Solo rock artist Will Ash revamps his whole style from his previous rock/metal project The Crown Remnant and releases his new cinematic denuded experience "Mea Culpa"
Sometimes as a musician or artist, it's a scary experience to do things that take them out of their comfort zone. It's safer to push down those unique creative energies because we feel it necessary to continue the route we have been going on. After all, it feels less daunting.
“The title ‘Mea Culpa’ is a Latin phrase that is an admittance of guilt, or an acknowledgment of your faults. For me, I’ve felt like I held myself back from becoming the artist I know I can be. I wish I could’ve done what I’m doing now so much earlier but fears and excuses held me back. This upcoming album is the most “me” project I’ve put out because it’s so raw. I’m there every step of the creative process, and ultimately how it sounds is 100% up to me.”-Will Ash
For Will Ash, The Crown Remnant was a melodic metal band project he spearheaded for years, a big-budget production passing through multiple hands to reach completion. This new project would be a different representation of himself. Without all the bells and whistles, it would all be written, produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered himself. Like all artists, he wanted to challenge himself in ways he had not previously, thus, "Mea Culpa" was bought to fruition.
Entirely acoustic-driven with cinematic string soundscapes, Will Ash wants to deliver something atmospherically unlike anything he has done before. While this doesn't quite have the hard rock/metal edge we are used to hearing from the artist, it proves that you can branch out and still have the same unique, captivating, dramatic effect as your previous works. "Mea Culpa" is part of a more significant release due to hit later this year, and if this is just a taste of what's to come, we are in for something auditorially distinctive and exceptional.
Welcome back, Will! I appreciate speaking with you again on my project Into The Void! So can you tell me a bit about this new project you are working on! What makes it different from The Crown Remnant? What inspired the name behind it?
Hey Sammie! I thought it was so cool when you started up ‘Into the Void’, congrats on that.
I’m excited about this brand new project I’ve been working on - a fully independent production, under my artist name ‘Will Ash’. As you already know, for years I’ve been spearheading ‘The Crown Remnant’, my melodic metal band. This new project is almost the dead opposite of that - where TCR is a big-budget studio production, passing through multiple hands to completion, my ‘Will Ash’ music is written, produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered entirely by myself. Stylistically, I wanted to express myself in a different genre to accommodate that, as well as challenge myself musically in new ways. Putting it under my name represents that the best to me - everything you hear and see with ‘Will Ash’ is just that - me.
What are the musical influences behind this solo single, "Mea Culpa?" It has this authentic, denuded vintage sound, which is pretty different and unique from your usual sound but still retains some bits of what we heard on your last project?
Like you’ve noticed, this new project has a vastly different sound than the hard rock/metal that I’m used to releasing. The goal was to challenge myself with a completely different style of music that lent itself more to acoustic guitar and could be performed solo live. My new single “Mea Culpa” exemplifies that with an entirely acoustic-driven sound mixed with cinematic strings and a brand new vocal style for me. I listen to a pretty wide variety of music, so for this project, I pulled some of my inspirations from the acoustic parts of bands like Radiohead, and Muse, artists like my friend Michael Mazochi, and even some folk influence from Gregory Alan Isakov - my girlfriend’s favorite artist.
How is this creative process different from what you are doing with The Crown Remnant? You mentioned that you recorded onto a 1980's Teac A3440 tape machine to reach that vintage quality in your sound. How did that impact the creative process? The sounds are so rich and beautiful on this.
It’s funny because even though the result is so different, the start of the process is identical. I write all the music for both projects obviously, and where some of the tracks are inspired on the piano, from lyrics, or other instruments, a vast majority begin on the guitar. I think this was so comfortable because at the end of the day a good song is a good song, and that doesn’t matter if it's metal or singer/songwriter focused. The coolest part was during mixing where, as you mentioned, I got the opportunity to record these tracks to tape! The Teac A3440 tape machine is a part of my friend's studio and knowing my love for authenticity and vintage depth, I asked him if he could help me record these tracks to tape. I think it made a huge impact on the sound.
Lyrically what is "Mea Culpa" dealing with? What made you want to write this?
“Mea Culpa” is the PERFECT single to release from my much larger upcoming debut record. The title ‘Mea Culpa’ is a Latin phrase that is an admittance of guilt, or an acknowledgment of your faults. For me, I’ve felt like I held myself back from becoming the artist I know I can be. I wish I could’ve done what I’m doing now so much earlier but fears and excuses held me back. This upcoming album is the most “me” project I’ve put out because it’s so raw. I’m there every step of the creative process, and ultimately how it sounds is 100% up to me. What better way to start this part of my musical journey than by acknowledging my mistakes with a ‘mea culpa’, so I can begin again?
Between The Crown Remnant and Will Ash, how have both projects helped you grow as an artist personally over the past few years? What do you want people to take from this?
The Crown Remnant opened my eyes to the depth of the music industry. As a kid, I was always writing songs, trying to play like my favorite bands, and had dreams of making music professionally. When TCR started in 2016, it was the culmination of all of my experience up to that point and was the first project that felt like I had a creative impact. I could explore being a “professional musician”. I wouldn’t be where I am now without the band, and it will always be something I hold dear. This new project is all about growth. I’ve been in the music industry now for over a decade, I’ve written albums, gone on tour, and released music videos. So what now? Well for me, focusing on my identity - who I am as an artist - was the key. Where did I see myself in another decade, how did I want to be known? This new solo project ‘Will Ash’ is my first step in answering those questions. My takeaway so far is that the most important thing in this world and your passions - is to be yourself.
What is next for you this year?
My new single “Mea Culpa” comes out on June 6th, 2022! It may already be out by the time you’re reading this, so if it is, check it out streaming on all platforms and tell me what you think! I filmed a music video for the single that I plan on having come out a week later on June 13th which I think will give people enough time to enjoy the song before checking out the video.
“Mea Culpa” is part of a larger upcoming debut album that I have yet to reveal, but for the first time, I can confirm that it is planned to release later this year. I’ll be working hard in the coming months finishing up the record, creating some surprises for fans, and getting ready for the big reveal! At the same time, if you’re a fan of The Crown Remnant, don’t go anywhere in 2022 - something new is on the horizon.
If you’re interested in keeping up with my projects and releases, you can follow me everywhere @officialwillash on social media, or you can check out https://www.crownremnant.com/willash which updates with all my music and projects! Thanks for having me!.
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