Ash Walker – 7th Level Music

Top 30 albums of 2019: #’s 15 – 11

We’ve reached the halfway point. Who’s in the list? Read on!

#15 – Sleater-Kinney – The Center Won’t Hold

Sleater-Kinney chose to mix their hard rock and punk chops with electro touches, and the result is a great record about loneliness, toxic masculinity, standing up when you get knocked down, and walking away from the past. The fact that drummer Janet Weiss left the band not long after The Center Won’t Hold was released adds a bittersweet edge to the album, too.

#14 – Jacques Greene – Dawn Chorus

This is a brilliant house music record that has a theme of getting ready for, going to, and then dealing with the after-effects of an all-night party. It’s full of great dance tracks and some chill stuff to give you a breather now and then. Jacques Greene spins like he was a DJ in the early 1990’s, even though he was just a toddler then.

#13 – Weeping Icon – self-titled

The image of the two skulls exploding with waves of…something is appropriate for the debut album from Weeping Icon because this album is a tidal wave of sound – guitar fuzz, psychedelic noise, and other things that are better heard than described all team up to make this one of the best debut albums of the year.

#12 – CHAI – Punk

CHAI just keep putting out great records. Punk is full of their wit, excellent musicianship, and pure joy. It’s a record about embracing who you are and not giving a damn what others think. Throw in J-Pop, post-punk, electro, and songs that practically force you to sing along with them and you have a winner.

#11 – Ash Walker – Aquamarine

Holy cow, this is a groovy record. All of the songs have some sort of theme related to oceans or water. Aquamarine blends soul, house, trip hop, dub, jazz, and lounge chill to produce something you might hear on Aquaman’s hi-fi.

The top 10 start tomorrow on New Year’s Day 2020!

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Ash Walker – Aquamarine

Multi-instrumentalist Ash Walker describes his newest album, Aquamarine, as “…like a deep sea voyage into the subconscious.” I’m not sure I can put it any better than that. It’s a lovely record of trip hop, dub, jazz, funk, and lounge electro that will surely be among my top records of 2019.

The opening electric dub drums of “Under the Sun” instantly cast you onto a shiny sea aboard a catamaran supplied with good drinks, lovely people, and even better music. The jazz drums and flute of “Time” (which, like the track before it, features soulful vocals by Laville) make you forget time, much like you would on that catamaran sailing across a clear sea. “Come with Us” is a great dub track with a smooth trumpet solo.

“Brave New World” brings in acid jazz flair. “Finishing Touch” keeps the acid jazz drum beats, but sprinkles trip hop on top of them and Laville’s guest vocals smooth them out. The title track tick-tocks in a soothing, hypnotizing manner. The flow of “Sanity” reminds me of a rowboat bumping against a dock as slow waves come into shore. The beats get snappy on “I Need Money,” and Walker’s inclusion of electric piano adds a sweet touch.

As one might expect, “Fat King Smoke,” is one of the funkiest tracks on the record. I love the slippery beats, the Theremin-like synths (which could really be a Theremin for all I know), and the weird electro bass line. “Ain’t Got You” (with more guest vocals by Laville, who appears four times on the record) is dancefloor-ready. “The Dagon’s Cashmere Jumper” might be my favorite song title of the year. I hope you get the reference and realize that, yes, a Dagon might need a cashmere jumper now and then while strolling around on land.

Aquamarine is otherworldly, and a pleasant journey that I’m sure sounds and feels different every time you hear it. Dive in, the water’s fine – great, in fact.

Keep your mind open.

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Ash Walker releases new single, “Finishing Touch,” ahead of upcoming album – “Aquamarine.”

In advance of his forthcoming album, Aquamarine (out July 19th on Night
Time Stories), the London-based multi-instrumentalist Ash Walker shares new single, “Finishing Touch”, featuring the smooth voice of Laville, alongside
it’s Louis Hvejsel-Bork-directed video.

