Artist Spotlight: Ben Ashton
Every year as the clock ticks away and the Holidays approach, music lovers like to look back on the year at all of the music (both good and bad) that has helped to inspire them.
Throughout this year, we have discovered some great new talent that we hope to have shared with you… after all, thats why RockDafuqOut is all about.
One of the emerging artists this year who we absolutely fell in love with is Ben Ashton, hailing from Switzerland. With a steady flow of releases, both originals and remixes, Ben has kept busy in 2015 bringing a chill Deep House vibe to our ears. Check out some of his releases below!
I recently got to catch up with Ben via Skype to ask him a few questions…
RDFO: How do you describe your sound?
Ben Ashton: I would personally say it’s a mixture out of Deep House, Nu Disco and some elements of Melodic House. I like to combine melodies with deep bass lines and a good kick drum, but I do not try to fix myself on genres too hard.
RDFO: What is the current market like for music where you live?
Ben Ashton: On the radio you definitely hear a lot of the more commercial Deep and Melodic House, for example Robin Schulz or Felix Jaehn (who I recently got to open for). But it’s different in the clubs, the music played there is more monotonous, such as Deep House, Tech House or also Techno. Currently I’m trying to somehow get a combination of these two, so keeping a melodic part but also clearly include elements for the club.
RDFO: How do you craft your productions to try to stand out from the rest?
Ben Ashton: I have very high claims to myself regarding producing. That means that I do not want to use any finished drum loops, or melody patterns, but I want to create them by myself. I also use presets to get inspiration, but I do almost never use a preset without changing and editing it. When I was young, I played different instruments such as the saxophone, drums and flute, and currently I’m still playing piano sometimes. I’m not the one who plays an instrument perfectly, but still I think the musical background helps me a lot in the studio nowadays. I also have a few analog synths, I love to work with them, especially for bass lines! In my opinion most oft them have a unique sound, and it’s sometimes just not the same as a plugin.
RDFO: What is next for you? Any releases coming down the pipe that you are super excited for?
Ben Ashton: At the moment, I have a lot of productions coming up, most of them are in the finishing now! So I think 2016 is going to start with some new music. Currently I’m looking forward to my remix release and my EP on Tommy Boy Ent., as I am very satisfied with these productions so far. Another EP on Spirit Soul Records and a compilation release on my home base label WONNEmusik should be out soon.
RDFO: What artists do you pull inspiration from?
Ben Ashton: There are so many great artists out there, it would take to much time to name them all. I take inspiration from different artists, it always changes, I’m always looking out for some new music that inspires me. Sometimes it’s also just great to get away from electronic music and explore other genres and look out for inspiration there.
Besides from his production, Ben also keeps busy as a DJ frequenting the clubs in his hometown of Basel. Check out his recent feature on Real DJ’s below.
2015 was without a doubt a great year for Ben and next year is only looking better.
Grab a copy of one of his recent releases on Beatport – HERE
Get acquainted with Ben Ashton… I’m sure you will be seeing alot more from him in the future.
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