Ash Walker is a

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

-based musician,

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...

and DJ, whose music spans a diverse range of genres, such as

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

, dub,

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...

, acid jazz, and

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

, among others. He has released four studio albums: ''

Augmented 7th ''Augmented 7th'' is the debut album of the London-based musician and DJ, Ash Walker. It was released in 2015 through the independent record label Deep Heads. The album features a diverse range of genres, such as dub, reggae, jazz, trip-hop, an ...

'' (2015) and ''Echo Chamber'' (2017) on Deep Heads, and '' Aquamarine'' (2019) and ''

Astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

'' (2023) on

Night Time Stories Night Time Stories is an English independent record label founded by Paul Glancy in 2009. It is notable for releasing the ''Late Night Tales'' compilation series since 2009 by artists such as Trentemøller, Röyksopp, Bonobo, Jon Hopkins, Bill ...

Career

Ash Walker began his career in 2015 with the release of his debut album, ''

''. The album featured a diverse range of genres, such as dub, reggae, jazz, trip-hop, and electronica. It featured

Nikolaj Torp Larsen Nikolaj Torp Larsen (born 1973) is a Danish musician (also credited as Nikolaj Torp, Nick Torp, Nik Torp). He is also a producer, film composer and writer, who has played keyboards, piano and Hammond with numerous artists on tour and on many succe ...

The Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English Two-tone (music genre), 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall (singer), Terr ...

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usual ...

. '' Aquamarine'' was the first album Walker recorded at home; he recorded his previous albums in

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

s. The album featured Marc Cyril on bass,

Yazz Ahmed Yazz Ahmed (born 1983) is a British- Bahraini trumpeter, flugelhornist and composer. Her music mixes Arabic and Western influences. She has worked with Toshiko Akiyoshi, Rufus Reid, John Zorn, Ash Walker, the London Jazz Orchestra, and also re ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

and

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though some ...

, Lord Laville on vocals, and Jonathan Shorten on

Rhodes piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...

and

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...

. The album included vinyl pops and hisses, as a part of what Walker calls an "anti-sound engineer" approach. His engineering approach was influenced by

King Tubby Osbourne Ruddock (28 January 1941 – 6 February 1989), better known as King Tubby, was a Jamaican sound engineer who greatly influenced the development of dub in the 1960s and 1970s. Tubby's innovative studio work, which saw him elevate the ...

. He formed his live trio in 2017 with himself on keyboards and melodica, Marc Cyril on bass and Tim Shackman on drums. Later, he added Lord Laville on vocals and Yazz Ahmed on trumpet, and named the band The Ash Walker Experience. As a DJ, Walker has opened for The Specials,

Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development o ...

David Rodigan David Michael "Ram Jam" Rodigan MBE OD (born 24 June 1951) is a British radio DJ who also performs as a disc jockey. Known for his selections of reggae and dancehall music, he has played on stations including Radio London, Capital 95.8, Kiss ...

El-B Lewis Beadle, professionally known as El-B, is an English record producer, songwriter and DJ. He was an original member of the UK Garage duo Groove Chronicles, and is commonly seen as one of the pioneers of the dubstep Dubstep is a genre o ...

, and

Zed Bias Dave Jones, better known as Zed Bias, is an English electronic musician based in Manchester, who operates within the UK garage/ 2-step, broken beat and UK funky genres, as a producer and as a DJ. He has also released material under various ps ...

, among others. His music has gained attention and has been played by renowned radio DJs such as

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brown ...

Don Letts Donovan "Don" Letts (born 10 January 1956) is a British film director, disc jockey (DJ) and musician. Letts first came to prominence as the videographer for the Clash, directing several of their music videos. In 1984, Letts co-founded the band B ...

Gideon Coe Gideon Jon Quantrill Coe (born 22 September 1967 in Canterbury, Kent) is a radio DJ, presenter, sportscaster, voiceover artist and journalist. Early career He began his broadcasting career in 1976 as a child presenter on the BBC One TV program ...

Tom Robinson Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson ...

, and

Tom Ravenscroft Thomas James Dalglish Ravenscroft (born 6 February 1980) is a British radio presenter and disc jockey. He currently hosts a BBC Radio 6 Music show featuring new and unsigned music. He is the son of DJ John Peel. Career Working initially in TV ...

Songwriting and influences

Being a bassist himself, Ash Walker writes his songs on

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

first. His influences include

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

, King Tubby,

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...

4hero 4hero are an electronic music group from Dollis Hill, London, comprising producers Mark "Marc Mac" Clair & Denis "Dego" McFarlane. While the band is often cited as ''4 Hero'' or ''4-Hero'', the name is stylised as ''4hero'' on their albums and ...

J Dilla J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon varia ...

Pete Rock Peter O. Phillips (born June 21, 1970), better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapping, rapper. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, and is often mentioned alongs ...

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

, and

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...

, among others.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (2015) * ''Echo Chamber'' (2017) * '' Aquamarine'' (2019) * ''

'' (2023)

References

External links

*
Artist profile
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Ash Living people English audio engineers English bass guitarists English DJs English jazz musicians Acid jazz musicians English record producers English reggae musicians English soul musicians Black British musicians Musicians from London Year of birth missing (living people) Night Time Stories artists