Exposed Vocals catches an Exclusive Interview with ‘Astral Cloud Ashes’
Astral Cloud Ashes is the creative outlet of Antony Walker; the songwriter works alone composing, editing, producing and recording music on the Island of Jersey. Alternative guitar tunings and polyrhythms are a main interest and inspiration for this musician.
The Result is Astral Cloud Ashes, which is best described as Alt-Rock music written with another Dimension in mind. with the debut album “Too Close to the Noise Floor” due out Summer 2016. The Debut offering was fully Professionally Mixed in London in summer 2015 and Mastered in December 2015 in Oxford by Tim Turan.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
I grew up on a small Island, i used to listen to PunkRock records by bands like NOFX and the harmonies left a real impression on me when i was young so i decided to learn Bass guitar (and guitar) and start a band with some friends and thats the first time i thought of myself as a musician. And started to think of music as something that I could do.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
I always used the name ‘Astral’ on forums and for usernames and things, its because i was really interested in the Astral Plane which is a non-physical dimension of reality. I used to read a lot of books by Robert Bruce and listen to his talk shows, so i got familiar with the term Astral.. more than most people would be! Astral basically means Star or Stars.. so the name make me think of a distant star cluster cloud formation with glittering sparkling dots!
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
I can see both sides of the debate; but personally if someone is listening to an Astral Cloud Ashes record that is file-shared i don’t mind. I have a degree in Popular Music and the way i feel is that Im just pleased that people are connecting with the music, its become a cultural normality to release to music in that way, you get into it and end up liking it BECAUSE its available for free online (torrent sites etc.) its either that or you probably never would have cared or heard about your favourite bands. I think people need to get off their high horses with the whole paid music model, it doesn’t bear much relation to the reality of Music today and in the future. Art is meant to be shared.
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
Email! it sound obvious but I believe that if you are bothered to sit at your computer and google ‘how to get airplay/radio plays’ and send enough emails, people will actually listen to your stuff. They will.
You don’t need a big Press or PR deal, Do it yourself and figure out what works, each song you release will become easier and quicker for you to get into the hands of people who will actually play it.
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
Yes, mistakes aren’t a bad thing really, it makes the set unique and shows a venerability that i admire in other bands when i see them recover from a mistake. It happens to everyone and its actually pretty cool just to carry on and not care too much, I love seeing mistakes in a bands set, not in a b ad way it just shows their human and that your seeing a unique moment in time that will never be repeated or experienced in that particular way ever again. I heard an interview with Frank Zappa recently where he was saying that his approach has always been, [him] on stage against the ‘forces of nature’ – meaning he doesn’t over practice solos; or even know what he is going to play at a gig, he just does it, its easier to make mistakes like that if unlike Zappa you’re a mere mortal, but i think it always makes a more interesting show any day!
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
Not currently, Everyone works and is busy outside of the band so we mostly gig in Jersey, BUT we are going to Tour soon, a UK and Ireland tour to start with, its been discussed for a while!
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Hearing music in films is a big one for me! often makes me want to write music on the spot. Also I love to play guitar, l can play alone for hours just for enjoyment, and i think that most of my ideas for riffs emerge that way; loop pedals are great for layering whats in your mind too.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Yes, the website is astralcloudashes.com anyone can find links to everything there.
The best place to listen for free is SoundCloud, I always post music there:
https://soundcloud.com/astral-
cloud-ashes Facebook:
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
Um.. theres too many to mention here. Avril Lavigne, I pretty much have every song she’s ever recorded on my mp3 player, The production values on those songs are intense! have you heard the album tracks? great stuff!… potentially embarrassing though.
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
I’d buy accommodation for another 9 years and take a decade off. (Somewhere close to nature and record Astral Cloud Ashes songs)
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
I like the Waves Plugins, they sound really premium, there’s usually a few of them I have my eye on! Studio gear wise I can’t fault Apogee. I’ve used their Audio Interfaces for a long time, the old Duet was great and now I use Apogee Duet 2 which is even better running into Adam A7X monitors on ISO stands, I love the flat frequency response.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Just google stuff basically. I pretty much follow my gut feelings with what to do promotion wise, i just browse around online and I’m always looking for opportunities and outlets offline too… if theres a podcast or radio show/blog that i think sounds like they might possibly play my kind of Alt-Rock.. even if its an outside chance then i’ll reach out to them and send them an mp3 or a Soundcloud link. Also sometimes podcasts contact me which is nice! It doesn’t necessarily pay anything but it gets the music heard in new places and new countries and as an artist thats the best thing in the world!
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
An outdoor festival gig with Smashing Pumpkins in USA anywhere would be mental! one of those dreary 90’s emo/goth rock festivals like the one in that episode of the Simpsons where Homer takes Bart and Lisa to see the Smashing Pumpkins.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
The second Astral Cloud Ashes album; I’m recording and writing it at the moment.. i don’t want to give too much away but its going to be even more up-tempo and more high energy than the first with more technical guitar riffs interlocking and creating polyrhythmic alt-rock chaos!
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Working in a Garden Centre.. possibly.
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
First actual album purchase that i can remember that i definitely bought was Lagwagon ‘Lets Talk about Leftovers’ – i didn’t realise at the time but it was compilation album of all the ‘leftovers’ and tracks that never made it on their other discs.. its still my favourite lag wagon album, and one of my top 5 fave albums ever! i highly recommend it if you like melodic Punk Rock! (its a masterclass in the genre)
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
I just kind of muddle through and do what i can, sometimes i barely do enough.. theres always so many distractions, like driving here, or there.. I think most musicians will relate to the feeling of not getting enough done though. I remind myself of the Leonardo da Vinci quote “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” that tends to put everything in perspective!
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
The release of the debut Astral Cloud Ashes full 10 track album ‘Too Close to the Noise Floor’
check the facebook page https://www.facebook.com/
astralcloudashes/?fref=ts – or search Astral Cloud Ashes on facebook in June/July and you’ll almost certainly find a link to where to get the album.