This is how post-internet fairytales go. Soon after Ashley Morgan – homegrown talent from Belgium – uploaded his music onto SoundCloud, the world sat up and took notice. Opportunities came flooding in and he decided to ride them all. He gave himself a new name (LTGL), released some of his tracks on the highly respected Brownswood label, opened for Gaslamp Killer, got props from the likes of Lefto & Flume and hopped onto the festival circuit. Oh, and you also might have seen him DJ’ing for DVTCH Norris. Things took off fast. Maybe a little too fast. So Ashley slowed it down, took stock and thought hard about what kind of music he really wanted to make. The kind of music he would be proud to put his own name to. Fast forward two years later and Ashley Morgan is ready for the limelight with a new, very personal, completely unique EP called LETGOLETGOLETGO. (You can listen to it HERE.)
(Picture up top by Yaqine Hamzaoui)
Let’s not pigeonhole the quirky, soulful sound, but fans of King Krule, Chance the Rapper and Jai Paul should save him a spot on their playlist. Are we getting some of these references right, Ashley?
ASHLEY MORGAN: Comparing myself to others is a good way for me to get depressed, so I try not to. But I don’t mind other people doing it, it’s human nature I guess. I just don’t like when people make it seem like there are artists that have a monopoly on a certain sound and you’re just a second-hand version of that.
KNOTORYUS: Fair point. So … not to compare, but can you tell us some of your influences for this EP?
ASHLEY MORGAN: One of my biggest musical influences is CHON. I still remember hearing one of their first demos back in 2010-ish and my musical brain was never the same again.
KNOTORYUS: Just last weekend, your new EP finally dropped. It’s out there. But who gets to listen to new Ashley Morgan music before anyone else?
ASHLEY MORGAN: I don’t really like showing my unreleased music to people. I prefer for my babies to stay in the womb until they’re ready to be out in the world. Pippin and Susobrino are the main exceptions, though. They can see my unborn babies.
KNOTORYUS: How do you work on stuff, write your lyrics? Do you carry a notebook? Make notes in your phone?
ASHLEY MORGAN: Usually on my laptop while I’m working on the beat. Lately I’ve been trying to write more, just to practice the skill of getting my thoughts out on paper. It’s still new to me. I like writing on the train.
KNOTORYUS: Do you work on a track from beginning to end and then move on to the next one?
ASHLEY MORGAN: It’s hard for me to re-open projects. If I’m lucky I get far enough on the first draft to where the idea is strong enough or it’s almost finished. Most of the time I make a draft, abandon it and never finish it. It’s a bad habit.
KNOTORYUS: When is a song finished for you?
ASHLEY MORGAN: It’s a vague feeling of satisfaction or something.
KNOTORYUS: When I listened to your song ‘Interlude’, the lyrics struck me as thoughtful and introspective. Would you say you’re an introspective person?
ASHLEY MORGAN: Yeah pretty much, I’m always trying to analyse and understand myself better.
KNOTORYUS: Thom Yorke recently said he mainly started DJ’ing as a way to be in a room with people without speaking. A lot of musicians seem to perform as a way to speak without actually talking. Can you relate to that?
ASHLEY MORGAN: Yeah, I can relate 1,000% with that. I like people, but it’s rare for me to fully enjoy being social because there’s always this expectation to talk. I’m not the best at that. I’m actually obsessed with this idea of speaking without talking, funny enough it’s one of those subjects I can talk about for hours because I find it so fascinating! (laughs) I love dancing because of this too, you don’t have to talk but you can still connect and be amongst people.
KNOTORYUS: Is the ‘LETGOLETGOLETGO’ title a mantra for yourself? Or is it something you’re telling the listeners?
ASHLEY MORGAN: More so for myself. I won’t bother to explain the details but it’s sort of like an amalgam of LTGL, let go and ego, and how I relate to those words.
KNOTORYUS: OK, let’s finish with some fast ones. You get to share the stage with 3 artists, dead or alive. Which ones and why?
ASHLEY MORGAN: Tyler, the Creator - Because I’m going to ask him to hit the studio right after. JPEGMAFIA – Same. I’d love to travel waaaayyy back in time and watch how ancient tribes got down all night.
KNOTORYUS: Say something nice about DVTCH Norris.
ASHLEY MORGAN: He’s super passionate about his craft, I love to see passion in people.
KNOTORYUS: Say something nasty about DVTCH Norris.
ASHLEY MORGAN: He’s so passionate, he humps the monitors on stage.
KNOTORYUS: Say something nice about yourself right now.
ASHLEY MORGAN: I definitely feel like I’m going in the right direction.
KNOTORYUS: Say something nice about your future self.
ASHLEY MORGAN: He’s fully self-actualised, healed, successful, rich and free.
KNOTORYUS: What is your favourite skate video of all time and why?
ASHLEY MORGAN: I haven’t been skating for a long time so I pretty much forgot them all, but I do remember watching “Yeah Right” by Girl Skateboards and being so entertained by the invisible skateboard part. I was always rewinding the slowmotion intro so I could analyse the tricks I was trying to learn at the time.
Yeah Right!
KNOTORYUS: Show us a YouTube video we just have to see.
ASHLEY MORGAN: I’ve always had this fascination with the unseen, the mysteries of reality. Since I grew up with a super literal, exoteric, dead and disempowering version of Christianity, whenever I come across someone explaining the esoteric meaning of the bible, I'm instantly hooked. This video of Bill Donahue gives a pretty clear logical understanding without being too new agey or “out there”.
Bill Donahue
Also: anything by this guy called Doelow Da Pilotman. He’s probably the most interesting person I know of. If you enjoy getting deep into spirituality, mysticism, esoteric metaphysical stuff you’ll love him. If you’re not into that you’ll probably think he’s psychotic and speaking delusional gibberish but that’s the beauty of it. I sampled one of his videos on the interlude.
Doelow Da Pilotman
KNOTORYUS: What are your hopes for this debut EP? What can we wish for Ashley Morgan?
ASHLEY MORGAN: Man, for this EP I just hope to get my name out there. I feel like I have a lot of love to give, but I haven’t really established a way for me to share it with the world. So I hope this is it, or part of it.
KNOTORYUS: That’s actually really beautiful. Thanks, Ashley!
Listen to LETGOLETGOLETGO now.
