Currently enjoying support from 6 Music for his ‘Dreamers’ single, Ali Horn has been globetrotting. In late June, Ali was part of a UNESCO cultural exchange between Liverpool, world city of music, and Ulyanovsk, Russia, world city of literature. Over the course of four days, Ali played his music at open-air festivals, jammed with local musicians and did his bit for UK / Russian relations.
The highlights of this whirlwind trip to the far east of Russia were captured by Ali and Chay, the bassist in his band and wingman for this journey into the unknown, and made into a video for ‘Dreamers’.
The video is Ali’s adventure on fast forward. There are shows in town centres, audiences made up of every section of the population, visits to local monuments and museums a changing background of murals and curious bystanders and the odd, unscripted and unexpected encounter.
Here are a few of those moments in Ali’s own words:
Thursday 27th June
The 24/7 shop which seems the place for late-night hangouts. By way of entertainment, two men appear, one chasing the other with a knife, slipping and sliding through the rain-soaked streets. This seems normal to everyone, but us.
Friday 28th June
Chay joins me on the hotel roof overlooking the Volga to shoot some footage for the video to ‘Dreamers’. Our guide’s friend turns up channelling Mia Wallace with a party invite. Which is how we end up spending the evening in a strobe filled space, fists aloft and mouths open dancing to Russian gabba and techno.
Saturday 29th June
Festival day. There’s an outdoor stage and we play sets alongside the local bands. the set flows and, at the end, I’m surprised by a local balalaika maker who hands over the most beautiful instrument to me as a gift. I’m genuinely humbled.
Sunday 30th June
Why did I say I wanted to visit an apiary? Its 9 am and we are bouncing down rutted roads to the middle of nowhere.
Watch the video for ‘Dreamers’ – BELOW:
‘Dreamers’ is out now. Listen at https://soundcloud.com/ali-horn/dreamers
See more of Ali’s adventures in Ulanovsk and find the latest news at https://www.instagram.com/alihornmusic/
Be the first to comment