Q&A: meet Ashy, NZ’s latest pop Queen

May 16

Christchurch local Ashy has just dropped her new single EGO and it’s our pop bop of the month. It’s incredibly catchy and it makes you just want to shake your thang. The song, produced by Liam Quinn at Universal Music, has an Ariana Grande flavour to it that we couldn’t love more.

At 21 years of age she has already achieved such great heights. Her latest achievement being that her recent release reached number 4 on the Hot NZ Singles charts. Get it girl!

What makes this song even more incredible is the fact that it was written and produced basically in one day. She had a phrase in mind and set her sights on the prize and whipped out an absolute banger.

She’s had such an exciting journey so far, getting involved with music at a young age and purely excelling. At only 15 she reached the Top 12 girls of X-Factor and not long after was flown to LA to perform at a festival representing her country. She’s got some serious notches on her belt.

We caught up with Ashy for a chat about her new release and what it was like to film a music video.

Here’s a snippet of our conversation:

Talk to us about your music journey, you released your debut single ‘If I ever’ in 2017, and now you’re making music videos and hitting high numbers in the NZ Music charts, you must be pretty stoked?

Yeah it’s been such a journey for me! I actually started music when I was 11, I learned how to play guitar from Steve Fowler who became my music mentor throughout high school. He ran a recording studio in Christchurch and he asked me if I wanted to do more exclusive lessons outside of school and introduced me to my first vocal coach. I then eventually began writing at 13 and I was involved with a lot of singing & songwriting competitions throughout my high school years.
At 15 I got to be on NZ’s 2nd season of the X Factor and I got to the Top 12 girls, it was such a big experience for me being on National TV & having to deal with such high pressure situations. I also got to fly over to LA & be in a worldwide talent competition representing NZ. I then got to perform in the festival ‘Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park’ at 16 which had an audience of 100,000 people. So some very cool moments!
After high school I began my recording career and it was a whole different ball game. I entered into the music industry really eager to learn and I was lucky enough to be mentored throughout some of the process. It’s been the greatest feeling getting to do what I love and experience those moments that I’ve always dreamed of. I’ve also got to work with so many great people along the way and I’m really excited to keep growing as an artist.

What was it like filming your first music video?

My first music video was for my song called Over You, it all happened very randomly actually. I wasn’t planning to make a music video for it but a videographer/director in Christchurch, James Murray, approached me through an Instagram DM saying he’d be really keen to make a music video with me. Naturally I was skeptical at first but we met up for a coffee and he had a vision for it to be shot in an American Diner at night. We went to see the location and I was sold. To this day I get asked about where we shot that music video. You would never guess it was just in Christchurch! It was really fun to work with the crew and Jordi who played my love interest in the video. It felt like a big moment because it was my first music video and I really felt like an artist. It was very cool!

Tell me more about ‘EGO’, it’s an incredibly catchy song. What was the process behind creating this track?

Thank you! I was lucky enough to make this track with my producer Liam Quinn (Universal Music) over in Sydney. We made it in just one day, we started from scratch and I just wanted to do something a little different than I had previously done. I was listening to a lot of Pop/RnB tracks at the time and I really wanted to go down that alley. I had one specific lyric that I really wanted to put in the song and I had it written on my notes on my phone. The line was “got 2020 vision on his ego” and the song was born from there. We were both on fire that day & we had a lot of inspiration, I’m very proud of EGO.

Will there be a music video for EGO?

Yes there will be! Unfortunately I didn’t get to make one before the lockdown so that will be happening hopefully soon. I can’t wait to create a visual for this track, I’ve got some fun ideas up my sleeve.

Is there a tour on the cards anytime in the next year or so, pending the current climate?

I would love to tour, my goal is to actually start playing venues around Aus. On all streaming platforms Australia is one of the top countries to play my music so I’d really love to perform there. Most of my music is now made over there so hopefully I’ll be back there soon to make that happen. In terms of NZ I’d love to tour as well, a lot of things are up in the air at the moment but fingers crossed I can get back into the live scene soon!

What would be your go to McDonald’s order?

Well...I’m afraid my answer isn’t very exciting, I feel that I never really graduated into an adult with my Maccas order. It would either be a medium cheeseburger combo or a chicken nugget combo with coke zero, every single time. I’m one of those people that goes to a restaurant and reads the menu but I already know I’m just gonna go with what I order every time haha.

If you could collaborate with one artist who would it be and why?

Taylor Swift hands down. She has been my biggest inspiration since day one and I admire her business acumen and the way she runs her music career so successfully.
Anyone who knows me would know that I’ve loved her music for a long time. A lot of people get surprised when I say her because my music isn’t really like hers but I’ve looked up to her since I was really young and she was a big reason why I wanted to be a recording artist. I think it would be so interesting to sit in a session with her and see what her writing process would be like. It would also just be so great to talk to her about her experiences with the industry and to know what she’s like in real life!

If you could play at any Aus or NZ festival next year which one would it be?

I’ve heard a lot of good things about Splendour in the Grass in Australia, so I would love to play there. For NZ I would love to play Laneway, although I’ve never managed to make it, every time it’s come around I always wish I’d gone. How cool would it be if the first time I went I’d be on stage? Now that’s the dream.

We will forgive Ashy for not ordering steamed buns with her burger, but we totally agree how cool it would be for her first time going to Laneway actually be when she’s performing. She has some serious talent shining through and we’re loving the direction she’s going in.

Check out EGO below or head to our Getting Thicc 🏃🏾‍♂️🏃🏼‍♀️playlist to hear more songs like this one.

By Samuel Seedsman.

Sam Seedsman