Ashley Naylor, guitarist for Paul Kelly, The Church, the RocKwiz Orchestra and a host of others, and guitarist, songwriter and singer of beloved Melbourne band Even, is breaking out on his own in late 2023 as he enters a new phase focused on instrumental guitar music.
Taking inspiration from the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Dicky Betts, Peter Frampton, Eddie Hazel, David Axelrod and more recent artists like AIR and Spiritualized, Naylor’s new music, which is performed live by his new 4-piece band Spaceship, is featured on his forthcoming instrumental solo album Soundtracks Volume 2, out October 20 on El Reno Music.
Soundtracks Volume 2. will be available for pre-order on the El Reno Music Bandcamp site on October 6 (which, by the way, is a Bandcamp Friday). Fans are encouraged to follow El Reno on Bandcamp to receive a notification when the pre-order goes live.
An album launch will be held on November 17 at Brunswick Ballroom
Ahead of the album release Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips had the honour of sitting down with Ashley Naylor in his studio space to discuss his career, gear, the new ‘Soundtracks Volume 2’ album and The Ronson Hangup album ‘Centaurus’, as our Musician of the Month for October. Watch it below. Photos by Jason Rosewarne
MORE ABOUT ASHLEY NAYLOR AND SOUNDTRACKS VOLUME 2
Soundtracks Volume 2, which has been preceded by the 8-minute single “Spaceship”, will be Naylor’s second volume of instrumental guitar music and will be his first solo release since Even’s acclaimed 2021 ARIA Top 20 Double album Reverse Light Years. It won’t be the first new release of 2023 to feature Naylor’s remarkable playing though; most notably he appears throughout The Church’s latest album The Hypnogogue, which was his first album with the iconic group he joined in 2020. Naylor also played on Paul Kelly’s recently released cover of the Sunnyboys’ classic “Alone with You”, and also appears on the new ARIA Top 10 album Hey Dawn by up & coming Australian alt-country superstar Fanny Lumsden. In 2021 he featured on Vika & Linda’s #2 ARIA charting album The Wait, and Paul Kelly’s #1 ARIA charting Christmas Train, and toured with both PK and the sisters nationally. He has also helped ready for release a new album – also coming this November – by The Ronson Hangup, another long-term project which he fronts alongside former Anyones singer and songwriter Steve Pinkerton.
Naylor has had a frantically busy year, involving a lot of touring with both Paul Kelly and The Church, including a 21 city, six week Church US tour – and he’s currently back there on a second US tour with The Church- but as the release of Soundtracks Volume 2 approaches, he has his sights set on space – inner and outer, wherever his playing will take him – and is getting his instrumental guitar head on. Stay tuned.
ASHLEY NAYLOR’S SOUNDTRACKS VOLUME 2 IS OUT OCTOBER 20 ON EL RENO MUSIC
Soundtracks Volume 2 will be available for pre-order on the El Reno Music Bandcamp site on October 6
Ashley Naylor – Official | Facebook
elrenomusic.bandcamp.com
The Church https://www.thechurchband.net/
Even https://even.com.au/
MORE ABOUT THE RONSON HANGUP
Melbourne psych-pop supergroup THE RONSON HANGUP – featuring members of The Anyones & Dallas Crane, The Church, Paul Kelly’s band & Even, Courtney Barnett’s band and more – have announced a November 3 release date for their long-awaited second album CENTAURUS, and released the album’s first single and video, the gorgeous “WAXES & WANES”. The single is available now, and the album available to pre-order, from the group’s Bandcamp page.
CENTAURAS will be launched Saturday December 2 at the group’s favourite haunting ground, The Workers Club in Fitzroy, with tickets on sale now.
The Ronson Hangup formed around the partnership of STEVE PINKERTON, former frontman of The Anyones (aka The Everyones in the US) and current longtime drummer for Dallas Crane, and ASHLEY NAYLOR, much-loved Melbourne guitarist who recently joined The Church (he plays on their new album The Hypnogogue), is a longtime member of both Paul Kelly’s band and The Rockwiz Orchestra, and who has fronted popular Melbourne trio Even since the early ’90s.
Joining Steve and Ashley in the group are drummer DAVE MUDIE (best known as Courtney Barnett’s long-term drummer), bass player LUKE THOMAS (who was played with The Pictures and The Saints) and vocalist ERICA MENTING who has worked with The Golden Rail and others.
www.ronsonhangup.com
www.facebook.com/TheRonsonHangup/
