Alessi's Ark picks her favourite Mike Mogis albums

DiS asked Alessi Laurent-Marke aka Alessi's Ark to pick some of her favourite records from the bulging back-catalogue of prolific producer Mike Mogis.

Why Mr Mogis? Because he's the Omaha-based fella who produced her debut album Notes from the Treehouse which is out now.

Take it away, Alessi...

Nearly all of my favourite albums by recent bands had Mike Mogis' name in common in the sleeve notes. Through those albums being stocked in record shops next to other similar projects and bands, I went on to discover and obsess over other albums, collecting and weaving a web of music that really did something to me; Neva Dinova, M.Ward... I wrote about the albums in the 'zine I wrote through secondary school, Brain Bulletin. I could never have dreamt I'd go on start making music of my own, let alone put together an album with the man whose work (alongside my parents' tastes) had molded my ears.

Here are just a few of my favourite albums produced by Mike...

Rilo Kiley - The Execution of All Things

The first time I heard this album was in a someone's car in on holiday in California. I looked for the album as soon we were back in London and finally came across a copy a few weeks later at the Record & Tape Exchange in notting hill. It kept me good company through school. My favourite songs on there; 'The Good That Won't Come Out', 'Hail to Whatever You Find In The Sunshine', 'Paint's Peeling' and 'With Arms Outstretched'. One of the first gigs I went to was a triple bill - Rilo Kiley, Modest Mouse and Bright Eyes at the Shepherds Bush Empire. It was a dream having all of that music on our doorstep for an evening. RK played quite a bit off of that record, it was such a treat hearing those songs live.

Bright Eyes & Neva Dinova - One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels

When I was 14 I kept a special notebook and at a festival an older friend wrote down a few recommendations inside, in the same list was another important album, Prospect Hummer by Animal Collective & Vashti Bunyan. I managed to find One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels in Ear Candy, a nice record shop. Had a walkman in my bag and put it on straightaway. It had been worth all the weeks of searching unsuccessfully in London - that EP is golden. 'Tripped', 'Poison' and 'Spring Cleaning'...give them a listen! Jake Bellows's voice cannot be beaten! He sang on 'The Horse' and laid down some pretty harmonies across the album - it was an honour. He is working on some new music at the moment but give his Neva Dinova albums a listen...there's a self titled album, 'The Hate Yourself Change', and the most recent 'You May Already Be Dreaming'.

Bright Eyes - Digital Ash in a Digital Urn

The details and intricate sounds across this record are beautiful and stopped me in my tracks. 'Gold Mine Gutted' beholds one of my favourite drum beats.

Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous

The day the album came out, Mum and I went to hear the band play an in-store. It was a wonderful show, with everybody lined up and swaying between the cd stands and shelves. There isn't a single track on the album to skip through, give them all a listen! My dad's favourite is 'I Never'...it doesn't really work coming from a fellow though, he'd sing it in the car..."I'm only a woman! of flesh and bone!...". A beautiful song though, coming from anyone.