Singer/Songwriter/Composer: Kirstin Ashe

Kirstin Ashe began training as a concert pianist at age 7 with a neighborhood teacher who had trained at Julliard. After playing for 6 months, she entered her first piano competition. Her first forays into composition snagged on the status quo. Kirstin, rather confidently for being 8 years old, told her teacher that one of Mozart’s compositions had used a “wrong note,” and she felt that it should be changed. While her first act of musical innovation got her kicked out of her piano lesson, Kirstin’s compositions have come a long way since that point. She now holds a Bachelor’s in Music Composition from Brown University, with special studies at New England Conservatory, as well as a Ph.D.(c) in Psychology from SDSU/UCSD. Along the way, she studied Classical piano for 13 years, taught herself guitar, and has received several music composition awards. Kirstin first trained as a singer at New England Conservatory in Boston, when she began singing in the jazz band under the tutelage of Dominique Eade. Upon graduation, Kirstin moved to Los Angeles and studied film composition at the University of California Los Angeles, writing compositions for small orchestras, and composing music for three short films, one of which won a Gold Medal in the Houston Film Festival.

Musically, Kirstin has been influences by a number of great artists, including but not limited to PJ Harvey, Tori Amos, The Glitch Mob, Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, Joni Mitchell, Bassnectar, Ella Fitzgerald, Ani Difranco, Beats Antique, Radiohead, Leonard Cohen, Bjork and Aimee Mann. The imagery in her first CD is derived from travels to Cambodia, Thailand, and the deserts of California (Anza Borrego). Support in self-publishing her first CD came from the important contributions of David Peters, Adam Cohen, Aaron Rix, Erin Loomis, and Ryan Grant who helped with recording engineering, production assistance, photography, graphic design, and web design.

Her second CD (in progress!) delves farther into electronic beats, four-part harmonies inspired by string quartets, and sensual melodies, leaving behind romantic disappointment for flirtation, inspiration, and exotic soundscapes. Your comments and purchases of her music provide the inspiration and the funds to help support the mastering and production of the second CD. If you love unusual artists making their own way, offer whatever support you can!