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After a decade of valuable contributions to highly regarded and diverse musical acts, Vancouver based songstress Ashley Shadow is taking center stage. She recently dropped her self-titled debut album and is about to hit the road as she goes on tour.
GroundSounds recently caught up with Ashley to talk about her latest project, musical inspirations and more, check out the exclusive interview below.
For those just discovering your music, can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you got started in music?
I always wanted to play music and when I moved to Vancouver I wanted to be in a band, I met some girls and joined this band called The Organ, played bass for 4-5 years. We sounded like the Cure/ The Smiths, we were an all female band. After that ran its course I would do the occasional show/ recording/ touring with friends playing bass or singing. some of my collaborations people may have heard of are Pink Mountaintops, Bonnie Prince Billy and Lightning Dust.
My sister and I sang a lot together, no training or anything. We sang to our favourite music, found harmonies and learned that way.
What has it been like growing up in Vancouver? What do you enjoy most about the city?
Lakes, mountains, good Ramen, sushi, good people, mild winters.
It’s getting very expensive to live here, growing up here was easier, I moved to the city when I was 18 years old, my best friends and I got a massive house together, for $1,200, that’s unheard of now, we can thank the 2010 Vancouver Olympics developers for that I’m pretty sure.
What has it been like working on and bringing your debut self-titled album to fruition?
Everything about making this album was enjoyable for me. Josh Wells recorded, produced and mixed it, he is extended family and was great to work with. Ryan Beattie’s ( of Himalayan Bear) guitar playing is an inspiration and having him come in to add finishing touches to a couple songs we had recorded was a pleasure!
Can you tell us about the writing and creative process involved with “All For You?”
That was the first song i recorded. We slowly added more layers, synth/ bass after we had recorded my guitar and vocals . It’s vaguely a song about a fallen apart relationship between two adults with very different ages.
You will be on tour with Black Mountain very soon, what do you enjoy most about being on the road?
Letting routine go and having a span of time devoted to what makes me happiest, relaxing into that.
What are you looking forward to most about this forthcoming tour?
Challenging myself and overcoming stage fright, ha!
And obviously seeing BM play and hearing my sister sing, they are all crazy, complexly talented humans and I love those guys.
What was the inspiration for your track “Tonight?”
Basically observing human behaviour. Creating a light hearted song about that, It’s a reminder song for me to have patience and compassion for everyone and myself.
What musicians/bands are you currently listening to?
Well.. I have been listening to new country a lot from the late 80’s – 90’s period., yup. I like a few Sia songs a lot and those are on replay.
I had a bedbug scare a couple months ago, this city is infested right now, so my records are all sealed up in bags, that’s been super fun and awesome…I feel a little out of touch with my record collection at the moment….The last album I bought was a fella called Iceberg Ferg.
After the album release and tour, what’s next for Ashley Shadow?
Hopefully get asked to tour with someone or get some shows. Write another album.
Stay in touch with Ashley Shadow: FACEBOOK
