| Ashbury Heights | |
|---|---|
Kari Berg & Anders Hagström in 2010. |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Sundsvall & Borgvattnet, Sweden |
| Genres | Synthpop Electronic |
| Years active | 2005–2010 |
| Labels | Out of Line |
| Associated acts | Kari Berg, Chaos All Stars |
| Website | Official site |
| Members | |
| Anders Hagström (2005-) Kari Berg(2008-) Johan Andersson (2008-) |
|
| Past members | |
| Yasmine Uhlin (2005-2008) | |
Ashbury Heights were an electronic music band formed in 2005 in Sundsvall, Medelpad, Sweden. The group's original membership consisted of Anders Hagström (male vocals, songwriter, music, and programming) and Yasmine Uhlin (vocals). Yasmine left the band after the release of their EP, "Morning Star In A Black Car", and was replaced by Kari Berg (female vocals) as lead female vocalist at the end of 2008.
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Ashbury Heights was created when Anders Hagström asked his former girlfriend, Yasmine, if she wanted to sing on his demos. The newly formed band was signed by record label Out of Line soon after, and from then they attained wider recognition.
Yasmine announced her departure from the band in November 2008 in Hamburg at the last concert of the Out Of line festival tour. On her blog, she wrote:
Why I am doing this is not because of lack of energy or love for the band. There are no grudges to be held and the air within Ashbury Heights is free from any pollution. You see, this is something I have to do. I need to let go in order to build something of my own. I've been fighting myself in this matter for a long time but I can't change what I truly feel.—[1]
Anders sought a new singer and found the Swedish-Norwegian model / singer / actress Kari Berg. Previous to joining Ashbury Heights, she focused mostly on singing opera, though she preferred to listen 80’s Goth.
In November 2008 it was announced that Kari Berg was the new female vocalist in Ashbury Heights.
Anders had previously met Kari was when Anders and Yasmine were being photographed for the EP 'Morningstar in a Black Car'. Kari, who had worked with the photographer before, was assisting with that day's shoot.
Later, when Anders needed a new singer, he found Kari on Myspace and asked her if she would be interested to be Ashbury Heights' new female vocalist. She answered yes, and moved directly to Gothenburg to begin recording.[2]
Kari already had a career as a fashion and alternative model.[3]
The band met with positive critical reception, overcoming doubts about Kari's voice, at their first performance with their new lead female vocalist at Gothic Festival in Waregem, Belgium 24/7 in 2009.[4]
Ashbury Heights gained further acclaim at M'era Luna, Germany's biggest alternative festival, where a sound check in front of the audience turned into an impromptu a capella performance.
The magazine "Reflections of Darkness" said in their review[5] of the show:
ASHBURY HEIGHTS entered the stage already before the show was to start and did a sound check by themselves which already was met with applause by the crowd - particularly an a capella duet by both singers. I didn't know ASHBURY HEIGHTS before and I was positively surprised by them. The danceable harmonic sound pleased my ears and the beautiful female singer pleased my eyes. Both singers sang together or in turns and their voices harmonized very well. It seemed that the band had a lot of fun during their performance and the meanwhile well-grown crowd enjoyed the show too.
The record Take Cair Paramour is the first record with Kari Berg as the lead female vocalist.
The following album had been delayed for various reasons, including the bankruptcy of their distributors. Kari wrote in the shoutbox on their page on LastFM that[6]
In February next year we will release the album and we will release a single this year.
The album was finally released on July 2, 2010 with the following tracks:
A limited edition of the album was also released, including a bonus CD with remixes, demos, and exclusive tracks.
In October 2010, Anders Hagström announced via Facebook[7] that he was disbanding Ashbury Heights due to ongoing disputes with his record label, Out of Line.[8] Speaking about the label, Hagström wrote in his statement: "I feel that after five years with them without any real progress it wouldn't be fair to ourselves or to the fans to allow them to continue their mismanagement of our music." Hagstrom also indicated that he is currently in a contract with Out of Line that entitles them to ownership of any music he subsequently releases. The label has not issued any statements about the disagreement. It is currently unknown whether Hagström will release any additional Ashbury Heights albums.
Hagström and Uhlin reunited in December 2010 to perform a reunion show at electriXmas, an annual alternative electronic music concert held in Malmö, Sweden.[9]
In September 2011 they stated that the band was back on their twitter page after a settlement was reached in court.