Leo, Chris Lane, Flo, Sorana Santos, Morgan Clark- Ward, Jo Silverstone, Amy kelly, John killshaw, Luke Eastop, Ian Tripp, Emre, Vezzio, Gill, Martin Hathaway, Joe Morris, Adrian Hall.
Influences
Robert Johnson, Charlie Christian, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Smith, Rueben Willson, Wes Montgomery, Dave Brubeck, Grant Green, The Meters, David Axelrod, Chopin, Debussy, Villa Lobos, Faure, Tarrega, Beethoven, Bach, Phillip Glass, Cut Chemist, DJ Shadow, Dan The Automator, Del The Funky Homosapian, Jurassic 5, Madlib, MF Doom, J-Rocc, Fourtet, Bonobo, Mos Def, Hitek, Talib Kweli, Cypress Hill, Tribe Called Quest, Deftones, Rage Against the Machine, Nirvana, Ben Harper, Niel young, Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, The Band, Jimmy Hendrix, The Beatles. David Bowie, Roots Manuva, Eazy-E, tom waits. guns n' fucking roses.
Sounds Like
Ashok and Leo playing ’Franky Boy’ at The Spike, filmed by Mike Cupcake
ASHOK: All music written and arranged by Christopher Lane. All lyrics Written by Leo Nathan and Florence Welsh. Recordings produced by Adrian Hall and Christopher Lane. 2003-2008
"The debut album 'Plans', from emerging South London jazz/blues/rock band Ashok, is a breath of fresh air for those of us who are beginning to grow tired of the same old cliched songs that the music industry keeps pumping out since the turn of the century."
Ashok-Plans
After being prepared for some down and dirty rhyming and a looped drum beat, the fiddle on first track A New Year’s Anxiety came as a bit of a shock. As does the rest of the album. This is a hugely melodic mixture of rhymes, complex super effective rhythms and quality musicianship. The result is Plans- a pleasant surprise of an album. The lilting vocals give a old school jazz/ swing feeling to the songs, and is complimented by the rhyming skills of Leo Nathan brings the tracks bang up to date. Chris Lane’s talented guitar playing also adds another dimension to this melting-pot, in particular on Franky Boy and Always Ashok. To describe the last track, Happy Slap, the word jig might have to be used, whether the band like it or not. The lyrics are instantly memorable and the offbeat guitar keeps up the quick tempo.
Separately the three member of Ashok would bring something special to any band. Together they create a brilliant fusion of old and new styles, with influences ranging from Billie Holiday to Dr. Dre to samba rhythms and the Rat Pack. Ashok bring the whole lot together, wrapped up in one album in a class of its own.
Ashok - Plans, out now ****Comment
Ashok impressed Greenwich audiences earlier this year
"I first came across Ashok at Oliver's Jazz Bar in Greenwich and I've been keen to add their music to my collection ever since. The band consisted of [guest vocalist] Flo Welch [now Sorana Santos] and lyricist and rapper Leo Nathan on vocals and guitarist and writer Chris Lane.
They are backed by musicians ..o, violin, trombone, saxophone and keyboards which makes for a unique and enjoyable musical experience.
Their 11-track album Plans does not disappoint.
It begins with the energetic strings of New Year's Anxiety, followed by their current single Lean From the Middle which talks of escaping society's extremes through deep dreams' and hallucinogenic riddles.' The track Sunday introduces a more cheerful, laid-back feel before the album takes a slower, more serious turn with Always Ashok, which describes the creativity behind the musical process.
Darkness, anger and confusion dominate Under the Thumb which reflects the diversity and range of the group's songwriting talents.
The album closes with the amusing, punchy and ironically cheerful Happy Slap about a woman beating up her boyfriend."
THE New Beatniks are in town, with their Bohemian cabaret of urban poetry and funky jazz. ..Ashok are hard to categorise... there is jazz, funk, soul and hip-hop in the mix as well as echoes of traditional ballads and folk...The talented and eclectic combination of lead and bass guitars, trombone, bongo drum and electric cello worked like a dream.
Throughout the set, these diverse elements came together in delightful ways...Looking good and sounding better, Ashok's vibrant music floods the lively crowd in the little basement club."
It's not often I fall for a music act as quickly and passionately as I did for Ashok. Within ten seconds of putting their EP, 'Lean From The Middle', out 18 Dec, on the player (or more specifically, in the CD drive of my PC, as that's how I frequently play these things), I was absolutely hooked. In fact, it was one of those EP experiences that is almost depressing, because I got to the end of the fourth track and was gagging for more. I'm not entirely sure what genre the genre-experts (I hate them, by the way. Pigeonholers) would put this band in, but I can tell you that their end product is jazzy, soulful, funky, delicious. My only sadness is that you can't right now listen to that whole EP - because the tracks on the MySpace site are great, but there are only two of them, and I want you to hear more. More, I say. More. Look out for a forthcoming glowing review of the EP. Fabulous.
