Ayşe Hassan has always been obsessed with sound, with the way songs can unhook different aspects of your psyche.
Working with Mercury nominees Savages, she steps out as a solo artist on new project ESYA.
It's been a potent but low-key beginning, with the distorted analogue electronics of the production blending with some subtle, highly nuanced songwriting elements.
New EP – the second in a triptych – ‘Absurdity of ATCG (II) – Emergent Form’ is out now, and it's a bold entrance point into a fresh creative realm.
Ayşe Hassan unpacked a few of the key elements that forged her approach…
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Arthur Russell – 'Love Is Overtaking Me'
It reminds me of New York, the times I spent there and how I grew as a person; taking ownership of the choices I had made musically and emotionally.
I remember crying on the pier as I realised in that moment of my life, love was not enough; love was overtaking me, but not in the way I had wanted.
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Tom Waits – 'Closing Time'
I can get terribly anxious when travelling by plane, so this record would allow me to close my eyes and soothe my fears, by losing myself in Tom Waits vocals – when I listen to this, everything around me disappears.
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Depeche Mode – 'Playing The Angel'
I first heard this record in its entirety the night before getting a flight to Germany to record bass for a band I loved called Neurotic Mass.
The CD was on repeat – I was sleep deprived and there was a lot of emotions in the room as we waited for dawn and our journey to the bus station to being. I think fondly back to that moment and the repetitious exploration of this record, it reminds me of the steps it took to make that recording happen, I sold lots of belongings to fund my portion of the trip.
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Prince – '1999'
My drummer partner in crime Fay Milton and I would also play this in our dressing room as we were getting ready on one of our American tours.
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Tchaikovsky – 'The Nutcracker'
I think my love for this seeped into my subconscious, as a child as I used to watch film The Nutcracker Prince alongside my mum playing Tchaikovsky’s music around the house, which perhaps was my early introduction to classical music.
I would listen to this and Peter and the Wolf (narrated by David Bowie) over and over, frequently the sounds would fuel my overactive imagination.
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‘Absurdity of ATCG (II) – Emergent Form’ EP is out now.
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