Jonathon RED just cussed my rainbow background!! KMT...is Less MORE???
@x
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Saturday, 31 July 2010
Thursday, 29 July 2010
Who is Ashleigh Ashley?...
Who is Ashleigh Ashley!? It's a question I was forced to ask myself after realizing something that artist like Beyonce realized a long long time ago...performing in Ashleigh Ashley's shoes is about bringing my kindred alter-ego out to play! Being Ashleigh Ashley is being vivacious, and spontaneous, and colourful, and imaginative...she's a chameleon who has struggled to find her identity in my paintings, films and songs over the last 10 years! Part of being her is not knowing how she's going to manifest herself next!!
Thats bordering on psycho babble lol...but how do you create an 'image' for someone who is always changing?
I brainstormed this concept of identity and how it tied me to my music. I researched obsession and colour, and looked back at the "boombox" culture where people wore their stereo's like accessories!! Ian Rankin and David LaChapelle gave me a lot of inspiration, especially with their daring use of color! I imagined BEING my music, being tangled up and surrounded by all the kit that makes the sounds I love possible! Here are some of my fave images from the research stage:
Ok, so I had the concept...'Musical Entaglement'...but what to wear??? High street just wouldn't cut it unfortunately, so it was back to my mums with a few design ideas and a prayer that my 3week deadline would be enough for us to make up a STORM! Fortunately my mum had more than a few good idea's of her own!! Here are some of the stages that we went through to create the all improtant'LOOK'!:
I found a similar design for these trousers in the Virtual Shoe Museum and after a few design modifications from yours truly my mum (pictured blinking tutt!) made them into reality!:
I wanted a wire corset lol! In keeping with the theme Musical Entanglemet this corset was to be made from all manner of music related wires and it turned out to be the piece-de-resistance of my demo shoot! My mum even left a webcam as one of the fixtures! Plug IN BABY!!
This was an experimental outfit...didn't really work out in the end, but I made the neck piece as part of an on-going project called METAL MAN!! I'll fill you in on that bad boy in a later post!:
This behind the scenes video from the shoot is the perfect insight into the Ashleigh Ashley persona. Shot by presenter JP and edited by yours truly it's a perfect summary to what turned out to be a successful shoot! You also get introduced to the make-up and hair stylists that helped me complete the look.
I enlisted fashion / music photographer TOMO to bring my concept to life! Looking at his website you'll see why! He has a fantastic imagination, and is not afraid to go bold with shapes and color! Not to mention the fact that he's portfolio includes a campaigns for C4 show Skins and promo shots for Kate Nash and Lee Ryan!
These are the FINAL SHOTS:
One sneaky image even made it into our favorite mag RANDOM!
Thats bordering on psycho babble lol...but how do you create an 'image' for someone who is always changing?
I brainstormed this concept of identity and how it tied me to my music. I researched obsession and colour, and looked back at the "boombox" culture where people wore their stereo's like accessories!! Ian Rankin and David LaChapelle gave me a lot of inspiration, especially with their daring use of color! I imagined BEING my music, being tangled up and surrounded by all the kit that makes the sounds I love possible! Here are some of my fave images from the research stage:
Ok, so I had the concept...'Musical Entaglement'...but what to wear??? High street just wouldn't cut it unfortunately, so it was back to my mums with a few design ideas and a prayer that my 3week deadline would be enough for us to make up a STORM! Fortunately my mum had more than a few good idea's of her own!! Here are some of the stages that we went through to create the all improtant'LOOK'!:
I found a similar design for these trousers in the Virtual Shoe Museum and after a few design modifications from yours truly my mum (pictured blinking tutt!) made them into reality!:
I wanted a wire corset lol! In keeping with the theme Musical Entanglemet this corset was to be made from all manner of music related wires and it turned out to be the piece-de-resistance of my demo shoot! My mum even left a webcam as one of the fixtures! Plug IN BABY!!
This was an experimental outfit...didn't really work out in the end, but I made the neck piece as part of an on-going project called METAL MAN!! I'll fill you in on that bad boy in a later post!:
This behind the scenes video from the shoot is the perfect insight into the Ashleigh Ashley persona. Shot by presenter JP and edited by yours truly it's a perfect summary to what turned out to be a successful shoot! You also get introduced to the make-up and hair stylists that helped me complete the look.
I enlisted fashion / music photographer TOMO to bring my concept to life! Looking at his website you'll see why! He has a fantastic imagination, and is not afraid to go bold with shapes and color! Not to mention the fact that he's portfolio includes a campaigns for C4 show Skins and promo shots for Kate Nash and Lee Ryan!
These are the FINAL SHOTS:
One sneaky image even made it into our favorite mag RANDOM!
The Magic Microphone...
