-fuzzers”
- Tone Deaf

We Are Strangers

Ali E

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