Ashleigh Sladen
Hi, my name is Ashleigh Sladen. I’m a singer, songwriter and musician from Verneuil-Sur-Seine, a little town near Paris. I currently live in Plymouth for university studies in Marine Biology and Coastal Ecology. My music can be classified as acoustic-pop-rock. I recently released two of my original songs called Hide & Seek and Frost Flower.
Like most children, I had piano lessons when I was six, I but wasn’t really into it. I gave up after a few years. I first got really interested in music in 2005, when I auditioned to sing in a school show. I decided to try guitar, and I really got into it when my childhood best friend, my little sister, and me formed this all-girl pop rock band called Ashbagui in 2010.
Our first concert was for the anniversary of our school. We entered this music competition called “Emerganza,” where we played a few shows until the semi-finals in Paris. The band parted ways in the last months of 2013, when we knew we couldn’t see each other often with our different timetables and future locations.
Since then, I took a break from music to focus on entering university. I started playing music again at Jam House, an event organized every Thursday night by some students. One night, BBC Introducing came to hear original songs by students. I played two original songs and, since then, I do gigs around Plymouth every week.
All the music I create is written and composed mainly by me, but some are also co-written and produced by Jared Harding, currently a 3rd year music student at Plymouth University. When recording in studio, the music always starts off with my voice and me playing the acoustic guitar. Afterwards, we suggest ideas on how the sound should be like and then he does the “magic” (for example, adding piano and drums created by computer). I occasionally add some harmonies to get more texture in the vocals. I’m also responsible for the artwork, like the cover art of Hide & Seek. The cover for Frost Flower is Jared’s beautiful cover art.
The songs I write are mainly inspired by emotions and daily-life situations, what I’ve been through, what I feel. I pour my soul into a song; I write down all of my uncensored thoughts. Since I’m a marine biology student, I also tend to get inspired by nature. I combine my emotions and inspiration from nature into meaningful lyrics with some spices that I hope people can relate to when listening.
The atmosphere of my music is inspired by many different horizons of music. My main influences are the 80’s/90’s rock and the pop-culture of today’s music. Some music artists of today that influence my music are The 1975, Sia, Maroon 5 and Taylor Swift.
I am currently working in the studio with Jared, recording one of my new songs called I’d Never Thought, a pop-rock ballad song. It will be released soon, so keep an eye on it! I’m also playing gigs around Plymouth, including the Summer Ball of Plymouth University on the same stage as Labrinth (pretty excited!). All updates of my gigs are on Reverbnation or Facebook. Music videos for my songs might happen during the next coming months.
My advice for artists recently into music just like me is to never stop dreaming and believe. Say “yes” to all the opportunities that come to you. You’ll never know if you’ve never tried.
Ashleigh Sladen
@AshleighTheNudi
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