ASHABANKSISTAKINGITALLWITHHER

With her new EP Bottled Up, Asha Banks turns the emotions she finds hardest to articulate into music. Ahead of her biggest headline tour yet, she discusses the freedom of songwriting, her love of both music and acting and the creative worlds she refuses to choose between. 

 

WORDS Yasmine Medjdoub

 

Some people are simply wired to create. Asha Banks was barely six when she wrote her first song, and she’s since grown into something of a triple threat, moving effortlessly between music, acting and theatre. The London-born musician and actress first found her feet in theatre productions as a child, from playing Young Éponine in Les Miserables and Violet Bearuegarde in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, to starring as Noah in Amazon Prime’s My Fault: London and Your Fault: London Now, following her previous EP How Real Was It?, Banks is back with Bottled Up, turning that instinct for storytelling inward and transforming the feelings she might otherwise keep to herself into music.

 

Spanning across five tracks, Bottled Up sees Banks unpack the emotions she finds hardest to articulate, turning frustration, confusion and heartbreak into something tangible. Its title feels particularly fitting for an artist who admits she is “really terrible with arguing and confrontation in general,” but has found that songwriting gives her a way to let everything out.

 

Yet music is only one part of Banks’ creative world. Having grown up performing, she has never wanted to choose between acting and music. The two offer different forms of escape: after weeks of filming, she finds herself desperate to return to the studio and write, while after spending time making music, she craves the opportunity to step outside of herself and inhabit someone else’s story.

 

After a summer that saw her take to the Lollapalooza stage, Banks is now preparing for her biggest headline run yet with the something inbetween tour. As she steps into this next chapter, she isn’t interested in leaving any part of herself behind. Instead, she is taking it all with her: the music, the acting, the theatre, the memories and even a scrapbook she has started to document it all.

 

Speaking with Imagine, Asha Banks talks Bottled Up, finding closure through songwriting, growing up on stage and taking her music around the world.

 

Yasmine Medjdoub: What did the very first stages of making this project look like?

 

Asha Banks: I started writing this EP about a year ago now, November time last year, and set out just how I’ve written my other projects, to be honest. I just got in writing rooms with lots of people that I love writing with and unpacked my life and what was happening and was like, “Please help me write this song.” But actually, with this project I wrote with a lot of new people, which was really cool. A few of the songs on this project are with people I hadn’t written with before, which was also really lovely, and I think adds a new flavour to the music because I find when I write with new people I have to be so secure in my artistry and what I want to say.

 

YM: Did you have a particular sound or feeling in mind when you first started making the EP, or did that come together as you went?

 

AB: It sort of came together as it went. I think that I wasn’t looking to deviate too far from what I’d made before, but I wanted to evolve as always. I think that I’d played live a lot more, well, for the first time really. Before November last year I played a few shows, and I think that impacted how I was writing and kind of where I was foreseeing the music to end up. So I think that definitely made a difference to some of the songs.

 

YM: I’d love to hear more about what your writing process is like. What usually comes first for you when you’re writing?

 

AB: I really love to be overly prepared for things as much as possible, so I’ll write just like free thoughts in my notepad and just write about anything that I’m feeling at the time. Or I’ll write words and phrases that I think sound cool and that evoke some feeling, whether it’s imagery-related things or just a sentence that makes you feel something. Then, if it’s a new person, I’ll go in with them and basically tell them my life story and everything that’s happening to me. I always feel like it’s just a million times easier to be a completely open book in those situations because otherwise it can be a bit daunting walking into a room. I just have to be like, “So this is what’s happening,” and say everything. Then people usually, with this project especially, would pick out something from what I was saying when I was talking about how I was feeling or a situation that happened and sort of pluck things from that.

 

YM: The EP is called Bottled Up, which is something I think everyone can relate to in some way. What was the hardest emotion or feeling for you to finally let out through these songs?

 

AB: I’m not a confrontational person at all. I’m really terrible with arguing and confrontation in general but I think that music sort of gives me a bit of a free pass with that because I’m able to let all of my emotions out through something else and ultimately avoid the confrontation. So I think that this project especially, I feel like there’s some more frustration and maybe anger that I usually wouldn’t let out, that I would definitely always usually keep bottled in. So that was very cathartic.

 

“I probably feel things quite physically… Physically, I feel sick and I feel like I’ve been kicked in the stomach, and I think that it just adds a layer of intensity to music that you can’t sometimes describe otherwise.”

 

YM: What do you think you’ve learned about yourself through making this project?

 

AB: As I write more and more, I learn more and more about myself. I suppose it’s like I have to sit and think about how I’m feeling and kind of divulge that in a way that I probably wouldn’t usually. So I’ve learned a lot. I think this project and the title Bottled Up and a lot of the themes kind of circle around those kinds of feelings that I have and how I’m kind of bad at always letting things out and talking about things. I feel like in this project I take a bit of the blame, which is always a nice thing to realise, I suppose. Writing allows me to learn more about myself for sure.