First impressions can be deceptive. On opener ‘New Year’s Anxiety’, Greenwich trio Ashok seem to continue where The Wolfgang Press left off on their cover of the Randy Newman classic ‘Mama Told Me Not To Come’ 15 long years ago. And that’s putting the fun into funk.
Nevertheless, Ashok, cover more bases than funky, funky, funky on this their debut album. As hard to categorize as TWP themselves, they also dabble in jazz, soul, country, and hip-hop on Plans. Ambitious doesn’t begin to describe their sound.
Building up a reputation on the circuit, Ashok have secured a residency at Oliver’s Jazz Bar in Greenwich. Gigs there are notoriously messy affairs, and not just because of the copious amounts of red wine drunk by the audience.
Ashok may be on a label that’s only just recently celebrated its own launch. But it’s a record company with plenty of pedigree, seeing as it was set up by Jack Steven who’s previously signed the likes of X Ray Spex and the Eurythmics. And Ashok themselves come across as cocksure gonnatobes rather than wishy-washy wannabes, combining, as they do, elements of Marxman, Urban Species, Galliano, and The Young Disciples, all aboard the talkin loud merry-go-round at the height of Giles Peterson’s label’s powers.
They know how to give good party, but Ashok offer much more than just that. They’re talking loud, all right. And really saying something.:"
Inspired, ground breaking and fresh. All fairly complimentary words, you’d say? Sadly, though, not ones you’d use to describe the sound of Ashok’s debut album, Plans. Words like vanilla, staid and garden variety would be closer to the mark. The entire Ashok crew, all nine of them, clearly sat down one day to a hearty meal of Jamiroquai acid jazz, Chili Peppers funk, Jill Scott motown and the hippity-hop of ambassadors for righteousness, The Disposable Heroes of Hypocrisy. Once they’d polished that lot off they had a bit of Dolly Parton country for dessert. And then came the impending burp; their album. No-one was safe. On their MySpace they shamelessly name everyone as their inspiration; from Duke Ellington to Beethoven, from Nirvana to Roots Manuva. Obviously they have no new ideas of their own. So their album should be slapped with a ‘rubbish to be recycled’ sticker, right?
Wrong. It’s brilliant!
From the jazzy Dust Junkys-esque ‘Lean From The Middle’ to the jumpy knees-up of ‘Happy Slap’ this album has fun written all over it. Yet surprisingly the dark lyrics betray the music’s tone by referring mainly to the more serious aspects of life – such as war, death, lost love and spousal abuse. Jolly stuff indeed when combined with infectious fiddles, pianos, trumpets and looped beats.
If this album is an indication of how danceable misery can be, then the live show must be a winner."
As a massive thank you to all our friends and fans, we are giving away the b-side to our upcoming single "Dark is the New Light" which is being released 10th November on Doombox Recordings.
(Click on pic above for more info including tour dates and loads more)
The B-side is called "Bows and Arrows," it's completely FREE and only a click away.
Thanks again and please download the single too!!! Its all down to you!!!
hey guys ! How's it going ?? I was just dropping by to let you know that we're playing at The Underworld in Camden (London) this Thursday 24/04. It would be great if you could pop in so that we can have a pint together. If not, keep on doing great music, lads and we hope we'll share a stage together very soon ! All the best Roma Violenta
Needleandthread presents.. {yet another series of} dirty great big nights out.. @ JAMM bar, 261 Brixton road.. running 8pm-4am, £4 before 9pm, (afterwards its £6 / £5 with flyer, or NUS)..
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this friday first of feb, we have; THE NEEDLEANDTHREAD LIVE AND WELL ROOM ExCentral Tempest ~ conscious lyricality, with Kwake on beats & bass.. the Pyrofessional ~ S E-London 5-piece; a blend of hiphop, drum&bass, soul.. ScaredyCats ~ hard-rocking two-tone, ska-punk type-thang.. Jonny Virgo ~ 4-piece who “could start a party in a morgue” - Mike Walsh XFM.. Conrad the Scoundral ~ homegrown grimehop, with a witty twist..
DJ's Mike Cupcake (pecknam.com) ~ mash-ups, party breaks & mad remix's.. King Solomon ~ reggae, roots, and rock n roll.. New Orda ~ good old fashioned, darkside drum n bass.. Mr Hovis ~ with his usual half-baked eclectication..
THE SHORT CIRCUS ELECTRIC CHEERS ROOM Spazmo ~ theme-step, volt-kilometer and gabba-the-hutt.. Con Brio ~ glitchy goodness for twitchy toes.. X13 ~ bliptek and stompy syntax errors.. Patscan ~ electrocharged socket science.. Jones Deviation ~ from amp to oohmmm.. Uncle Smutfist ~ convicted dex offender at large.
With Tea & Buiscuits in the Sympathy Corner, a Goliath Frog wandering between the rooms, causing mischief, and live art from LuxProdux & Illegal Guff..
