Back into the MiX...

As I've been plotting to take over the world it seems I've kinda neglected keeping you guys in the loop, and it's been 5 weeks since my last confession lol! I always go through phases of non-communication, but sitting here getting a trim, I felt the urge to update ya'll!
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I've been running round like a mad woman generating new content for the AA project. Gibbi (my guitarist) and I did a Roofhop at the beginning of August and met all sorts of interesting people along the way lol! Here's a sneaky pic, and details from the day to come VERY VERY soon!

Rooftop in Notting Hill- Gibbi: AA: Artcha
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It was an honour to play a gig at Hawley Arms (home to songstress Amy Winehouse - and she sure left her mark on the place!) It was the 1st time Social Deficit was performed to an audience and I'm pleased to say it got a BanginG reception :D

Next level eulogies. (I can imagine this door needing to be repainted in a year or so...only for the tributes to start building up again - think Abbey Rd)
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I've been writing endlessly, and you guys have got a couple of collabs (with the likes of Pr0ximas,Obscene Locals and Lincoln Savage) to look forward to towards the end of the year!
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The EP is also taking shape people! Thanx to old comrade Jon 'Riffioso' Hockely I've been able to translate the sounds/voices in my head to tangible shniz that the band will hopefully thrive on playing! It's sooo surreal hearing it all come to life!
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AA has teamed up with Sistova to hold a monster event in Nov...more about that later!
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The long awaited Shades of Blue music video is getting it's finishing touches :D YAY!! The trailer will be hitting the netwaves in the next week or so...followed promptly by the vid itself - I'm so excited to get it out there and...well see what happens! It's a somewhat docile taste of what to expect from the EP!
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Oh and on the circuit!... Well well...it's be a really exciting couple of month out there. There have been amazing nights thanx to Unsigned Hype at Lockside Lounge! Rizzle Kicks performance at WIRED was soooo much fun lool! And it was kinda exciting bumping into them again at Ed Sheeran's Album Launch! Will treasure the spontenaity of freedom I felt singing - drunkenly I might add - a rendition of Yellow with Ed, on the corner of The Worlds End! The energy in the air was infectious :) I really felt the power of ye ole "la-la-la"!

That's all we got time for folks! I don't want to bore ya'll with the nitty gritty! Couple of dates to remember:
Sunday 25th Sept - Dalston Roof Gardens - acoustic for Lyrix Organix as part of the Uprise Festival
Friday 30th Sept - East Village - full set at the epic Rock The Belles :D
Look forward to seeing some of ya'll there!!

@sh.x O.U.T

London's Burning...

W/C 8th August 2011 will go down in London history as one of madness! We all watched our TV screens in shock as the actions of few, devastated the lives of many! Every city is tentatively united when disaster strikes and though it's rather crude to admit, we all jumped at the chance to watch the violence unfold - and gossip/pass opinion about it at work, at home and over a drinks with friends!

I could never condone the destruction or theft of anything thats loved and cared for by it's owner or indeed by a community, but like with every cause...there is an effect, and as a society we've ignored MANY issues that have slowly led to this unrest! Anyway...I'm no politician, but while some spent 72 hours mashing up da place last week, I spent 21 hours in the studio with Jonathon "Riffioso" Hockley forming a rebuttal the only way I know how:

These riots have forced many people to evaluate their 'place' in society...and more than ever highlighted the fact that social divides are on their way to becoming social canyons. With so many things to weigh up I've tried to remain unbiased but under-cover London has been burning for a long time and we ALL have to take some responsibility .. or live life in the smoke and ashes :/

I'm aiming to put this track up for sale to raise money for some of the families that lost everything, and maybe even for the culprits who need guidance to the peaceful side of life?! For those of you who need a bit more step in your DUB, Proximas a good friend of mine has created a banging remix!!

Ashleigh Ashley - Social Deficit (Proximas Remix) by Proximas

Please share, comment, like or hate accordingly! Lets get the whole of London singing this...we may not be able to change the past, but maybe this song could help change things for the future??!

@sh.x

Interview-ness...

Just thought I'd share this with ya'll...apparently the things that make me cringe are more likely to entertain you lot lol...so check this interview out - ourtesy of Notsigned.tv It was one of 3 interviews that night *phew*, after an acoustic performance at Zoo Bar, Leicester Square :D

Sorry again to Gibbi Guitar and Lucid Tiger for keeping you guys waiting - I only popped down to say bye to a few friends and ended up 'missing' for like 20mins lool! Massive thanx to Trevor Indie....and keep an eye out for Notsigned.tv! They've got their ear to the underground and I hope to get a chance to work with them again sometime soon!

@sh.x

EP_ic:...

There have been quite a few new developments in the Ashleigh Ash camp! I've been making some real positive steps with management duo Lucid Tiger and documentary director Mark Goldie is happily observing as the plot continues to thicken!

I've worked with a lot of producers over the last two years, most notably Proximas, Jonathon Hockley, JK Jr, Composure, Red Skull, Romariyah Records and 43 and Wizard! These guys are all amazing talents and I've learned a lot from working with their energy. It has come to light though, that my eclectic production sound translates to one streamlined sound live - Rock'n'Soul! And Ashleigh Ashley is all about that Rock'n'Soul! So when it came to making a decision about how I go about recording my EP it was difficult, but it seemed only natural to take it to the band!

A great reference to the kind of 'sound' I'm wanting to create!

I took the band: Joel Keys, Kieran Bass, Tobias Drums and Gibbi Guitar out for lunch at TGI's last Friday to see if they were up for making this happen with me! I was well nervous...and nearly late lol, but once we were seated and munching on our first round of Jack Daniels wings my heart-rate had returned to normal! Seeing them all with out their instruments in tow was kind of like seeing the Ninja Mutant Turtles without their shells lol!

