ASHA JEFFERIES

Hi Asha and thanks for taking the time out to speak with us at Musicology. Your largely autobiographical and confessional approach towards your lyricism is story telling at its finest. Painting with words is often one way it is described but for you how do you transfer that intangible feeling into a relatable tale?

Thanks! Writing has always had such a therapeutic essence for me. My intention is always to grow a form of acceptance for myself for how I’m feeling. I guess the biggest key for me is not to think or judge what I’m feeling - and the music comes through.

With your music being a conduit between your inner emotions and public access to them, is there a personal line that you do not cross where some thoughts, feelings, incidents are strictly off limits?

I think the most authentic way for me to write is doing it as if no one else is ever going to hear the song. Because of that, there’s never really anything off limits. To censor myself or thoughts through writing would feel dishonest.

Is writing, and as an extension to that, performing, a cathartic experience that not only affords the chance to explore all of life’s up’s and down’s but also to connect with others (albeit unknown) as a bridge between your own experiences and those of others?

Yeah totally! A song like Break helped me recognise the grief and resentment I had for the past. Two years ago, when I had just written it -I’d play it live at shows and get really stuck in the emotion. I stopped playing it after a while because it was too hard to keep re-living again and again. The space between writing and releasing this song has allowed me to process and grow from these emotions and now sharing the song feels healing.

Your latest single Break was produced by Ian Haug of Powderfinger and The Church fame. What do you feel Ian brought to the track that bears his signature?

Ian is so great at understanding the essence of a song - it was his idea to add slide guitar at the very end of the recording session. It’s my favourite part of the song and I remember watching him record it and being absolutely gobsmacked.

The accompanying video clip is a captivating one. Symbolically the crashing waves reinforce the notion of emotional turmoil but specifically where was the clip filmed and what made the setting the right choice?

The music video was filmed at Currumbin Beach, my house and my old house where I lived throughout lockdown last year. My partner Josh and I had always wanted to film something in the waves as it’s such an elevating and releasing feeling. The beach is somewhere that we retreat to, frequently - to break and open.

Having performed with so many different artists and performers over the years, has there been any words of wisdom spoken to you that really resonated with you and in turn altered the way you approach your craft?

I remember having coffee with Emma Louise after I’d graduated high school, she talked about making art from the unspoken part of you and letting your mind rest while you do it. Whenever I find myself doubting and criticising the creative parts of myself, I think about what Emma said and also the fact that I am a homosapien on a floating spinning rock called Earth.

Can you share with us a particularly memorable gig you performed and what made it so remarkable?

My favourite memory is of the recent single launch I had in Brisbane! The day I released Break, we played a sold out show at Woolly Mammoth. I hadn’t performed in so long, but we as a band had rehearsed so much. We got on stage and slipped right into our natural performing states. It was so much fun and my partner threw his cowboy hat on stage towards the end of the set. I walked off stage - cowboy hat on head, red wine in hand, biggest smile possible on my damn face.

Given the clarity that hindsight affords, can you pinpoint a few select moments, decisions, outcomes that have occurred during your career that have proved to be pivotal?

Definitely going to high school at Music Industry College when I was 16, realising that I am the CEO of my “business” and that investing in my mental and physical health is not just a privilege but very important.

Lastly, on a personal level, what does music give you that nothing else does?

A very instant, glorifying feeling of belonging in this world without having to prove it.