An emerging indie talent from Sunbury (in the north-west of Melbourne), Ash Acid continues down the solo path with her newest release, 'Best Mate'.
Originally a drummer with years of experience, last year Ash decided to focus on her solo endeavours stepping out from the drum kit to take on lead vocals as well as producing her own material.'Wait With The Sun' was her debut single, dropping February 2021 before following up earlier this year with 'All The Way From Melbourne'.
Showcasing a fierce yet melodic brand of grunge, alternative rock infused with an intellectual intensity, Ash's newest release is 'Best Mate' – a song about the shadow sides of our psyche who, like a best mate, accept our disturbed dispositions. They hold your hand through the distressing dark and sit with you until the fire settles to ash.
Written during the gloom of lockdown, when questioning who and what were significant, 'Best Mate' might just be the perfect soundtrack to this current, reopened, but definitely different world.
"I love the isolation and desperation that is so pronounced in this song," Ash says. "We pushed the arrangement of the drums to further highlight the turbulence of the track.
"The yelling of the vocals in the second chorus makes you want to break a window and take off skating into the night."
Released last month, tomorrow Ash will release the 'Best Mate' music video which features herself alongside her younger sister Steph and their red cattle dog, Scarlett. scenestr is stoked to premiere the video today. Enjoy.
"When visualising my intentions for this film clip, it was pretty straightforward," shares Ash. "The song revealed itself after a day out riding and skating during lockdown, so I wanted to recreate that atmosphere with no frills. Just concrete; and my best mate.
"As with my last video, the location just had to be my home town of Sunbury again. That's where I spent lockdown, that's where I grew up and that's where my best mate lives."
While recording 'Best Mate' Ricki Rae the drummer, who also produced the track with Ash, played so aggressively he injured the ligaments in his wrist.
"A lot was sacrificed on the grunge rock track. I used a whole week of holidays just to prepare for the vocal session," admits Ash. "I actually didn't know if I could belt the chorus the way that I wanted to in the studio.
"At home with my keyboard I could do it, but it being only the third time I'd really ever recorded lead vocals meant that I was slightly scared.
"It was pretty spooky when I started yelling in the studio that day. I felt so weirdly grounded and could belt on repeat, I didn't even lose my voice after the session."
