The project of Melbourne-based producer Dan Ash aka Dashd, 'Waitin For The Sunshine' is the first single lifted from his forthcoming debut EP 'Ashd Out'.
The journey undertaken to arrive at 'Ashd Out' and the EP's six tracks – that roam across hip hop, trip hop, funk and soul flavours – has been an emotional, spiritual, and at times mentally physical grind for Dan.After reinvesting in his passion for music production during the early part of COVID lockdowns, Dan quickly found his rhythm with a spare room turned into a home studio and all 'social time' dedicated to making beats.
He was soon spending many hours learning from Kenny Beats' Twitch channel. This led Dan to the Musician Staffing Alliance Discord group, through which he was introduced to future collaborators by Indiana-based producer Pr3lud3.
When health and illness afflicted both himself and his partner, music continued to be a space to escape and the roots were soon sowed for what would become the 'Ashd Out' EP.
Set to be released 19 April, Dashd previews 'Ashd Out' with 'Waitin For The Sunshine'. Smooth, exotic, warped beats cascade in layers, pooling in a soul, gospel, trip-hop, contemporary R&B melting pot (reminiscent of The Alchemist, J Dilla), a soundscape that resonates with a vintage coat yet remains intrinsically modern sounding.
Dashd has teamed with underground American vocalist Orry Maine, with the highly stylised, synthesised vocals also offering earthy tones, the earnest spirit imbued within offering a glimpse of 'that sunshine' and a path to traverse out of what Dashd calls the 'fog of life'.
"This song to me was the initial breaking through the 'fog of life' and seeing a slight path that is the 'sunshine'," Dan shares.
Ahead of the song's release tomorrow (28 March), scenestr is stoked to premiere 'Waitin For The Sunshine' today. Enjoy.
"Music is like therapy for me," shares Orry Maine, "and for a while I believed I only knew how to write about sadness.
"This song was a perfect test of my abilities, and it couldn't have come about at a more perfect time, as I was figuring out how I wanted to evoke the theme of waiting for sunshine – I had been engaged to be married to someone who brought a world of happiness into my life."
The collaboration also allowed Orry to dial into the rapping aspect of their craft. "I consider myself a singer who on occasion will try rapping when I feel the music and/ or writing calls for it.
"As it isn't my most practiced use of my voice, there are plenty of cringe takes that no one but me will ever have to endure, but I think the tone and cadence I landed on was perfect for the song and evoked the same sense of positive self-reflection as the music."
Switching back to Dashd, Dan continues to work on a set for future live shows that will also include projected visuals of featured artists. Stay tuned.
The 'Ashd Out' EP drops 19 April. A limited run of 150 vinyl pressings will be available from mid-May.
