Asher Knight
Interview: Amy Bell
Originally hailing from Bradford, Asher discovered his passion for music and singing aged 16 and was initially reluctant to pursue a career in the music industry after suffering from low self-esteem as a child after bad bullying at school. From 16, Asher worked to improve his self-confidence through developing his craft of singing and performing.
Moving to London to focus full time on his music, Asher Knight honed his musical craft in the capital. He has built an impressive catalogue of songs, working alongside writing greats including Cut father, Mark Owen, Jon Maguire, Red Triangle, Olly Murs, James Blunt and many more.
A sensation of 8 pop gems the ‘Still Standing’ EP assembles Kinght’s remarkable proficiency of producing hit after hit. With vulneravble lyricism alongside bouncy melodies, the EP twists and turns in mirror image to Knight’s experience of friendship and romance, experiences that inspired many of the tracks on this project.
Asher’s career has also taken him on multiple tours across the length and breadth of the UK, supporting the likes of The Vamps, Boyzone, Steps, Will Young, All Saints and performing on globally recognised stages including O2 Arena, Manchester Arena, SSE Hydro, Eventim Apollo and O2 Shepherds Bush Empire.
Congrats on your new debut EP ‘Still Standing’ that you have recently released, what has been the feedback on it so far?
Thank you and it’s been great. I have spent so long writing this EP it’s amazing hearing the feedback from people.
Why did you decide to name your EP ‘Still Standing’?
The EP covers the ups and downs of different types of relationships, and I was thinking about at the end of it I didn’t fall but kept standing.
What is a song on the EP, that you wrote first and how did you know that the song was for this EP in particular?
Amnesia was the first song I wrote on the EP, and I knew I wanted this EP to be a journey through great and tough times and “Amnesia” really fitted into that journey. Wanting to forget all the hard times but still with a longing of wanting to be loved.
Have there been any songs that you haven’t put on the single and why not?
I wrote many songs that didn’t end up on the EP, because they didn’t follow that journey.
I truly wanted to make a body of work that reflected the journey of love and how it can be hard, something we have all experienced and some songs didn’t reflect that or didn’t feel so connected to them as I did when writing them.
What is the recording process like when creating music?
I always start by questioning myself on how I am feeling and what am I going through right now. Once I have them answered I try sum them up in a word or a sentence, then take that into the studio with other writers and see what they like. Once we decided, it might change lots but overall, we sing random things over a guitar or piano and see what sticks. From there we start to pick and choose, and the song starts to write itself naturally.
What or who was your inspiration behind this EP?
This EP talks about relationships I’ve had with friends, feelings of loneliness and just wanting someone there for me when I felt alone.
What is next for you?
Next is more music. I love to write and as I grow as a person and live life, I find my writing develops and grows alongside it because I have more to write about. There are so many more personal experiences that I have gone through that I know many people experienced that I would love to write about.