Ash Walker guides us through his Astronaut album, track by track

The Astronaut album, in Ash Walker’s own words

Four years on from his explorative third full-length Aquamarine, London-based artist Ash Walker has returned with an equally ambitious follow-up, out via Night Time Stories on June 30.

Astronaut hears Walker push his astral shower of rhythm and vibes to new heights, incorporating jazz, blues, soul, funk, and reggae while still running its own path. An avid DJ and record collector – he’s played everywhere from the infamous Royal Mail Squat Party in 2014, when a thousand ravers descended on a disued sorting office in Croydon, to The Specials’ Brixton shows – he’s influnced by everyone from Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones, King Tubby, Bo Diddley and 4Hero to J Dilla, Pete Rock, Curtis Mayfield, Philip Glass and Steve Reich. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

A man very much after our own heart, in other words. So it was only natural for us to invite him to talk us through his latest work, song by song…

Only Love

‘Only Love’ to me represents the beauty that love can bring to a life, after hard times, suffering and loss of direction. One thing we all share as beings on this earth is the ability to feel pain and to embrace love.  It is the foundation of everything that is good in our world and I wanted a track on the album to deliver this message. I was fortunate enough to team up with Lou Rhodes who wrote a phenomenal vocal line that we recorded together at ‘Sound Horn’ studios in the west country with Dan Austin. The instrumental started life at my home studio and then I brought it to Jonathan Shorten’s ’Titan’ Studios in South London to lay down some Wurli with him and some Bass with Marc Cyril. Once I had built it out Lou and I had the idea to add a Gospel Choir to it, so I called on friends Laville and Sheree Dubios to add multiple layers on the chorus to add that gospel feeling. The last stage in the process was adding the live drum line which I recorded at ‘Start Small’ studios with my friend and bandmate Kwame Ambrose. Only Love is a journey out of the dark and into the light.

Letting Go – ft. Andrew Ashong 

This came together rather quickly and developed from a sketch at my home studio when Some of the guys from Ebi Soda (Hari-Lee Evans, Connor Knight & Jahred Harley) came round for an afternoon to cook up some beats. Hari threw down a fire bassline which soon led to Connor being inspired to play some guitar on it. Then Jahred and I both sang the chorus (letting go). A few weeks, later Raffy Bushman came over to mine and elaborated on the keys part I had played on it, lifting the A & B sections hugely. Then after reaching out to good friend Andrew Ashong, he laid down layers of beautifully crafted verses in response to mine and Jared’s hook, and ‘Letting Go’ was born. 

Afronaut – ft. Amp Fiddler & Laville

Starting life as a phat drum break from Kwame Ambrose and a straight forward bassline and keys part by yours truly, I quickly sought after Marc Cyril’s definitive style to make the low end sing a little better. I was blessed with Raffy Bushman taking the keys part to another level, and whilst keeping things within the Unit 31 family, was further blessed with the unmistakable guitar stylings of Alex Cosmo Blake. Now with a solid backbone to work with I knew that the track was missing something – vocals! Having been a huge fan of Amp Fiddler from when I was a teenager, I was eager to get him involved in the project, but was worried that he either wouldn’t dig the song or think ‘who the hell is this guy?’ At first I was shocked and humbled that he had even got back to me, and his response was ‘I don’t like the track….. I love it!’

As a massive follower of all of his work and the entire Detroit scene for so long, that meant so much to me being such to me. With Amp and Dilla being such heroes of mine it gave me the confidence that anything is possible, and that old phrase ‘if you don’t ask you don’t get’ resonated loudly in my head. Whilst driving back from the midlands one day after dropping a 1950’s Ford Thunderbird engine off with a friend for a rebuild, I received a call from my manager saying that he had sent the vocals over. Swerving to the side of the road to listen immediately, I was lost for words at how he’d not only smashed the brief out of the park, but how he’d felt the vision for the entire project. My close friend Laville gave it some final finesse.

