Meet Brittain Ashford

It is not every day that I get to hear someone that so perfectly captures my fall feelings. Enter Brittain Ashford this fantastic wholesome folky singer-songwriter will shake even the most stoney people to their core. Their latest venture with a fellow musician Matt Bauer has jumped to the top of my favorite folk releases of the year. Get to know the artist in our latest interview.

A Self-Portrait by Brittain Ashford

Would You Rather

have a magic lasso that would make people tell the truth or everyone believes every lie you ever told? Why

On one hand, I'd like to think that I wouldn't need the ability to lie and have people believe me. Maybe I'm just not thinking of moral, practical applications? I suppose having the lasso, knowing I didn't have to use it, would be ideal. Do I also get the ability to aim the lasso? Is that included as part of its magic?? WILL I ALSO GET A SUPER COOL WONDER WOMAN OUTFIT TO GO WITH IT?

Some Questions with Brittain Ashford

What was the creative inspiration behind your upcoming 2020 EP?

Both Matt and I came to these songs while processing where we were in our lives. For me, my songwriting contributions were directly related to a person that I was hanging out with who seemed largely uncertain about what they wanted from life.

What was the collaborative process like working with Matt Bauer on the upcoming EP?

I was visiting Matt in Los Angeles the summer before last and we were just shooting this shit. I played him some demos, and he played me a few of his. Almost on a whim we were like, "let's just make an EP!" Straight up, two songs were written by Matt and the other two were written by me. I recorded some vocals while I was out there, but autoharp, piano and additional vocals were recorded in my apartment while Matt took the tracks and turned the knobs back in LA.

How do you see yourself maturing further as an artist after this most recent release?

This definitely feels like the most produced music I've released. Everything on the EP was very intentional; often I feel I have a tendency to just take a pass and call it a day. But for this I gave myself lots of room to decide what sounded correct and feel out the project.

I also put a lot of faith in what Matt was doing with the tracks. Which was, for the most part, pretty easy because he's so great. But sometimes it's still difficult to let go of the reins.

When writing a song, do you privilege harmony, melody, or lyrics first? Why?

It truly depends on the song. Oftentimes I'll be futzing with the piano or a guitar and a nice melody comes to me. Other times I'll be out for a walk and a lyric or melody might come to me. In both instances, I find the lyrics are the result of a particular melodic mood. Rarely do I feel like I've thought of a line so clever that I must structure a song around it.

If you could give one animal species (besides people) the ability to fly which would it be? Why?

Maybe bunnies? Mostly because they seem so harmless--small, soft. A flying dog? A horse? I feel like most animals could do some serious damage if given wings.

What are your most important values as a musician?

Today I feel like kindness and integrity are key. I look back on a lot of interactions I had as a young person and think... it would have been a lot easier if I had managed to be a little kinder, more patient. Both with myself and with others. Integrity might sound like a no-brainer, but sometimes it's easy to be blinded by the promise of success and do things that we know are gross.

Has the quarantine affected your creative process?

Woof. Yes. When the pandemic began I wasn't so bogged down by everything, but recently I find that I have days where I don't even want to get out of bed. Forget working on whatever recording or writing new music. Will I get out of my pajamas today?

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

KEEP HOPE, BE KIND.

VOTE!

Brittain Ashford