New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Ashlyn
Nicole - Los Angeles - is releasing her first self-titled EP 'Ashlyn Nicole' on Monday, May 17th across all major streaming platforms. Working with The Online Recording Studio's Producer Tom Orrell, Ashlyn has created five powerful tracks inspired by faith with complex harmonic structures. The tracks are reflective of Ashlyn's experiences with faith, love and also living through 2020 as an artist.
Born to musician parents, Ashlyn
Nicole grew up heavily surrounded by music at a young age. Her early experience began with private piano lessons at 8 years old and involvement in various church choirs, community music events, theatre shows, and solo performances. In college, Ashlyn
Nicole was immersed in more professional vocal training and was part of several collegiate music events and groups. When considering the many different paths she could take in life, music was the only thing that made sense to her. Ashlyn
Nicole explains "It was my lifeblood, my heartbeat, and I couldn't imagine doing anything else with my life."
Ashlyn's debut single 'Start With Me' features on the new EP, and was written in the midst of the 2020 Pandemic, where so many voices from all sides were pushing people to say something, to speak up, to make a stand. It's got an electronic, downtempo feel and was written as a personal response to all the conflict around the world "It's my prayer that God would work first in my own heart and keep me teachable, open, and humble. I pray that He continuously helps me to be the change and reflect the love and hope that our world so desperately needs."
'What You Are To Me' which will be a track exclusively released on the EP, is one of the first songs that Ashlyn wrote using newly learned jazz techniques and theoretical approaches. It's also a very personal piece that Ashlyn wrote for her husband and surprised him with on her wedding day. The fun lyrics paint a genuine picture of their relationship and love, something which many listeners will be able to relate to and connect with.
'I
Trust You' is a faith-inspired track, which came out of an honest reflection of the way Ashlyn found herself responding to difficult situations. As she grew in her faith over the years, she felt like she became quicker to trust in the Lord during the tough times. Ashlyn wrote this uplifting track as a message to God "It's like there is a history book of God's faithfulness in my life that I can look back on. He has proven Himself faithful in my hard situations time and time again. And so I can say, at the end of every hard day, that no matter what, I will trust Him."
Much like 'I
Trust You', the song 'Just Be' is a faith-inspired pop jazz track that was written out of a consideration of the Scripture (Matthew 6) where Jesus speaks about not worrying. He tells us to look at the birds of the air and flowers of the field and consider how their basic needs are taken care of. Also inspired by gospel chord progressions, Ashlyn wrote the track 'Believe' while reflecting upon the goodness and faithfulness of God in her life. Still, with pop-jazz elements, the lyrics of this track were envisioned as a lullaby from God himself.
Musically influenced by jazz and contemporary pop, Ashlyn listened to a lot of different styles and genres of music growing up, mostly with Christian themes and influences. However, the songs that spoke to her most, were the ones that were not only rich theologically but also harmonically and theoretically. Although mostly self-taught, after investing a lot of time in teaching herself different styles and techniques, Ashlyn undertook collegiate training in music studies where she grew her music theory. With this in mind, what really makes Ashlyn stand out as an artist is her approach to songwriting - where she chooses to blend strong themes of faith with complex harmonic structures and music beds.
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