Babylonian triangle of captivity ft. Ebi Soda

After another afternoon of cooking spent with the Ebi Soda gang under my direction, ‘Babylonian triangle of captivity’ came to light. Featuring Sam on drums (recorded at start small studios with the help of Max Anstruther on engineering duties,) then moving over to my home studio to finish proceedings with Hari-Lee on Bass, Connor on guitar and Will on Bone, with me bringing it all together. The name was inspired by the classic Franco Rosso and Martin Stellman film Babylon from 1980 which is one of my all time favourites.

Time Gets Wasted 

’Time Gets Wasted’ is a voyage over the rainbows, above the clouds and into the stars above. On making the record I wanted people to feel the warmth, positivity and comfort that reeds and woodwinds provide (played by Sly5thave) juxtaposed against disjointed drums, with undertones of melancholic piano inspired by Bill Evans (played by Jonathan Shorten). Denita’s vocal cut’s through on top like the audible icing on a multiple layered rainbow cake, with a touch of distortion to help coax the listener into the world of the ‘Astronaut’.

Automaton 

‘Automaton’ was inspired by my deep rooted love of Dub, and is the story of a robotic being with a heart, jaded by the woes of life and modern society and lost in a world of 1’s and 0’s. Every night they stare at the moon thinking that there is more to the universe than just numbers, they and start to feel their heart pulsing. The more they look to the sky, the more they feel, knowing that something else is out there. I teamed up with my good friend Oscar Jerome on this one, and his laid back hazy, smokey vocal lines & harmonies are reminiscent of seventies bands like The Congos and The Upsetters, I couldn’t be happier with the results. Then with the addition of Joe Armon-Jones on Hammond Organ, Alex Cosmo Blake on Guitar, Robohands on Bongo’s & Flute, Hari-Lee Evans on Bass and Raffy Bushman on suitcase piano, the ‘Automaton’ began to live and breathe. 

Running Away – ft. Yazz Ahmed & Laville

First I recovered some simple keys parts and made the basic frame of the track at my home studio with vocals from Laville, then Jonathan Shorten laid down some bass through the SSL desk with Marc Cyril. Alex Cosmo Blake then came over to lay down a guitar part, taking the track in an 80’s sci fi movie direction it was always destined for. Raffy Bushman then came over to mine with his Cello for a session and we decided to lay some string parts down for the hook which gave the track a whole new lease of life. Soon after, I played the track to my friend Yazz Ahmed and she said it needed Flugelhorn, which has a slightly more subtle tone to it. The final piece to the puzzle was having Lou & Will from Ebi Soda over to my studio, with Lou adding some tiny sprinklings of keys and Will adding a few extra layers of trombone. Dan Austin worked on the balance of the mix in his studio, using panning to get everything to sit where it needed to. 

Petrol Head – ft. Laville 

After performing this song live for years with the band and never having released it, my manager suggested that we get into the studio to record it. After spending a day at RAK studios with Sash Dixon on engineering duties, we managed to lay down ‘Petrol Head.’ With the ‘Ash Walker Experience’ in full effect, Kwame Ambrose on Drums, Hari-Lee Evans on bass, Kehanne Whitby on Sax, Alex Cosmo Blake on guitar, Laville on Vocals, Nicola Guida on Rhodes and Hammond, and me on the other end of the Hammond. Mixed by yours truly and Barry Jamieson.

Detroit velvet smooth – ft. Yazz Ahmed

This was all recorded at my home studio, with myself on bass, drums, synth keys, piano and effects. I called on Raffy Bushman to lay down some extra little piano flourishes and Rhodes parts in the breakdown sections, and Yazz Ahmed & partner Noel Langley added flugelhorn and muted trumpet parts to breathe some extra life into the track. 

Jupiter – ft. Kennebec

Collaborating with my label buddy Kennebec from Portland was such a treat on this track. I started by laying down drums, bass and some simple ideas for strings and piano, which he added to beautifully by complementing my piano parts with his own flourishes on the upright. He then invited some close friends of his over for a session. Mitch Limori from Japan on alto flute and Dylan Rieck on the cello which added a whole new dimension to it. This song is intended to represent the slow rotation of Jupiter on its axis.

Buy your limited numbered translucent rose vinyl copy ofr Astronaut here