I've never done this before but I've got big dreams for this EP and I hoped my enthusiasm was infectious as we discussed plans for rehearsing, recording and shooting vids for it! Part of me was/is always conscious of the fact that these boys all have lives and dreams of their own and asking them to commit their time on my minuscule budget is quite a big deal! A second portion of Jack Daniels wings was DEF in order *gulp* lol!

Now for the crunch, which felt strangely like proposing to a long-term love: Joel, Keir, Gibbs, Tobias....will you partake-th of this adventure with me....?

WATCH THIS SPACE!!!!! :D

Live-r Than Ever...Finalae

It is with great pleasure and a little trepidation that I present to you the last video from my Live-r Than Ever Trilogy!!

We've caught some acoustic rays on the rooftops of Queen of Hoxton whilst Giving Up; then ducked into it's under belly for a sultry Glory Box performance - claws and all lol! And now its time to turn it up a notch with a rocking rendition of Metal Man complete with behind the scene snippets from the day! Enjoy!!

MASSIVE thanx to all parties involved in making it happen!!
The Band: Joel Ison-Keys, Kieran Dougall-Bass, Gibbi Bettini-Guitar, Steven Raman-Drums. Camera 1: Zee from Braver Darker Productions and Jonathon Hockley on Camera 2! Sound: Jason Robinson! Make up: Prisca Hofer! My mother dear Millicent Ashley for co-designing my Metal Man costume and helping me get dressed on the day lol! Amber Lincoln for taking photos! Special thanks to Tomo Kembery and Dan Spinney @ Queen of Hoxton for making the venue possible - as well as Jack McLoughlin @ Neil Raja Studios and Pat @ Gee Productions for editing these bad boys together! :D

Please comment, share, critisize and generally opinionise...at will :P
On to the NEXT lol!

@sh.x

EastEnders...

A handful of you already know that I've shot my first music video for soon single Shades of Blue :D! We're not talking about the Live-r than ever Trilogy (the last installment of which is going up in the next week or so :D) we're talking full blown, pre-produced production assalt...in AMSTERDAM lol!! I can't reveal too much more about it, but I just wanted to put this post in context!

Neil Raja is a good friend of mine, he headed up the production team I took to Amsterdam and he's also the guy responsible for taking my first 'modelling' photographs back in 2009 :

Picture from Raw Jelly Baby shoot 2009. Who does she think she is lool!

Neil and wing man Jack Mcloughlin have both given their time and support to my musical endeavours so I've got bare love for these guys! And aside from their constant flow of work shooting Indian Weddings, these boys are also wracking up a fabulous 'star CV' having photographed/interviewed the likes of Wretch 32, Toni Braxton, Macy Gray, Jesse Boykins, and Method Man (to mention a few) for Urban mega-blog SoulCulture! Check out their website: HERE

I stopped in to their office in Whitechapel to check on the progress of the Shades edit and as usual I was greeted by Jeeves...the office feline butler lol! We went for a smoke some time later, it was a lovely day and Neil announced that he wanted to take his camera for a walkabout - with me in it's sights :o! (I'm sure his right eye is actually a bionic paparazzi lenz undercover lol)! Many would feel slightly perturbed by Neils impulsive desires but you get used to them lol and we all know the most amazing things can happen in a heatbeat - so off we wandered through the infamous East End!

The man himself...

A true photographer, the best part of this walk was when Neil shouted to me: "How High can you get??" Haha! Much to the amusement of passers by and security guards trying to get out of the narrow allyway I was in, I managed shimmy a good 9/10ft off the ground lool!

Thanx Neil x... we got some grrreat pics, took in the scenery, and quenched our thrist with a can of Red Stripe from a stall on the road haha! I love being surrounded by positive creative people like Mr Raja...it inspires me, and reminds me that no location is too far, no wall to high to scale and no friends better than those who entertain your dreams!! (WoW...uber-gay moment there hehe *blush*)!

I can't wait to show ya'll what we achieved with the Shades of Blue video so watch THIS space...!

@sh.x

The Comedy Run Around:...

I've played many gigs in the last 2 years! I've played to full houses in Shoreditch and Camden, apathetic punters in Hoxton and, an energetic crowd in O2 Islington and near empty rooms in New Cross and Central London! The truth is you never quite know what to expect when you agree to stand up on stage and bare your soul!
My last gig at The Comedy in town was equally surprising lol! The night was a little dis-organised with soundcheck running uber late...and on top of that the venue drum kit didn't have a SNARE!! This means nothing to most...but all you drummers out there must be feeling it for my drummer Steve who went on the play the gig without one (after much deliberation lol!). Check out some of the pics - courtesy of GEE Productions Miroslav Jesenky!


The look on my face says it all! lol

It can never always be a GLAMOROUS gig :( . There will always be one or two events that leave you feeling deflated...leave you questioning 'Why the hell am I doing this'! It's a thankless task, and it's very rare when you're starting out that you can get a return on all your efforts. I was soooooo close to walking out on this one (in full diva style lol) but with a little word from manager Raph and the massive support of band memebers: GibbiGuitar, KieranBass, JonathanKeys and SteveDrums - as well as from those who came down to show love I finished the gig! It was definitely a release to belt my way through my set lol...worked up a nice thirst for a massive glass Rose lool!



Black peoples time my ass...look who finally showed up too lool! My cousin Lucinda.
I sure hope the next couple of appearances work out better than this one...but I'm glad to of added an extra layer to my thinkening skin lol...Sing you soooooon!
@sh.x