Coming from a family with a musical and theatrical background, her father a blues singer and mother a former actor, Ashia knew she was meant to lead a life in an artistic field. She was born in Poland, but her family came to the United States via former West Germany in 1984 due to political and social upheaval. Upon settling in the U.S. a few years later, she began her cello studies at the age of 9. While still in high-school, she started to combine singing and playing the cello and continued this distinct concept well into college at Central Washington University with a Farrell Merit Scholarship recital titled Non-Traditional Cello. While in college Ashia enjoyed the opportunity to perform classical cello in the United States and abroad in Japan and Canada.
At the age of 21, Ashia left school and ran away to play cello and sing with Cirque du Soleil's “O” show in Las Vegas, NV. for a four month time span. She returned a year later after traveling to Europe and continuing her studies to join “O” full-time, where she currently performs today. Outside of working with “O”, Ashia has performed alongside band members of the BlueManGroup and cast members of sister Cirque du Soleil shows, as well as completing a B.A. in music at CWU. Ashia has appeared in national publications such as; Yoga International, InStyle, and the Tacoma News Tribune.
Ashia’s live performances create not only musical interaction but a visual interlude that consists of a duet act with a circus hoop artist named, Fernanda Mas Monteiro. Ashia sings and plays a version of her CD title song “Pay to be Loved” while Montero creates a visual storyline within Ashia’s performance. It is Ashia’s desire to take her experiences with Cirque du Soleil, her love of Cabaret and Burlesque and combine them with her brand of music for a complete experience for her listening audience. In a world filled with audio visual effects, it is Ashia’s hope to create a total experience when coming to her live shows.
Her recent favorite projects have been organizing and performing in Cabaret shows that include dance, burlesque, and physical acting. Ashia is looking forward to pursuing writing additional songs and performing her unique blend of songs on tour when she leaves the “O” show in December, 2007.
Ashia blends sensual and provoking vocals with various colors of the cello ranging from plucked bass lines to sonorous melodic bowed phrases. With her unique ability to play cello and sing simultaneously, she creates songs with elements of improvisational, anti-folk, blues, and classical into her own style of expression, text-coloring, and nuance.
Having had classical training in both cello and voice, Ashia freely expresses her lively and dynamic nature. Her sincerity was felt by Janos Starker, renown cellist and pedagogue, when he told her “you have soul” during his master class.
Pay to be Loved is Ashia’s debut release that infuses elements of jazz, folk, classical and improvisational concepts not only musically but vocally. Classification is not a word used to describe Ashia’s music. Creativity, experimentation, no boundaries and cutting edge talent that can appeal to true music appreciators with an ear towards the clever and original is the demographic of her freshman offering.
Each cut showcases another side of Ashia’s talent, from her sweeping vocal range of clear and crystalline falsetto to her deep hued alto resonance. Ashia is not your typical vocalist she has fashioned witty and inventive lyrics and highlighted them with her capable and versatile abilities, notice the intro to “Fossil,” where Ashia uses her voice as an instrument to initiate the introduction of the song. Or the poignant “Ne Me Quitte Pas,” where Ashia passionately evokes the French language to reach you heart.
Additionally, most cellists pluck strings when singing. Ashia with her impeccable pitch has developed the command to sing while bowing her instrument, a task not easily done and for the vocal expert a skill to be admired. Pay to be Loved is an adventurous and skilled presentation for such a young lioness. Picture, Edith Piaf making chocolate with Tom Waits and you will truly see Ashia!
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