Watch Video For New Single, “Finishing Touch” —
https://youtu.be/3BbobhRJpQY

“Set in an uncanny valley of a richly coloured world, we see Ash navigate and explore his world through music and curiosity,” explains Hvejsel-Bork.
“Through the power of his music, he unlocks something deeper within a
totalitarian society. A lost individual is awoken by his music, forsaking her
enslavement and planning an escape to a freer future.”

In order to create an otherworldly look, the video was shot with an infrared
camera using a brand new filter that replicates the old Kodak Aerochrome
look. There’s only one company that makes this filter, which was shipped
specially for this project from the US. Originally, Aerochrome film was used
during WW1 for better aerial surveillance, allowing unseen details of terrain. This was later adopted in popular culture through people like Jimi Hendrix
and Frank Zappa in photography.

Aquamarine is a projection and culmination of all Ash has absorbed. A cosmic explosion of sound and colour, rhythm, shape, and patterns. The arrival of an unassuming dreamer now projecting his unique flavour of expression.
Aquamarine is the take-off of this audial spaceship, a sound discovered in the
grooves of thousands of records, united in one.

Ash will celebrate the release of Aquamarine with a special secret show in
Central London on Saturday, July 20th where he’ll perform the album in its
entirety for the first time. The location will be revealed only to ticket buyers.
Tickets are available for purchase here.
Stream “Under The Sun” (Feat. Laville) —
https://youtu.be/Uy_9g3v8uhw

Pre-order Aquamarine —
https://orcd.co/aquamarine

Keep your mind open.

[A great finishing touch to this post would be you subscribing to my blog.]

Ash Walker’s “Under the Sun” is a delightful trip.

London-based multi-instrumentalist Ash Walker is pleased to announce his third album, Aquamarine, due July 19th via Night Time Stories. Designed to inspire good energy, Ash hopes to bring a sense of calm and tranquility to the listener amongst the chaos of life. This idea is clear in lead single, “Under The Sun” (Feat. Laville), a smooth meditation on love.

Aquamarine follows Walkers 2016 album, Echo Chamber, and 2015’s Augmented 7th. A cosmic explosion of sound and color, rhythm, shape, and patterns, Aquamarine is the take-off of an audial spaceship, a sound discovered in the grooves of thousands of records, united in one. Recorded at home with the freedom of time and space, it combines analogue and digital, and a fondness for normally unwanted shapes and textures such as fuzz, hiss, and crackle. Also featured across the album are trumpet and flugelhorn auteur Yazz Ahmed, bassist Marc Cyril (Keiziah Jones, Jr Walker & The All Stars), and renowned musician and producer Jonathan Shorten.

“My previous albums have felt to me more like ventures on land,” says Walker. “This one feels more like a deep sea voyage into the subconscious. Living to dream with visions of grandeur. Manifesting a beautiful path to walk on. It was inspired by everything around me, from friends and family to art and design, engineering and architecture, movement and we use our five senses. I love to try and push my own boundaries of what I perceive to be right and wrong, seeing mistakes as innovations, and obstacles as inspiration.”

An avid collector of jazz, blues, soul, funk, reggae, and all things in-between, Walker has DJed far and wide, spinning vinyl in the UK with The Specials to scattering dub across San Francisco and LA. Walker’s production output is similarly exploratory: his journeys have taken him far and wide, from tunnels under the river Thames to recording local percussionists in the Atlas mountains of Morocco. His musical palette is widened even further by his live shows. Collaborating with Ezra Lloyd-Jackson, each of Walker’s performances is turned into a vibrant, multi-sensory experience, combining live reactive projections and carefully crafted frequency complimenting fragrances.

Stream “Under The Sun” (Feat. Laville) — https://youtu.be/Uy_9g3v8uhw

Pre-order Aquamarine — https://orcd.co/aquamarine

Aquamarine Tracklist: 1. Under The Sun (Feat. Laville) 2. Time (Feat. Laville) 3. Come With Us 4. Brave New World 5. Finishing Touch (Feat. Laville) 6. Aquamarine 7. Sanity (Feat. Laville) 8. I Need Money 9. Fat King Smoke 10. Ain’t Got You (Feat. Laville) 11. The Dagon’s Cashmere Jumper

Keep your mind open.

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