NAYLOR – WHO IS GUITARIST FOR THE CHURCH, THE STEMS, PAUL KELLY & THE ROCKWIZ ORKESTRA AS WELL AS SINGER/SONGWRITER/GUITARIST WITH BELOVED MELBOURNE BAND EVEN, AND CO-CONSPIRATOR IN THE GRAPES, THE RONSON HANGUP & MONTEREY HONEY – FOLLOWS AN ACCLAIMED SOLO GUITAR INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM WITH A TRULY SOLO ’60s/’70s-INSPIRED ALBUM ON WHICH HE PLAYS AND SINGS EVERY NOTE HIMSELF
Melbourne musician Ashley Naylor plays guitar in The Church, The Stems, Paul Kelly, the RocKwiz Orkestra and for a host of other artists. He is the beloved guitarist, songwriter and singer of ’90s Triple J faves Even, leader of instrumental outfit Ashley Naylor Spaceship and co-conspirator in a number of other acts including The Grapes and The Ronson Hangup. Today, in the midst of a huge arena tour with Paul Kelly, he breaks substantial ground in a new phase in his career with the release of his new solo vocal album Alexandria Sunset.
The new solo vocal material follows Naylor’s acclaimed instrumental solo guitar album Soundtracks Vol. 2 and the birth of his new solo band Spaceship and is Naylor’s first vocal solo recording in over a decade. Primarily song focused rather than a vehicle for Naylor’s guitar playing, Alexandria Sunset is the first solo album on which Naylor himself plays and sings every note himself since 2004’s Four Track Mind and it’s a much more evolved record than that was. It digs deep into the classic stylings of the late ’60s and ’70s that Naylor has always loved. As the artist himself says, “I’m an indie artist hung up on classic rock”.
“I’ve been working on three separate albums in recent years,” continues Naylor. “This one finished itself first once I committed to the idea that it would consist of songs I recorded all the parts for on my own. Much of what I do is in a collaborative environment; this album is a deliberate move into a very singular musical world I’ve created. These songs were recorded in spare quiet moments which informed the intimacy of much of the material”
Latest single “As Good As Gold” follows two album previews released last year. “Donovan Dreams”, an ode to the legendary ’60s Scottish psychedelic folkster Donovan (“Mellow Yellow”, “Hurdy Gurdy Man”, “Sunshine Superman” etc.) continued in the heady tradition of Naylor’s sublime work on Even’s massively-acclaimed double album Reverse Light Years, while “A Blue Sky” was more plaintive, highlighting Naylor’s superb 12-string guitar and way with melody. “As Good As Gold” is both trippy and plaintive.
The three songs together reveal just part of what is a varied and rich work from an artist whose abilities continue to grow and whose wide-ranging work with some of today’s finest artists – in addition to his ever-expansive listening habits and his inability to let his guitar leave his hands – continues to enlarge his pallet. Naylor adds, “This album is an unfettered foray into my own rock fantasy, where guitar solos are long, songs take detours, and the audience would just sit and listen to the music. I believe the true essence of this album will reveal itself over time”
While currently on tour with Paul Kelly and with a run with coming up, Naylor will focus on his own music when opportunity arrives. Keep your eyes peeled for dates over coming months.
ASHLEY NAYLOR’s ALEXANDRIA SUNSET IS OUT NOW ON EL RENO MUSIC.
ORDER CD OR DIGITAL RELEASE, OR LIMITED-EDITION BLACK, ‘MELLOW YELLOW’, GOLD, BLUE AND GOLD 180 GRAM VINYL PRESSINGS, HERE
ABOUT ASHLEY NAYLOR
Ashley Naylor is one of Australia’s most in-demand and beloved musicians. Guitarist for The Church, Paul Kelly, The Stems, & the RocKwiz Orkestra, singer/songwriter/guitarist with beloved Melbourne band Even, leader of Ashley Naylor Spaceship, co-conspirator in The Grapes, The Ronson Hangup and Monterey Honey, and a musician who has worked with Vika & Linda, Tim Finn, both Stephen Cummings and The Sports, Fanny Lumsden, the Countdown Spectacular house band, the Allman Betts Family Revival and more. Ashley Naylor is also an acclaimed solo artist who has released solo singer/songwriter and guitar instrumental albums.
From his Beatles-inspired work with Even, through to the Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Hazel and David Axelrod inspired music he has made on solo albums ‘Soundtracks Vol 1’ and ‘Soundtracks Vol 2’ and with his new 4-piece band Ashley Naylor Spaceship, Naylor is a consummate musician and a genuine seeker; someone who is always looking to expand his horizons and improve his abilities.
Naylor’s previous album is ‘Soundtracks Volume 2’ was released late in 2023. It enjoyed a top 5 position on the AIR charts upon release and has had a stellar response in the music press, and it followed Even’s 2021 double magnum opus, ‘Reverse Light Years’ which went Top 20 in the ARIA Album chart on the back of the best press of the band’s career.
PRAISE FOR ASHLEY NAYLOR’S PREVIOUS ALBUM SOUNDTRACKS VOL.2
“After the gobsmacking double album triumph of Even’s Reverse Light Years, leader Ashley Naylor has decided to go… further with an all-instrumental album of cosmic guitar-hero jams. It sounds intimidating, except that Naylor is, alongside Ed Kuepper, the only Australian musician who could conceivably pull such a thing off. ‘Spaceship’ (also the name of his new band) is nearly nine minutes of axe-king bliss. Naylor would tell you with a knowing grin that it’s total self-indulgence, but it’s brilliantly arranged and executed, and a joy to listen to.” – Andrew Stafford, The Guardian
“Naylor can make his instrument sing. His guitar lines are dripping with melody. And he has a wonderful description of instrumental music: ‘It can be background music, or it can be a complete assault on the senses, and I want it to be all of those things.'” – Jeff Jenkins, Rhythms Magazine
“Ashley Naylor’s ‘Les Paul Waltz’… stately, elegant, hypnotic and beautifully performed. Surely Mr. Paul himself would be cranking this one up. For lovers of stunning guitar instrumentals, for lovers of guitar players like Peter Green, Duane Allman and Dickey Betts. For lovers of widescreen, mesmerising musical magic.” – Brian Nankervis
PRAISE FOR ASHLEY NAYLOR & EVEN’S 2021 ARIA TOP 20 DOUBLE ALBUM REVERSE LIGHT YEARS
“The Melbourne band’s eighth album is their best yet – a musical cornucopia of glam stompers, magnificent power pop and epics… This might be the best double album in its field since Paul Kelly’s Gossip. * ” – Andrew Stafford, The Guardian
“If you need any proof of Naylor’s guitar genius, all you have to do is listen to Even’s new album, Reverse Light Years'” – Jeff Jenkins, Rhythms
“If you love the enduring power of guitar-charged rock’n’roll, Reverse Light Years is the kind of record that can restore the soul, feed the mind and heal the heart… Eight albums in and still growing. What a band. Definitive statement? Thus far, anyway.” – Noel Mengel, Loudmouth
“This is music to get lost in…” – Martin Boulton, The Age
“If you like guitar-driven pop-rock in just about any form, you’ll almost certainly find something for you here … You could think of Reverse Light Years as something of a sampling platter, but that doesn’t do justice to how harmoniously these songs live together. ” – Dan Condon, Double J/ABC.net.au
“Reverse Light Years is immense in every sense – 17 tracks that sparkle and shine with varying influences sharing a common thread; an ear for melody and a knowing sense of fun and excess. Guitar-based jangle pop that flexes its muscles and strikes a pose.” – Arun Kendall, Backseat Mafia
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