Asha Gold FAULT Magazine Photoshoot and Interview

Photographer – Marcelle Johnson

Fashion Editor – Edith Walker Millwood

Hair & Make up – Daisy Holubowicz using Kristin Ess & Milani Cosmetics

During the pandemic, Asha Gold releases many singles which catapulted her to being featured on the BBC network as “Future Sound of 2021”.

During a consistent summer filled with Festivals, Asha made her appearance on BBC Music Introducing at Glastonbury Festival 2022. As of September her new single “One of Kind” produced by Mitch Jones embodies self-love, being comfortable and confident on your own futher normalising that it’s ok to be with oneself.

As we currently bask in the religious celebration “Festival of Lights” joy, prosperity happiness and a triumph of good over evil, this Diwali – we’d like to highlight the Asian designers alongside the talent that is Asha Gold.

One of a kind is a track for setting boundaries and being by oneself are you an introvert? And what made you comfortable with spending time with yourself?

I wouldn’t say that I’m an introvert – I love socialising and I’m quite a chatty person, but I also definitely need me-time. I need at least one night a week just enjoying my own company, taking time over cooking a meal and winding down. “One of a Kind” encapsulates how I feel when I’m feeling myself and my most confidence. It’s the kind of song you can put in your headphones and walk down the street feeling like you can conquer the world.

When and where was the first time you discovered your first Rnb artist, who was it and what was the song?

I think I started discovering a love for RnB music by listening to the radio on the way to school. Whenever my Mum drove me in we would listen to Capital FM, so I’d always know the mainstream hits word for word. I vividly remember hearing Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable” on the radio, as well as Jordin Sparks / Chris Brown’s “No Air”. I was also an avid X Factor fan – I rarely missed a Saturday night episode when I was young and had X Factor pyjamas! I remember being enchanted by singers like Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke and wanting to belt out ballads like they did.

Setting your decision in stone to become a singer-songwriter, how did your parents respond?

I first started my artist project when I left school and took a gap year, and I had never felt so high on life as those months of writing at the piano and making demos, getting coffees with whoever responded to my emails and DMs, singing at open mic nights and attending gigs solo to meet other musicians. Choosing a university in London was a big decision and it definitely reassured my parents that I would be pursuing music alongside a degree. I definitely considered pausing my studies, but I think uni gave me a lot of rich experiences that I could write about, and took the pressure off “making it” as an artist immediately. My parents have become more and more supportive over the past 3 years, as they see my hard work start to pay off and they witness how happy even the small wins can make me.

You’ve released quite a few singles, Do you have a structured process for writing music or do you tend to let it flow?

Every studio session is different, but usually it’s the good songs that have come the most naturally or easily. I like to do everything in the room with the collaborator I’m with, so we’ll start with some chords, a sample, or a beat, and then I’ll brainstorm melodies and lyrics. I always voice note the first couple minutes because often the best melodies come to you straight away and then you can’t remember them if you don’t record them!

With many singles out on music platforms, when do you plan to release an album or EP , who do you plan on collaborating with?

My EP is coming out on December 2nd! It will encompass all the singles from this year, plus a couple of new, unheard tracks. It’s a body of work I’m really proud of and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it.

What fuels your passion as a singer songwriter?

It comes down to two main things: number one – my love for creating inventive, honest music that connects with listeners, and number two – my hope that someday I can influence positive change using my music and the platform I will have built by then. When I was at school and uni I played percussion / drums in orchestras and jazz bands, and nothing would compare to that nervous excitement when the orchestra plays that very first chord of the piece, and then that feeling of euphoria at the end of a concert. That post-performance buzz that I get from my gigs now is similar, and there’s really nothing like it.

Being that you’re half British and half Asian how would you say that both cultures have shaped who you are as a person?

Being Anglo-Indian has meant my perception of my own identity has shifted and changed throughout my whole life through the process of figuring out what both aspects mean to me. At times I’ve felt disconnected to my Indian heritage, embarrassed even, and for most of my school years I just wanted to be white and blonde and that’s the honest truth. Music has helped me reconnect with this side of my identity, but I’m wary of industry folks who see my heritage as a point of ‘marketing’ – that feels inauthentic to me. I want to show other young girls with Asian heritage that you can become a popstar, even if there aren’t loads on the radio to listen to just yet. But I also want to be regarded as a great musician and performer, rather than labelled as “London’s Rising Asian RnB Pop Songstress”, because there are many of us.

In regards to your Asian side, what does Diwali represent and what does it mean to you?

Diwali makes me think of family; specifically my grandparents. It makes me think of my late grandfather’s DIY fireworks in the back garden, dressing up in our best Indian clothes, the excitement surrounding my grandmother’s and my mum’s Diwali feasts, and stencilling rangoli on the steps of my grandparent’s house with my brothers.

What is your FAULT?

I think my fault is struggling to let things go – those ‘things’ include be arguments, disappointments, hurt, failures of my own, and worries. I find it hard to let things wash over me and I’d like to improve on that – I’m a taurus and I’m very stubborn!

Asha Gold Music on all music platforms to stream with her new single on the way “Only For The Night” which is out this Friday 28th October.