 

YM: Do you think songwriting can give you closure that you don’t necessarily get in real life?

 

AB: I think so, yeah. It definitely does because you have to kind of go into every detail of a situation and unpick and figure out my perspective, somebody else’s perspective. But I’ve also found that sometimes it kind of does the opposite because I have to keep on thinking about it for ages and ages and write music about it, then it can kind of continue on. But I think that once I get to that stage especially, like with this project, of feeling like I’d written so much and was kind of almost too much about this kind of situation, I then found more interesting ways of thinking about it and that’s when my perspective kind of shifted and probably ended up in better songs.

 

YM: What I really love about your writing is the way you turn quite complicated emotions into these really physical images. Specifically in Anything But  you have lines like “a gut punch setting me sober”, “kick me right in the teeth” and “cut me open”, while the two people themselves can’t seem to say what they actually mean.  What do you think this imagery brings to the song that simply describing the emotion wouldn’t?

 

AB: I think for me, I probably feel things quite physically. Whenever I write, I tend to go very physical and sometimes have these dark imagery things running through. I think that’s because that’s what it feels like for people when you’re experiencing something that’s kind of sad or confusing or frustrating. Physically, I feel sick and I feel like I’ve been kicked in the stomach, and I think that it just adds a layer of intensity to music that you can’t sometimes describe otherwise. What I love is that it adds this sort of eerie, dark undertone to the story which I think really gets across the kind of severity and catastrophising nature.

 

YM: You wrote your first song when you were six. When you look back at that little girl writing songs, what do you think she would make of the music you’re creating now?

 

AB: I mean, it’s crazy. I think that when you’re a kid and you just do what you love, the sky’s the limit as a child. I probably would have said, “Yeah, I’m gonna be an actor and a singer.” But whether I actually could actually foresee it happening, I have no idea. I mean it’s everything that I’ve ever dreamed of. So yeah, I think she’d be very happy and thrilled and want to hear all the music.

YM: Who were your biggest musical influences growing up?

 

AB: Growing up I listened to a lot of what my parents were playing, I suppose. My mum loved Joni Mitchell and Norah Jones and Dido, who I feel like are a lot of these female voices that, looking back, sort of have the ability to kind of stop time a bit. When people listen to their music, it feels very captivating, which I think I’ve always loved, but it’s also really kind of soothing no matter the subject matter, you’re taking on an emotional journey, I think, with all of those people. So yeah, a lot of women with guitars.

 

YM: What did you take from those artists that you think has stayed with you as a songwriter?

 

AB: I think that’s why I’ve made the music I do, because I grew up with it and I love it. It just sort of seeps into my bones. I think that kind of ability to captivate and stop time a little bit is something that I always want to replicate.

 

YM: You also started performing in theatre from such a young age, including productions like Les Misérables and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. What do you think being on stage so early in your life taught you about performing that you still carry with you now?

 

AB: I was so lucky in that I did my first theatre show when I was so young, so I really learnt how to perform through doing it and being on stage with the most talented theatre performers ever. I think that probably taught me so much, being surrounded by such talented people and people that cared so much and were so dedicated. I think that sort of dedication is something that theatre performers just have an abundance [of]. They’re all so motivated and driven which I think is so important in this kind of industry. But no, I learned absolutely everything. I learned how to kind of exist.

 

YM: What’s one theatre production that you’d love to be a part of?

 

AB: Oh my goodness, I was lucky enough to be a part of a production of this anyway but yeah, [Spring Awakening is] my all-time favourite in the whole world, I even think that Spring Awakening has influenced my music as an artist. It’s so beautiful and I would always jump at an opportunity to be anything to do with that musical. I also love Hadestown and I love Next to Normal. I love so many of those sorts of musicals that I feel like kind of bridge the gap between musical theatre and kind of this folky pop kind of universe.

 

YM: Obviously, music isn’t the only thing you’re known for, with acting being such a big part of your career too. With music, you’re telling stories through your own experiences, whereas acting lets you step into someone else’s. What do you love about having that different form of expression with acting?

 

AB: I just love them both so much and can’t imagine just doing one of them. I love being able to have time off from each of them, which then makes me become more and more obsessed with it and just want to do it even more. I feel like when I’m filming for many weeks and then by the time I finish filming, I’m desperate to go and get in the studio and write and return to myself. Then once I’ve done a load of writing, I can’t wait to go and do something that isn’t so kind of to do with myself and like out of my brain a little bit. I think that being able to do them both hopefully means that my battery of each recharges as I go.

 

YM: Earlier this year you performed at Lollapalooza. What was that experience like?

 

AB: Crazy. It was my third festival that I’ve ever done. I did two last year which were amazing and just as surreal. Being in America and my first time being on a main stage, it was crazy. I feel very lucky to have the most amazing touring team around me and I love my band so much and all the people that do all that with me.

