About Charlie ASH
Charlie ASH come from the bottom of the globe (New Zealand to be precise) where Rosie Riggir and Mailee Mathews bonded over a love of indie-pop, lavish costumes and extravagant stage shows. The band has since been busy in the Kiwi music scene and more recently overseas when they headed off in mid-May 2009 for a five-week tour of the UK and Europe, playing to packed-out venues at the Great Escape festival (the SXSW of Europe) in Brighton and even gracing the cover of the festival programme. They also squeezed in Cardiff, Liverpool (at the SoundCity festival), and Berlin gigs as well as a sold-out show supporting Ladyhawke at Koko in London. Playing in Amsterdam alongside fellow Kiwis and Flying Nun legends‚ the Bats was another tour highlight.
Charlie ASH’s European tour follows attention from both local and international sources: homegrown luminaries Dick ‘Magik’ Johnson, Fiord and Module have all recently remixed the band’s tracks while their cover of “I Wanna Sex You Up” (originally by R&B slowjammers Colour Me Badd) was included on the Barcelona-based Buffetlibre DJs’ Rewind 2.0 compilation and played early in 2009 on BBC Radio 1’s Kissy Sell-Out show - receiving a heap of blogger attention in the process.
Other triumphs for the band include New Zealand′s first 3-D video “Ah-hA” and an electrifying performance in the finale slot at the 2008 New Zealand Music Awards surrounded by dancers and acrobats. In past years the band has opened for international acts New Young Pony Club, Chicks On Speed, Juliette Lewis and the Licks, the Slits, and OKGO. They’ve also found time to produce an award-winning musical BOX for the Wellington Fringe Festival and a debut video “O’Baby” that won Best Overall Video at the 2006 Radio Active Handle the Jandal Music Video Awards.
And as for the future, Charlie ASH are finishing off a second EP (they already have one, CAN-CAN, under their gold lame belts) with James Duncan (Dimmer, SJD).
Here’s what some music blogs have been saying about Charlie ASH:
“The New Zealand music scene is thriving and Charlie ASH is exploding out from it.” Trash Menagerie (Chicago, USA)
“Charlie ASH are quite stunning. Following in the amazing footsteps of Ladyhawke‚ Charlie ASH produce absolute turbo pop. Listen to ‘Come Back Lover.’ It’s so much fun‚ real retro synths merged with polarizing guitars and gut-wrenching yet sensitive vocals. These girls/guys absolutely rock.” Don’t Stop the Pop (UK)
“Their new single ‘Come Back Lover’ is a perfect distillation of No Doubt, Blondie and every other female-fronted new wave group you can think of (including a definite Cyndi Lauper influence). They are a group I will be watching closely for the next few months.” 1 Hits From Another Planet (Washington, USA)
“Charlie ASH may not be well-known off their island of New Zealand yet, but they certainly wear enough gold lamé to be the next hipster band of the month on an international level.” Big Stereo (Portland, USA)
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