Juliette Ashby Playlist
- Text by Amrita Riat
- Photography by Ed Andrews
Juliette Ashby is belting out lyrics born from the raptures and blues of life. We’re in North London, where she grew up, filming a short session for Huck.TV. She’s treating us to a stripped-back, a cappella taster of her self-penned album, Bittersweet, a mature DIY debut, steeped in jazzy huskiness and RnB bite, that’s she’s self-releasing via crowd-funding platform PledgeMusic this summer. It’s a pleasure to listen to – much like her stories.
“The first time I went to a studio was here in East Barnet, when I was eight, with my best friend,” she says, referring to the late Amy Winehouse. “I can speak to you about her and detach myself a little bit, but I’m not very good at talking. My music is my therapy, I don’t know anything else. It’s the only way I can express myself.”
With the support of her family and talented best friend, Juliette nurtured a technical stronghold on her vocal chords – evidenced by her delivery of tracks like ‘Over and Over’ and ‘No Regrets’, which she sings from the gut. As well as counting Bob Marley, Stephen Marley and Erykah Badu as “major influences”, Juliette finds inspiration in all eras and corners of the globe. These are just some of her old-school influences and new-age inspirations.
Bonnie Raitt
“I used to idolise her, down to what she looked like. She’s a genius. Nick of Time was the first album that I learned back to back, when I was seven years old.”
Stevie Wonder
“This was the first concert I went to when I was six weeks old, apparently. I don’t remember it, but I was taken by my mum.”
Aliens Vs. Robots
“If someone told me to listen to a band called that, I’d be like ‘Hmm, okay.’ But I saw them perform at Willie Nelson’s chapel on his ranch – they’re very hippy, spiritual, a little bit psychedelic but with funk. They blew me away and I couldn’t stop watching them.”
Read more in Huck 44 – The Tommy Guerrero Issue.
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