Rising Artist Asha Gold On Her Journey From Classical Musician to R&B Songstress

Not many music artists go from practising classical music at school to filming a content series with PizzaExpress, but Asha Gold is someone who did just that. From studying instruments like piano and percussion in her school days, Gold developed a curiosity for singing and songwriting, which led to working on her debut album. The singer recently partnered with PizzaExpress and music therapy charity Nordoff Robins for their Behind the Base series, which sees rising artists open up about the impact of music on their lives. We caught up with Gold to find out more about her journey into the industry and her plans for the future.

POPSUGAR: Tell us a bit about how you got started in music.
Asha Gold: I actually came from a classical background in terms of my music. My main instruments were piano, percussion, and singing, but more so musical theatre as opposed to anything pop or R&B or contemporary. I spent all my time in school really playing in swing bands and orchestras, and then, I left school, and I realised that, actually, I'd never really explored the songwriting/storytelling part of music.

I started playing around with writing, and I really enjoyed it, but obviously, having not grown up trying to do that, I had no connections in the industry. It was a lot of emailing and cold-calling anybody that seemed relevant to what I was trying to do. Going for coffees and meeting up with my brother's girlfriend's cousin's boyfriend — anything like that, which I'm sure is the same for a lot of people.

PS: How did you get into classical music?
AG: It was my mum who really pushed me to start an instrument when I was quite young, I think because it teaches you a lot discipline and independence, and you have to really persevere when you're trying to nail a piece. I found piano quite lonely, because you're usually just practicing for exam, doing the exam, and repeating, and that's why I started drumming and doing percussion, because then I could play with other people. I really just fell in love with live music and live performance. Even though it's nothing like the live stuff that I do now, it's the exact same feeling [that you get] after a concert or after you've finished a symphony — there's a real postperformance buzz. Actually, I've recently rejoined an orchestra, because I was really missing it!

PS: That sounds pretty impressive! How would you describe the music that you create now?
AG: I would describe it as colourful R&B with pop influence. I think a lot of the melody and vocal is quite pop, but I also love a bit of left-field production and wacky R&B.

PS: Along with music, you've also been working with PizzaExpress on its new Behind the Base series. What can you tell us about it?
AG: We recorded an episode of Behind the Base for Veganuary, and we made one of their vegan pepperoni pizzas. It's an amazing series because it highlights a mix of up-and-coming and already established artists. I've been watching the episodes, and it's so nice to get to know the artists in an informal environment. The series is in partnership with Nordoff Robbins, which is an incredible music therapy charity, and each episode takes place in the live Pizza Express space.

PS: Speaking of music therapy, how important has music been for your mental health in the past 12 months?
AG: It's a bit of a paradox because, on the one hand, the process of becoming an artist and trying to grow I found has taken a toll on my mental health. It's been taxing because of all the lockdowns and this massive emphasis on social media and TikTok and the constant, rapid creation of content.

I think trying to become a musician is tough, but at the same time, the reward is what keeps you going and what balances it out. Things like listening to a demo that I've created or having a brilliant session with a producer — they can be so cathartic and such a release, and they give you that confidence boost, like, "Yeah, I can write these songs." It's been massively important for my mental health to keep something creative going in and amongst all of the endless strategy and social content. The job description of a musician is completely different now.

Sometimes I wish I was born 20 years ago, and I was in the Adele era of walking into a bar and finding the next biggest thing, and then that being it. I'm not antisocial, but I think it's just about finding a way to make it work for you and doing something that's not going to suck the life out of you while you're doing it. It's about being authentic on those platforms as well.

PS: It really is. In the episode, you talked a bit about representing your Indian culture in the music industry. What's that been like?
AG: It's quite rare, and it's just an underrepresented community and aspect of the industry, so it feels great to be a part of it. I feel like there is a real community of people that want to support upcoming people with South Asian heritage, so that's been amazing. I've had people like Joy Crookes to look up to, and she's an example of somebody that I literally saw on Instagram when I was starting out and I was trying to figure out how to do it.

It's so nice to be able see the trajectory of someone like that, who's done it really authentically and not blown up overnight over TikTok, they've just really grafted. That's a big inspiration. For me, however I express my heritage, it's just important, regardless of that, to be in the space, to just exist and to be pursuing a career and in a genre that is lacking in people with South Asian heritage. I'm never going to try and be more marketable or be less authentic, because for me, it's about just existing, and being a woman of colour is enough at the moment.

PS: Definitely. What else are you working on at the moment? What are the goals?
AG: I'm working on a new project and finishing up songs. I really want it to be a very cohesive and varied project, to show off different sides of my songwriting and what I've been honing over the past two years. Lots of live shows, just because live is back and that is why we all do what we do. I'm looking forward to trying out the songs and getting some real-time feedback and real-time engagement.