Somewhere along the M1 you will find Milton Keynes, home of 4 piece indie rockers Ali In The Jungle. We catch up with the chaps for a chat!
Who the heck are Ali In The Jungle?
Ali In The Jungle are Ali (Drums), Chris (Lead Guitar), Sam (Bass & Acoustic), Tim (Vocals, Keyboards, Rhythm Guitar).
Where are you based?
Milton Keynes
What genre would you describe yourself as?
Indie/Alternative
Who is your main inspiration?
The Beatles, particularly the White Album which is incredibly diverse and full of different musical styles, pushing the boundaries of what you’d expect from the band. We strive to write in this diverse way, and to likewise incorporate melodic bass lines.
What is your songwriting process?
Usually a riff or a nice set of chords, and from there if everyone in the band reacts with ideas, catchy layers and a melody then we know we’re onto something. Something has to click. It’s very easy to write music, but it’s not so easy to write something distinctive and interesting, so you tend to know when you’re stumbling onto something good, because there’s a burst of excitement around that riff or set of chords. So yeah the music comes first most of the time.
What made you want to start in music?
I’m not sure it was any one thing. I think once you have the musical skills that enable you to explore your instrument and to take it to new places, you're in control of your own drug. For me (Tim), a lot of the music I love is what I grew up listening to in the car with my Dad: The Killers, The Beatles, Radiohead. There’s certain feelings you get from music and once you can make those feelings for yourself and put yourself into that music, it’s hard to stop, and you end up naturally desiring to do it all the time.
What is on the horizon for you?
We’ve recently released our debut EP Anyway and are in the process of releasing music videos from it. Here’s our video for “Drunk Generation”
We’ve got another video on the horizon for our song “People Change” too! Otherwise we’re recording the music for a short film by Chloe Kennedy called Making Waves, which will be on BBC iPlayer!
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Lou Reed. We feel that our jazzier side would suit his sensibilities nicely. He’s such a legend honestly. “Goodnight Ladies” - what a banger!
What is your ultimate goal?
To be the best band ever would be the ultimate goal, albeit a little tyrannical. We’d love to look back at our discography and feel fondly about the whole journey and our works. It’d be awesome to have written classic stuff that has really impacted our listeners and helped people in their lives.
If you could cover any song, what would it be?
It’s been suggested to update the lyrics of ‘Anything Goes’ by Cole Porter for the song’s 90th anniversary or something, but maybe it’s better to wait for the 100th anniversary. I’m not sure it would work anyway. I reckon a cover of ‘Only Our Hearts’ by Paul McCartney would be cool.
Tea making: milk first or last?
Last! It’s so satisfying to watch the milk blend in.
Tell us your funniest joke!
My neighbour came round when my parents were away, asking to put a wall over some of our garden, claiming it as his own. I became enraged and shouted at him, telling him how disrespectful and rude he was, and that he had no business putting a wall in our garden.
I found him in our garden the following morning. There was no wall, but a set of wooden planks, all nailed together. At once I realised this was all my fault, and said to my neighbour “I’m sorry I caused a fence”.
Listen to Ali In The Jungle's debut EP Anyway
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