We had a short email chat with Malaysian musician Darren Ashley on his band... Darren Ashley.
So how did it all start? Is Darren Ashley a solo artist with a backup band or a band under your name?
I would like to think of it as a band but under my name. I've been wanting a band name for awhile now though. Any suggestions?
How would you define your music? And what are your influences?
For starters, the motto was "anything and everything". Whatever I feel the want to try really! But lately it's been centered around electronica/rock.
Why so?
Well I've been a computer composer for awhile now and the sounds that I find myself creating make me smile. It's fresh and the fact that I could attain something to sound close to a million bucks makes me wanna try more!
What are the inspirations and hopes you have for the band?
A lot of my influences hail from the UK scene. A few favorite heroes of mine would have to be Bobby McFerrin, Beardyman, Darwin Deez, and Cornelius. Honestly I want to make great music and see where it takes me. Apparently people appreciate the crazy creative weird stuff too.
How did your song " If I don't stay" get used in ABUDEN?
Well I met Jin at the Wong Fu show and later he asked for it and I said yes. Nothing to it. Ha.
Quite alot of responses to that song, any particular ones that stood out for you?
I'm just happy to get this many responses on the track. Props to Jins fans! You guys rock.
What's the song about anyway?
The song signifies the thoughts that go through ones mind (or my mind) when sitting on the fence between big changes in my life. What if? What next? What after? And if i'm not mistaken, i'm not the only one who gets fidgety when it's time to jump off a cliff into the unknown.
Any EPs or albums coming up?
Yes! I will be releasing an acoustic demo of all my songs prior to the DA Band. They are close to me so I've been cooking it up slowly and finally most of them are ready. After this is released I'll start working on a full on album yo!
I notice you have a microkorg XL and kaosspad in one of your live videos...
This whole electronic, dancey, zappy music has caught a big part of my attention hence why the gears. I needed a simple and effective medium to loop and effect whatever I was thinking of at that moment and the Kaoss provided that. I just got the Microkorg xl because the sounds just hit the right nerve. Versatility and options. Makes you bust some pop-lockin dance moves .
Ever played in Singapore?
Yes and it rocked! As the drummer for Busco we had the opportunity to play there twice so far. I know it's weird but Singapore Long John Silvers rock my socks.
Haha! Why?
One of the breakfast sandwiches i think. Either that or the trip there made me really hungry. It's always that same branch at Scapes though. :)
What are the difficulties and advantages of being an unsigned artiste at the moment?
Publicity and paperwork. It's all DIY but at least I'm learning the trade. You don't get as many gigs but you do get to choose the awesome ones. But it's been great to see the results from the work I put into this journey. To infinity and beyond!
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