London based artist Asha Gold is bringing a unique and exciting take on contemporary R&B. With an impressive range of praise from Rolling Stone, COLORS, BBC Radio 1 to Clash magazine, we are witnessing an emerging artist with great potential to change the game in the current UK R&B scene.
Her new 2021 single Naive, is captivating from the get-go as the song opens with an intimate setting of a muted piano paired with her silky tone, meanwhile guiding the listener through an engaging narrative. Accents of intricate percussion are introduced, resembling the ticking of time passing as she sings ‘I’m missing pieces to the puzzle/I’m missing digits to your code’. Ironically, it feels like the song itself is a puzzle being solved as the track reaches its climax. Here, Gold’s blend of lush harmonies coupled with dreamy synth pads further reinforce a hypnotic out of body experience for the listener.
In addition to her artistry and writing technique beyond her age, Naive is ‘full of surprises’, uncovering sophisticated sound design produced by Mitch Jones, who provides creative skills of excellent quality.
She adds, ‘Naive’ is at its core about unrequited love. It’s about the ultimate confusion when someone is giving you mixed signals to the point where you begin to wonder whether they’re doing the same thing with somebody else. When a situation is not progressing, efforts are not reciprocated, and it’s all talk and no action. It feels like it’s more headspace than it’s worth.
Read more about Asha Gold below:
You have a gift for storytelling and your lyrics really resonate with people. Do you usually write from experience?
I do prefer to write from experience - that way I feel like I can tap into the most detailed of emotions and write with real honesty. Since lockdown, however, not a whole lot has been changing in my life so I’ve been learning to write about experiences of friends or characters that I make up to be able to keep creating captivating stories.
Can you share with us your creative process during lockdown?
Lockdown has definitely been up and down creatively. I felt pressure at times to constantly create, and from social media, it looked like everyone else was being super productive, but some days I couldn’t force it. I didn’t feel particularly motivated or inspired in the first lockdown, but I’ve learnt to allow myself to rest (because that is productive in itself), and I’ve found ways that work for me to stay creative. I’d say keep trying new things, make the time to just sit and write (because there are always a million other things to do), and stay creative in other ways. My single ‘Debut’ was actually written on a Zoom session last year, so it’s not been all bad!
As an independent artist, what would you say have been your pros and cons? How have you overcome struggles?
I love the creative freedom and involvement being independent gives you — it’s all the more gratifying when a song connects with people because you’ve had such a handle on the whole campaign and story. It’s difficult though because it can be a lonely or doubtful thing. It’s you that has to wake up and constantly motivate yourself and believe in yourself, no one else is driving that growth or telling you every day that you can do it. I’ve made an effort to be less hard on myself, and truly celebrate the wins — before, I would brush over a radio play or a success and think about the next goal straight away, but I’ve taught myself to pause and mark those moments, congratulate myself, and use them as motivation.
What is the best advice you’ve received and what would you say to artist peers who
are also trying to make it’?
Probably to remain authentic, if not, people will see through it.
Which artists have been significant influences for you? If you could support any artist for a show who would it be?
Figures like Lorde, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish and Rosalía are ultimate inspirations in terms of performance, songwriting, and their ability to cross genres seamlessly. Smaller artists such as Miraa May, Berwyn and Griff get me really excited too. If I could support one artist at the moment that would probably be Mahalia - she has such integrity and her new song slaps!
What is next for Asha Gold? Any plans for the future?
I’ve just released ’Naive’ my first single of the year, so I plan to do some cool stuff around that - expect an acoustic vibe, potentially a remix… and then I’m gonna just keep the good music coming this year. I’m so excited about the next singles, and I’m hoping to create some killer visuals to go alongside them. 2021 is going to be a big year!
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