Who is Salt Ashes?

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Salt Ashes- She is into the sound of Giorgio Moroder

Interview conducted on March 24, 2020

Salt Ashes is a lover of UK electronic music. She fuses dark songs and melodies with a zeitgeist club sound.
Recording songs after late nights dancing in clubs from London to Berlin to NYC where she met US Indie label Radikal who signed her and released her self-titled debut album, out now.
Singles ‘Somebody’, ‘If You Let Me Go’ and new single ‘Raided’ have solidified her as a one to watch and put her on the radar of some of the more exciting new UK producers. Having written with the likes of BlackButter artist Applebottom and features coming up with Tong and Mac favourites My Digital Enemy on Zulu records.

What was your upbringing?

My upbringing was fairly normal and humble. I had hard-working parents who worked day and night to provide for their three children. But there was no love lost and I always had everything I needed. My parents always encouraged and supported my singing and musical interests so I felt loved and supported always.

How did you discover music?

I started singing from the moment I could squeak. It’s part of my Spanish side of the family… they’re always singing around the dining table and used to use music to lift spirits during harder times. So, it’s definitely ingrained in me but I just kept discovering my voice as I grew up and then gradually self-taught myself to play piano and then guitar. I was probably around 14 when I realized I could make this into a career.

How did you get your first guitar and do you still have it?

My parents bought me my first guitar which I gave to my older brother but he told me this week that is broke so he threw it out… Brothers.

You were inspired by Giorgio Moroder. How was that? Did you ever see him in concert?

I’ve never seen him perform and would of course love to, it’s just never quite aligned. I know it will when the time is right. I discovered him when I first heard the Donna Summer track ‘I Feel Love’ which is such an iconic tune… it’s timeless. I fell in love with his ability to hypnotize with rhythms and synths… like driving pulses. I can dance all night long to some of his tunes.

What was the first and last concert you went to see a performer?

We didn’t have a lot of money growing up so I didn’t go to a concert until I went to a festival and watched bands there. The first one was Bestival and I saw Amy Winehouse which was a highlight. The last was Janelle Monae. She put on an insane show. I was blown away by the production and the female empowerment that carried through the entire performance and had a lot of attention to details.

OH! Well actually the last show I went to was The Brits – does that count?

You did a live performance at the flagship Apple Store in London. For people who never been to an event at the Apple store tell us about it?

Each month Apple invites an artist in the creative industry down that they are supporting to showcase their work. It’s a pretty intimate show and you have people coming and going along with guests who have come specifically for the show. I got to premiere my music video there on the 4k screen before my live performance which was an epic moment for sure. Then in-between my performances, there was a Q&A between the audience and me which I rarely do so was a welcomed change. It was a huge honor to be asked by Apple to do that.

Has Madonna heard your version of Into the Groove?

Ha! I very much doubt it. Imagine!

Tell me about your single “Totally Faking” and why did you write?

I rarely write about the loss of my dad, don’t know why, might be because it’s too raw to write about, but I wanted to write about that moment after my dad died where I felt like I had to put a mask on and “get on with life” because that’s what I was “meant to do”. I definitely wasn’t ready to get back into music and do face to face interviews 2 months after he died but it was asked of me so I had to push myself through it and essentially try and fake (terribly) that everything was OK.

Do you think of your cd Counting Crosses as your baby going out into the world to discover who it could be?

I think I know who Counting Crosses is. Yeah, it is my baby but it already has a personality and character… How people take to it is up to them but my baby knows who she is.

How did the raw version of the title track sound before Louis started to work on it?

It had character but was very basic. It was just a pad, a dirty bass, a simple beat and some weird shit that I threw in.

How did you meet Louis?

One of my friends, Miggy, who’s also an artist was writing with Louis and invited me into one of their sessions. We did a few like that until we thought it would be good to try something together for my project. I had already played him Counting Crosses to see if he liked it and we just started vibing together off that.

What does “I wanna be in your ear” mean?

Whatever you want it to mean.

Do you prefer digital music or vinyl?

Always vinyl but we live in a digital world. The obviously great thing about digital is more people have access to it but you can’t be a vinyl sound.

How do you feel that the Coronavirus is going to affect the music world?

I’m really curious to see how it develops. From a streaming point of you, I’m guessing more people will be listening to music… Or at least, I hope. But from a live performance point of view, it’s going to be hard not being in front of a live audience… that feeling is like nothing else. The live-streamed gigs will be on the up, of course, but social media and everything online generally instigate low attention spans which won’t be good for musicians or live streamed gigs. Only time will tell.

How do you see yourself in the next five years?

Honestly, right now everything is so uncertain that I can’t answer this question. I’ve previously said that I just want to be able to continue to make music and get it out into the world to inspire and connect with people so I guess that still remains.

Anything you would like to say in closing?