"Let's start the love revolution!"

London-based singer-songwriter Alessi's Ark AKA Alessi Laurent-Marke plays The Prince Albert, Brighton on February 17 as she releases a new single DLD (Door Light Dream) from last October's album Love is the Currency.
AlessiAlessi
Alessi

“I started playing solo when I was 16, and I am now 27. Along the way I have played with as broad a line-up as eight people, and that’s why I call it Ark. I want it to be inclusive. The Ark is symbolic. By being Alessi’s Ark, I know that the music comes from beyond me. I feel it is a bit like writing poetry and how it lands.

"You can be walking down the street, and a line just comes to you. I feel that a lot of songs are actually out there. It is just a question of showing up and being receptive to them. A lot of songs do come from completely within me, but I feel that there are other songs that could happen to anyone else if they are just completely open to them. I do feel that creativity is something that is always within arm’s reach. The Ark is about openness and welcome. Sometimes I play in smaller places, and sometimes I play in theatres. Calling it Alessi’s Ark just keeps it musically agile.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The latest album came out in the UK last October; it will be released in the States in April and in Japan in March, hence a lot of travelling coming up: “Love is the Currency is about our ability to heal ourselves and one another and that love is the real core to it. It is the first record that I have done where I didn’t hide behind so much imagery and symbolism. It is a lot more honest and to the point, and I feel more exposed with this album, but I also feel a lot more connected with the songs.

"Love is the power. If our intentions are aligned and ordered in love, then that is what propels remarkable things to happen. You can throw a lot of money at something or you can throw a lot of aggression at something, being really aggressive to kick something into happening. But I think that love works much better. It might be slower and it might be less easy to understand, and it might be a stranger route, but I think it works better in the end. And I also mean divine love.

"I don’t identify with any particular faith tradition. I just mean the innate love that we all have, our willingness to connect to overcome our fears and our anxieties. It is totally possible. You start with love and understanding. I look at love as being life. It is so powerful… it is things like flowers trying to push up between the concrete in Southwark! It is just everything trying to break through, everything trying to turn towards the sun. It feels like a call to a love revolution! If we don’t start one, then I don’t see what the alternative is. If you really believe in our abilities to heal ourselves and others, we will get there. I just believe it is about our willingness; we are all willing because we all show up every day, even if sometimes we don’t feel we are making a good job of it. And that’s what this record is about.”

Related topics: