Ash Lune FAULT Magazine Photoshoot and Interview
Photography: Jack Alexander using Broncolor
You recently released your EP ‘The Mind Palace.’ How has the reception been?
I feel so grateful and blessed to actually have people listening to my music without me having to force it down y’know? I often get messages on my social media about how some song on this EP has change their life or they listen to it every single day. ‘Sugarcoat’ received so much love on the radio, it surprised me. Ive walked into grocery stores and it randomly starts playing, which is so funny. I love that it was on Spotify’s New and Notable too, I consider that a really great achievement for a new artist like me. All in all I’m just happy people listen to what I have to say.
Where do you usually draw inspiration from?
I draw my inspiration from life experiences (writing lyrics, melodies, etc.) and from other artists and songs for production. I remember listening to a lot of Jaden Smith, Lana Del Rey & Sufjan Stevens. I also listen to a lot of classical music, I feel like it helps me make melodies.
How does your songwriting process usually work?
I usually start with an idea in my bedroom. Sometimes I write on the piano but I’ve started writing without any instruments, just singing melodies in my head. More often than not, I’ll start with a melody but sometimes I start with lyrics. I wrote most of this EP in studios, though, and it was usually on the piano. ‘Autophobic’ was the exception because I wrote most of that song in my head while I was taking a shower.
How do you balance the creative process, with running your socials? Do you find TikTok helps or hinders your creative process?
It’s definitely hard balancing your creative process with content creation for social media. I have to stop a lot of times and just start filming in the studio. Further, its really hard not to fall into the trap of making songs FOR Tik Tok as opposed to just writing what you want to write. I feel like at some subconscious level, when you use too much Tik Tok and listen to the songs used on videos with a lot of views, you get influenced to write in the same way. But then the problem with that is, your work doesn’t stand out, it sounds just like everybody else’s (on Tik Tok). These few months Ive been struggling with making what I want to make as opposed to making what I believe would sell. My management have always been supportive of me doing what I want to do, but it’s me who has to find what I truly want to make.
Do you tend to find your own favourite songs correlate in terms of streams? Are your personal favourite tracks the most streamed?
Definitely not. I did know that ‘Sugarcoat’ would be the most loved on the EP or that ‘Panic At the Party’ would be the most loved on the last. However, I was told this by other people, my favourites were other songs. It doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. I don’t think I can measure the value of art by the number of streams. Thats just the number of people who have been exposed to it y’know? Ive always thought that art is most beautiful in the dark, sort of hidden away. Not so easy to find….. then when you find it, you actually cherish it, because you feel lucky to have found it.
How important is fashion to you?
I think fashion is the most basic form of self expression. I was born a twin and like many parents, our parents dressed us in the same clothes when we were young. We’re very different people but growing up nobody had caught on to that. Now our fashion choices are poles apart and that makes me very happy. You could be the most boring person in the world, but if your outfit choices are strange or different, people automatically assume you’re an interesting person. In the music industry, your image and your fashion also set you apart from other artists.
What can we expect from an Ash Lune live show?
As I continue to perform, still in my early stages, we continue to add elements and develop the live performative aspects of Ash Lune. I have a band with me and it’s certainly different from my recorded music. I try to make it as human as possible, full of laughs, jokes and my raw vocals which are huskier than what you hear in my music. Eventually I aim to make my live shows more of a sensory experience than just a concert. Something that makes you forget that the outside world exists. Leaving you with the similar high that you feel when you walk out of the theatre after watching a superhero movie.
What’s coming up for you in 2023?
I’ll be performing a lot in 2023, so you’ll probably see a lot of me IRL. I have another EP coming up but I’m being very careful with it, so you know it’s going to be the most special one yet. Ive been working on it for a few months now. I know you’ll be hearing and seeing a lot of me, its something I can feel in my bones.
What is your FAULT?
One of my biggest faults is that half of my life exists in my head. I always tell people that I feel like I’ve lived too long and I see some truth to that. Im a classic over thinker but I experience all of the negative things in my head and the positive things in this fleeting physical world. This means the negative experiences last much longer than the positive ones, and much longer than they should. I suffer one consequence three times. Once before it has happened, once while is happening and then for a long time after it has happened. I have hyper fixated on every single bad experience my life and have not been able to regulate myself out of it. Time continues to stretch in my head, like too little butter scraped on too much bread.