I don't want to bore you all with too many pictures of me with a microphone in my mouth lol...but it's safe to say that I've made the rounds to some of the best (and worst) live music nights in London! From the snug hub that is MAU MAU in Notting Hill, to the Caribbean soul of Troy Bar in Hoxton - even in the furthest reaches of South Woodford at an amazing venue called RS Lounge!
Here a few pics from my favourite places / events / nights I've played in recent past:
Queen of Hoxton_Feb '10:
Great shot taken by a member of the audience!
Mike.Drummerboi and me. Trying to figure out what to do with my hair?!
Mike.Drummerboi's beautiful girlfriend doing my hair
Joel.Keys with one of his many inspiring hats!
Me and the band on stage!
The Future of Fashion Event _March "10 :
This event was a celebration of fashion and art! Full of daring designers and oh, so sexy models! Innocent by-stander that I am, I found myself a little corner in the model's changing rooms to change in to my outfit for the night! The energy of the place was intense as everyone rushed around to add the finishing touches to each garment and making sure each six-pack was polished with a perfect sheen! :D
Shot of some of the models before the show
Me and the band
Me doing my green singing thing lol
Elixir Bar in Camden_April "10:
A lovely little night hosted by WePlugGoodMusic. These guys really have their ear to the ground for upcoming artist in the UK and abroad.
Me and band (minus drummerboi Steve)
Here a few pics from my favourite places / events / nights I've played in recent past:
Queen of Hoxton_Feb '10:
Great shot taken by a member of the audience!
Mike.Drummerboi and me. Trying to figure out what to do with my hair?!
Mike.Drummerboi's beautiful girlfriend doing my hair
Joel.Keys with one of his many inspiring hats!
Me and the band on stage!
The Future of Fashion Event _March "10 :
This event was a celebration of fashion and art! Full of daring designers and oh, so sexy models! Innocent by-stander that I am, I found myself a little corner in the model's changing rooms to change in to my outfit for the night! The energy of the place was intense as everyone rushed around to add the finishing touches to each garment and making sure each six-pack was polished with a perfect sheen! :D
Shot of some of the models before the show
Me and the band
Me doing my green singing thing lol
Elixir Bar in Camden_April "10:
A lovely little night hosted by WePlugGoodMusic. These guys really have their ear to the ground for upcoming artist in the UK and abroad.
Me and band (minus drummerboi Steve)
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
Queen of Hoxton_190210...
Whoa...my first proper gig!! I have only fond memories of this night and the frantic lead up to it!! After someone (I forget who now) compared my style to a cross between Lady Gaga and Missy Elliot I designed a dress that I knew would work perfectly for Ashleigh Ashely's 1st appearance! It was my mum who brought this design to life - we discovered that we actually work quite well together without pulling each others hair out lol - so part of the 2weeks leading up to this gig I was back a forth fitting and amending the design until this little number was born:
Shoes - Torn Skull by Iron Fist.
I'd only had experience singing to backing track, or with the odd house band on the open mic circuit so working with musicians for the first time was definitely a massive challenge! Especially since we only met them 3weeks and 3rehearsals before the big night - GOD knows how we pulled it off lol...but we did! The night was a London Fashion week party hosted by Random Magazine @ the Queen of Hoxton, Shoreditch! And might I say the atmosphere was amazing!! I met Miss Bleu Mae and her band Fleur di Lis amongst other bands playing on the night:
Me and Bleu Mae, Fleur di Lis
Here are a couple of vids from the night..looking back on it it's...OH so RAW! :D
Shoes - Torn Skull by Iron Fist.
I'd only had experience singing to backing track, or with the odd house band on the open mic circuit so working with musicians for the first time was definitely a massive challenge! Especially since we only met them 3weeks and 3rehearsals before the big night - GOD knows how we pulled it off lol...but we did! The night was a London Fashion week party hosted by Random Magazine @ the Queen of Hoxton, Shoreditch! And might I say the atmosphere was amazing!! I met Miss Bleu Mae and her band Fleur di Lis amongst other bands playing on the night:
Me and Bleu Mae, Fleur di Lis
Here are a couple of vids from the night..looking back on it it's...OH so RAW! :D
We enter 2010...
Loads of cool stuff happened after the Puma shoot! But this catch up will take forever if I go into all the parties, smoozing and late night recording sessions in the studio!! I could tell you about meeting the Vivd Imagery crew and working on a music video shoot with up-coming rapper Kasha, or about my adventures as a new-comer on the open mic circuit OR about my continued experiments with designing / drawing etc...actually I will show you the lips clutch I made lol...just cause it's sexi:
This blog is predominantly about my musical journey, but it's taken me to some pretty cool places along the way!! As part of my need to 'free my mind' and get inspiration for some new beats that I had to write to I went on a little trip across Europe to welcome in 2010! I coached it to Amsterdam for my birthday, trained it to Berlin, before stopping off in Czech Republic for New Years!!
