Tasmanian singer Asta has had a huge 2015 with copious amounts of touring and her single “Dynamite” ft Allday making it to number 66 on the Aria charts. We had a chat to her about her epic year and what lies ahead.
Hey Asta! How are you? Did you survive the Sydney heatwave?
Yeah I nearly died… I melted into a ball of paleness. I’m not used to this kind of heat, it was like the world was ending!
I bet! How has it been moving from Tassie up to Sydney?
It’s been huge! I think it’s been important for me to ground myself here and work with heaps of different producers and writers. I’m really happy that I made the move up because it’s good to be in the face of it and being amongst it.
This year has been a pretty big one for you, what have been some standout moments?
Performing is always such a highlight for me, and being able to release a song and actually get radio play is something that still blows me away.
And you supported Ellie Goulding when she was here, that’s huge! How was it?
Well just being asked to play by a huge artist like that is the coolest thing ever! And being able to play in front of so many people was crazy too.
You have done quite a bit of touring this year, have you been able to find some time to write and record?
Yeah this year has been a mix bag, it’s been weird. I’ve been doing random shows here and there, then some writing sessions and then recording. I’ve been doing a bit of everything.
What can your fans look forward to in your new material?
My latest single still has dance elements, which I love because I love dancing on stage. So there’s heaps of dance, but also some quite emotional songs and then some that are a bit sassy. I can sing in lots of different voices, so sometimes I’ll sing softly and then other times I can be a real diva and belt it out. So yeah, there’s going to be a real mixture of songs.
Have you had a chance to test much of it out live?
Yeah definitely, and it’s been great seeing peoples reactions. My favourite part of performing is looking and seeing people mime my lyrics when the song isn’t even released yet, it’s the coolest thing. I’m just like, how do you know that?! And it’s so nice having fans come up after the show and be like “please release that song you did that was like second last in your set”.
How has your live set developed over the years and what do you see it developing into in the future?
Yeah it’s really cool looking back to where it started. I used to be on a guitar and listening to too much Adele in my bedroom trying to be a singer/songwriter. Then I met this guy who was a DJ and we started performing together, but when I moved up to Sydney it changed to three guys in a band kind of set up. Then it became a bit too rocky, so we completely revamped the set. We went and bought all these synthesizers and literally locked ourselves away and recreated all my old songs. So yeah there’s definitely been an evolution. I guess in the future I’m hoping there’ll be more people, I mean seeing Ellie Goulding live was so inspirational because she had like 7 people onstage with her and that was amazing.
And you have The Plot coming up very soon, are you excited for that?
Yeah! I’m really excited to be playing in Parramatta because I’ve never been there before. It’ll be nice to get away from the hustle of city life and see some local acts.
And the essence of The Plot is music, local produce and friends. So who are you most excited to see play?
I’m always excited to see Tkay Maidza – you just can’t miss her, and Safia because I actually haven’t seen them live yet. Art vs Science are always awesome to see as well. It looks like a really cool festival with lots of great local acts.
The Plot seem to really get around local food and drink too, so what local Tassie produce would you take with you if you could?
Well the cheese is always good from Tassie, so maybe some cheese from Bruny Island. And maybe seafood? I mean I don’t eat seafood but maybe I would bring up some oysters and start serving them out to people with a bit of cheese. And some wine!
And lastly I wanted to 1) let you know how much I love you fashion sense and 2) ask that you please design and sell some clothing soon
Aw thank you! I have a lot of fun working with my friends to create outfits. That was always a big dream of mine when I was a kid. I would sketch heaps of clothing designs and tell people I was going to be a designer. So yeah, I would love to release a line of clothes in the future!
Well thanks for chatting Asta, enjoy the rest of the year.
Thank you!
———-
Asta will appear at The Plot, happening on Saturday, 5th December 2015 at Parramatta Park in Parramatta, NSW. For tickets and more details head here: http://theplot.co/
———-