 

“For this tour, we’re literally, god we’re in, I can’t even say van, we’re in a big car and there’s 12 of us driving from each state to the next… There’s some show days where we’re driving like nine hours in the morning and then we’ll get there. But it’s chaos, it’s amazing chaos.”

 

YM: You’ve played in front of huge crowds like BST Hyde Park and Lollapalooza, but I think there’s something really special about smaller headline shows too. What do you love about those more intimate rooms with your fans?

 

AB: I just love them so much. It’s like I love being able to see everybody’s faces and connect with people, and those rooms just feel like such a shared experience and like a safe place for everybody to just feel freely, which I love. It’s just so much fun. I love the community and I love seeing people make friends and hold each other and cry and scream.

 

YM: You’re about to go on your biggest headline tour yet. What are you most excited about?

 

AB: Oh my god, literally everything. I can’t wait. I did some shows in North America last year and then in Europe earlier this year, so I just can’t wait to do it again. I think it’s something that I’m still kind of pinching myself about, is that I just get to do it again. It’s so mental to think about, like, as an artist hopefully, touch wood, I’ll be able to tour forever and just be like, I’ve done this one. Like I said, I love my band and my team and just spending loads of time with them and being able to play these shows and share these experiences with them. It’s so special and then seeing everybody and meeting people and playing my new music is so exciting and being in a van driving across America will be what it will be.

 

YM: For your previous tour you made tour diaries, and they gave fans a glimpse of everything that happens around the show. Is that something you plan on doing for this tour?

 

AB: Oh absolutely! I’ll be doing tour diaries as long as possible.

 

YM: And what’s one thing that would surprise people about tour life?

 

AB: I don’t know if it would surprise people, but it’s not very glamorous. For this tour, we’re literally, god we’re in, I can’t even say van, we’re in a big car and there’s 12 of us driving from each state to the next. We’ll be sleeping in hotels but it’s a lot of driving. There’s some show days where we’re driving like nine hours in the morning and then we’ll get there. But it’s chaos, it’s amazing chaos. It’s like the type of thing I’ve been told, like, a lot of my band and team have done this a million times before. I’ve been told that in the moment it will probably feel chaotic and I’ll be exhausted, but looking back on it I’ll be like, that’s amazing, the best thing ever.

YM: I came across your Tour Quick Fire Questions video on your youtube channel, so I wanted to ask you a few tour quick-fire questions of my own. So firstly, what’s your most controversial tour hot take?

 

AB: Okay, I have the biggest FOMO in the world. My tour hot take is that I just never want to be alone. Give me no alone time. I don’t really care about taking five and recouping. I would be sleeping on the van if I had my way. I love that whole kind of camping energy about touring. So I would just sort of say we all have to be together at all times, and we’ve made it compulsory that we have to do activities all the time together. So we’ll do bowling and escape rooms.

 

YM: What’s one thing you absolutely cannot go on tour without?

 

AB: My inhaler and my eye mask. I am just a child and I do take a cuddly toy wherever I go.

 

YM: What’s your tour bus red flag?

 

AB: Oh, right now I’m in the midst of forcing my band to bring pillows because I’m like, it’s going to be better for you if you bring a pillow on the tour bus so that you can be comfortable and sleep, and it’s going to wind up everyone else’s problem if you don’t bring one.

 

YM: True because you don’t want a stiff back when you’re performing either.

 

AB: Exactly, I’m like if we all bring pillows then we’re basically making a den and I’ll provide some blankets.

 

“My tour hot take is that I just never want to be alone. Give me no alone time. I don’t really care about taking five and recouping. I would be sleeping on the van if I had my way. I love that whole kind of camping energy about touring.”

 

YM: If your tour was a film, what genre would it be?

 

AB: Oh my god, dark comedy. It would be just absolute chaos. I think it would be that, my team are absolutely hilarious but boy is it chaotic. A comedy with some dark elements and edge of seat moments.

 

YM: What’s your dream city that you haven’t performed in yet?

 

AB: I’d love to go to Australia and some of the cities there, like Sydney and Melbourne. I think that would be amazing and just completely different from anything I’ve ever done.

 

YM: As you step into this next chapter with Bottled Up, what’s something you want to leave behind, and what are you taking with you?

 

AB: I don’t know that I’d want to leave anything behind. I’d like to bring it all with me. It all adds to the fun. I like to feel like I’m just evolving, and if that means bringing everything with me and adding some, then let’s do that. And something that I’m bringing with me, I mean, this is very literal, but I started scrapbooking. I decided I want to be that person. The plan is to have a big scrapbook for the tour, the EP and put in all the pictures and notes and memories and scraps. So I’m trying to do that and get better and document it as I go. So Asha’s scrapbook commences.