Ashe’s Full-Length Debut Chronicles Her ‘Personal Journey’

Singer-songwriter Ashe put out her full-length debut album, Ashlyn on May 7 on Mom + Pop Music. 

“Building elaborate symphonies around her most intimate revelations, Ashe adorns her new songs with elements of everything from orchestral pop to grandiose ’70s rock to sublimely timeless piano balladry,” reads a press release about the album.

Executive-produced by Ashe and Leroy “Big Taste” Clampitt, Ashlyn features her breakthrough single, the piano ballad “Moral of the Story,” a Finneas-produced hit that’s surpassed 758 million streams to date. 

Ashe recorded Ashlyn, the follow-up to the double EP Moral of the Story Chapters 1 & 2, at Clampitt’s home studio in Sherman Oaks, where Ashe and her collaborators spent much of last summer writing outside. “We’d put blankets down and Leroy would bring out a keyboard and his acoustic guitar, and we’d just hang out in the grass and work on the songs in this very traditional way — completely detached from the internet and lit-up screens,” recalls Ashe.

Along with Clampitt (Justin Bieber, Lennon Stella), Ashe recorded with producers like Jason Evigan (Demi Lovato, Madonna) and Noah Conrad (LANY, Niall Horan). Ashlyn also features her new collaboration with Finneas, “Till Forever Falls Apart.”

“Ashlyn is deeply reflective and honest, full of stories of my experiences with fear and pain and turning those hard things into joy and independence,” says Ashe. “I’m an experiential writer, and there was no way I was going to make an album that didn’t address my personal journey, from my brother’s death this last year to my own experiences with emotional abuse. I think you have to be vulnerable to create something really great, and I believe I did that. Writing this album was also an opportunity to show that I’m not just a songwriter and a singer but a producer and a musician with a very clear vision for my art. Joni Mitchell refers to herself like a bee, gathering stories like pollen and trying to make honey from it, ‘whether or not the flavor suits people is something beyond my control.’ I really tried to take that approach to writing this album, making something I loved above everything else. I couldn’t be more proud of Ashlyn and I hope many people happen to love it too.”  

Ashe made her late-night TV debut alongside Niall Horan on The Late Late Show with James Corden taped at London’s famed Royal Albert Hall and made her daytime debut on Ellen in January 2021. 

A graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Ashe’s touring resume includes performances at Coachella with Big Gigantic, and opening slots for Lewis Capaldi, the Chainsmokers and LAUV.

Photo credit: Dana Trippe