Ralph Lawson of 20/20 Vision’s newest signing to the Leeds landmark label is ASHRR. A trio all out of LA, a live band consisting of some experienced muso heads who sound a bit like Bryan Ferry and his Roxy Music band got together with ESG and became one! ‘Fizzy’ leads the charge for an album that drops in the spring. Collab’s with King Tubby studio wizard Scientist and UK’s Felix Dickinson embellish the vinyl. We have the pleasure of sitting down with the guys for a Little Talk.
WWD: Your new EP ‘ASHRR Meet Scientist ASHRR Meet Felix Dickinson’ is just about to release on 20/20 Vision. But this is not your first outing with the label. Tell us what’s happened so far with 20/20.
We had a remix of our song ‘Fizzy’ done by Felix Dickinson which was on the Crazy P Curate Vol 1 series that came out last year. After that was released, Ralph signed us to 2020 Vision and we just released our version of the Romantics classic ‘Talking In Your Sleep’ along with some awesome remixes by Fernando and now we are about to release the new ‘Fizzy EP’.
WWD: Love to know who all the members are of ASHRR, and how far you all go back professionally and personally?
ASHRR are a three-piece band. I am Josh Charles and Steven Davis (singe) and I have known each other since 2015 where we met in Nashville. We became great friends and moved out to LA where I was introduced to Ethan Allen in late 2017 from a friend of mine. There is a unique bond between the three of us. We have a brotherhood basically.
WWD: Your vocal sound is very cool. Who is the main vocalist in the band, what has he done before?
Steven’s voice is so special and cool. He has a Roxy music / later Bowie style croon which when we sing with him creates a sound that is one of a kind. We choose out of the norm harmonies, and I tend to take the high notes and falsetto parts, Steven is the baritone and Ethan tackles a lot of the lows and mid-range. We don’t follow any rules when creating our vocals because we have so much collective experience between us, we know it works if we like it.
WWD: If I asked you for five words to define ASHRR what would they be?
Evolving, driven, individuality, passionate, curious.
WWD: How does an LA Band sign with an underground, left of centre label in the UK?
I reached out to Felix Dickinson to remix our song Fizzy. He sent it to his manager who had manages Crazy P and formerly Khruangbin, which is one of our favorite bands. She reached out to ask for more music and we sent her the unfinished album and she loved it. Long story, she helped us get signed to Ralph at 2020 Vision who wanted a band on his label and our music crosses over heavily into the danceworld, so it made perfect sense.
WWD: Tell us a little about ASHRR’s involvement on the Crazy P Curates compilation.
Felix Dickinson did the remix of ‘Fizzy’ and he is managed by the manager of Crazy P. The band had set up a deal to go back to 20/20 for a series of curated records. We got lucky when the band heard ‘Fizzy’ and we made a deal to be on the series which came out last October which was our first introduction to Ralph Lawson.
WWD: We are so obsessed with putting music into boxes. What musical box do you feel you all fit in?
We prefer open spaces to boxes ha ha…
WWD: The first time you were in the studio together what came out of that session?
Hard to remember the first song we did but I think ‘Sometimes’ was one of the earliest songs we wrote. It came out so fast when we got back from lunch one day. Ethan and I just put down the music and lyrics in about 20 minutes. It was worked up over the next few weeks and it’s still one of our favorites to play.
WWD: Did you set out with a musical intention or have a vibe in mind when you began?
We wanted to write music centred around the unique timbre of Steven’s voice which has this classic new wave sound. Our love of post-punk, electronic and soul was the only parameter we thought of when starting to write music for the first album.
WWD: The ASHRR Soundsystem track really cuts it on the dancefloor. Are you planning to make more of this club orientated sound?
Oh yeah, we have an entire set of Soundsystem versions of our new album along with some of our older songs as well. We’re really excited to get them released after our album comes out.
WWD: ASHRR Soundsystem is your DJ set. How does a set play out – do you all go back to back?
It’s a creative call and response. I’ll play something and then Ethan will get inspired and play a track and on and on. There’s no script.
WWD: Is there a record that ASHRR loves to drop in a Soundsystem set currently by another artist?
Modern Romance recorded a B-side to Everybody Salsa in ’83 called ‘Salsa Rappsody’. We made an edit and it goes in all of our sets. We are currently playing Yuksek’s ‘Kwatamaja’ a lot!
WWD: How does the experience as Soundsystem DJ’s compare to that of a live band performance?
We’re new to the DJ performance style but like anything, we use it as a creative tool. For us, it’s all about reading the crowd and song selection. It’s a ton of fun that is for sure! The two don’t share a ton in common but being in the emotion of the moment and putting that across to other people is what they do share.
WWD: In a live band show, what is the set up on the stage, and what do love most about performing live?
Steven on vocals while I play keys and guitar and sing and Ethan plays guitar and sings. Our bass player who also covers bass synth and our drummer runs our Ableton sessions during performances. The energy of the crowd and that feeling when the band is well rehearsed, and everything is locking in together is the best feeling.
WWD; What are you most proud of with this new EP?
Getting to work with Hopeton aka Scientist on creating these dubs was an amazing experience. He’s a legend and pioneer of the dub style and watching him work his magic on the console blew us away literally (it was so loud!). We also love Felix’s extended dub!
WWD: Can you share any news about what’s coming next?
The digital single for our band version of Fizzy where it all started drops early October and our Soundsystem version is a digital exclusive which is going to be released later this year with the full digital release EP. After that we are rolling out singles and remixes leading to our album in May.
WWD: You have all had solid careers in music prior to ASHRR – What drives you to create music to this day?
The feeling when you have set the bar so high and reach it after working on new music is a one of a kind. We love to make music for the sake of making music. Whatever happens around that is secondary as a result of the work we put into create.
WWD: If ASHRR had an all-night party, who would be your warm-up DJ, who would be your headline, and what would be the closing track?
Don Letts or John Peel to open, Prince and the Revolution band to headline and closing track would be ‘Losing My Edge’ by LCD Soundsystem.