Talented young pop artist Ashy has amassed over two million streams across all platforms. She’s sure to rack up plenty more listens – and fans – with the release of new song, ‘Mirror’, a collaboration with Vallé, followed by a raft of upcoming overseas performances. Verve sat down with the Christchurch songstress to find out more.
How did it feel to release your first single?
I started playing the guitar and singing when I was 11, and by 13 was in a band and writing songs. Then I appeared on the second season of X Factor and did Christmas in the Park – basically everything that Kiwi kids can really do, musically. When I turned 18, I started working with producers, flying up and down to Auckland and immersing myself within the industry – that’s when I released my first single, in 2019.
How did it feel to release your first single?
It was a lot of fun. I felt no pressure about anything. It was just like: “Cool, this is what I said I was going to do, and I’m doing it.” I love visuals and coming up with the concepts for that sort of stuff. So, it was amazing to do the photo shoots and make it into an actual product, rather than just the song I wrote in my bedroom with the guitar.
Who is your NZ icon?
The obvious choice would be Lorde because as soon as you sort of get so far in this industry, you realise how much she achieved at such a young age. But I think when I first started I was listening to a lot of Brooke Fraser – she meant so much to a lot of singer-songwriters at that age.
What have you learnt by being a part of the music industry?
At first, I was pretty naive about how much it’s a business. At the end of the day, it’s not just about being a singer and a songwriter and being creative.
What is the best advice you’ve received?
I got this advice in the middle of releasing stuff: “Put in the hard work, be patient, and with a little bit of good timing, you’ll be successful.” You have to wait for your time, but it will come if you consistently work hard.
How did the first lockdown affect your career?
That was a very weird time. I did get the opportunity to work with my producer up until then, and then I had to go to Christchurch and figure out what I was going to do. So I focused on releasing music on Spotify because, at least without anything, you can still release music, it’s just the process is going to be a lot longer. For example, ‘Mirror’ took from March last year to now because of the logistics of how many people were involved, how many people it had to be sent to, and having to arrange the likes of a music video and cover art.
Who would be your dream collaboration?
Probably Taylor Swift. She’s so smart. I would just want to be in the room with her and be friends – to see what’s going on up there, because it’s obviously something good.
You’ve recently signed with Native Tongue. What are you most looking forward to about working with them?
I’m getting to work with a lot of great producers and writers all over the world. That’s a very cool part. Hopefully, some of my tracks will get into movies, streaming services, and TV, which is a huge goal of mine.
How would you describe your fashion style?
I like to be quite bold and always have a pop of colour, whether it’s nails, jewellery, or the actual outfit. It’s super ‘90s inspired as well, because a lot of the people I naturally like were around in the ‘90s.
What do you love most about performing?
As I said, I started in a band, so what I really like is that going back to the basics of just being a musician. It’s easy to get caught up in image and the world that you’re in, competing against everybody else. Performing, it’s just you and the music. You’re connecting with the crowd, which is what music is all about. Regardless of where we’re playing, I love thinking about it as if it was in the stadium.
Describe your songwriting process?
When it’s with a producer, we mull over chords and what kind of vibe we want for that day, whether it’s going to be happy, or sad. What are we actually going to write about? If it’s just me, then melody, lyrics, anything, really. Today I wrote a song, and the guitar chords came first. But I have found after writing a lot of songs that if the chords aren’t right, then I can’t write songs.
What does creativity mean to you?
Everything. I love songwriting so much because you can do anything with a song. You can play anything you want. The best part about what I do is getting to collaborate with so many other people who are equally as creatively inclined, with brilliant ideas that I’d never have come up with, and it’s just so much fun. This is what happened on ‘Mirror’. It’s a melting pot of a lot of different genres: people from a country background, a rap background, an indie-pop background. It’s just so cool to be able to do this – the world needs creativity to make it exciting!
Facebook: facebook.com/ashymusicnz
Instagram: @ashy_music