I finally finished my 2nd tattoo and what better place to get it done than in ol' Dam! - musical of course:
I'd part written x2 tracks produced by RED SKULL (who also produced this track for Low Key - which was banned from TV lol!!) before arriving in Czech Republic! Was introduced to photographer Ywetta Sarah Nickel by a friend of mine!! We ended up doing an impromptu shoot in the basement of her MASSIVE house lol - did I say basement...I meant to say photographic studio / costume heaven !! Took an age to get the shots back after I got home, but here are a couple of my faves:
My mate Martin took this one lol!!
Oh and the weirdest thing! Guess who ended up on the front page of a Czech newspaper after 4days in the country?! There's a long story behind it-involving a secluded millionaire and a private zoo, but I'll leave that for another time lol!!
This blog is predominantly about my musical journey, but it's taken me to some pretty cool places along the way!! As part of my need to 'free my mind' and get inspiration for some new beats that I had to write to I went on a little trip across Europe to welcome in 2010! I coached it to Amsterdam for my birthday, trained it to Berlin, before stopping off in Czech Republic for New Years!!
I finally finished my 2nd tattoo and what better place to get it done than in ol' Dam! - musical of course:
I'd part written x2 tracks produced by RED SKULL (who also produced this track for Low Key - which was banned from TV lol!!) before arriving in Czech Republic! Was introduced to photographer Ywetta Sarah Nickel by a friend of mine!! We ended up doing an impromptu shoot in the basement of her MASSIVE house lol - did I say basement...I meant to say photographic studio / costume heaven !! Took an age to get the shots back after I got home, but here are a couple of my faves:
My mate Martin took this one lol!!
Oh and the weirdest thing! Guess who ended up on the front page of a Czech newspaper after 4days in the country?! There's a long story behind it-involving a secluded millionaire and a private zoo, but I'll leave that for another time lol!!
Catching Up_Part 2...
So we jump to a little later in 2009. Random Magazine are doing a shoot for Puma collaborations with Alexandra McQueen, Evisu and the like... TOMO art directed and photographed the shoot and even though all us 'models' had never met each other we were one big family by the end of the day!! Miss Rivkie was the stylist and she did a great job making sure none of us 'borrowed' any clothes...though we all desperately wanted to lol!!
The pics were published in Random Magazine and the an exhibition to display the shots took place at the London Arches later in the year! All in all I think it was a job well done!! I edited the behind the scenes video for it (below):
And here are some of the final shots!! If you want to see more of them check out TOMO's website!
The pics were published in Random Magazine and the an exhibition to display the shots took place at the London Arches later in the year! All in all I think it was a job well done!! I edited the behind the scenes video for it (below):
And here are some of the final shots!! If you want to see more of them check out TOMO's website!
Catching Up_Part 1...
Ok, so since I'm a bit late to this 'blogging game' I've got a hell of a lot of catching up to do!! It's been a MENTAL year so far, and I want get all of you lovely people up to speed...hmmmm where to start??......
How about mid 2009 when an up-coming fashion photographer - Gina Amma http://www.ginaamama.com/ - stripped me down to my knickers and painted me all shades of shiny black!! HAHA!! Thats as good a place as any!
Gina is an old friend of mine from Camberwell College of Arts so of course I was happy to help out with her latest project! Having established "I don't do nude" she compromised by turning up at my house with black body paint and a giant tub of vasaline! Mystique EAT YOUR HEART OUT lol...check out the results:
Terry Richardson-esque don't you think! The pics came out AMAZING!! Gina returned to Poland shortly after that...and unbeknown to me entered one of the shots into VIVA AWARDS 2009. I only found out about it when she called me and gushed down the phone that she'd only gone and won the bloody thing lol!! Well done G!!
How about mid 2009 when an up-coming fashion photographer - Gina Amma http://www.ginaamama.com/ - stripped me down to my knickers and painted me all shades of shiny black!! HAHA!! Thats as good a place as any!
Gina is an old friend of mine from Camberwell College of Arts so of course I was happy to help out with her latest project! Having established "I don't do nude" she compromised by turning up at my house with black body paint and a giant tub of vasaline! Mystique EAT YOUR HEART OUT lol...check out the results:
Terry Richardson-esque don't you think! The pics came out AMAZING!! Gina returned to Poland shortly after that...and unbeknown to me entered one of the shots into VIVA AWARDS 2009. I only found out about it when she called me and gushed down the phone that she'd only gone and won the bloody thing lol!! Well done G!!
Sunday, 11 July 2010
Welcome to my new blog
TOMO the man (www.tomo-photography.com) has told me that i need to set up blog!
So here it is!
Thank you TOMO
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