Leah Thomas (LT): What are some of your favorite or earliest memories associated with being connected to nature?
Ashnikko (A): i grew up in the countryside of north carolina, so my whole childhood was spent predominantly outdoors; having mud fights in the creek outside my house, making willow crowns and moss fairy houses, climbing oak trees so high that my mom would beg for us to come down, laying in the grass for hours watching ladybugs crawl over the leaves. i still get a warm fuzzy feeling just thinking about it.
LT: You stated that Weedkiller is “A great ecological metaphor for environmental destruction.” What was your process of translating your grief about the state of the planet into your music like? Why do you want to communicate this message to your audience?
A: as I’ve gotten older and deepened my sense of selfhood, it has renewed my love of the natural world. i feel like a kid again, marveling at the patterns in nature, climbing trees. I’ve been thinking about my place on this earth, in my ecosystem, and really trying to be aware of my impact; what I’m leaving behind in an artistic sense and also in a very literal sense. I’m trying to be more mindful of what I’m giving back, what I’m taking, what I’m consuming, how i’m running my business. i’m not perfect, but i’m trying to make changes. i’ve been grieving over the irreparable damage that we’re doing to the earth, how disconnected we as humans have become to our home. we are not observers of nature, we are not consumers of it; we ARE nature. how have we forgotten that?
LT: What role do you think art plays in spreading messages of change?
A: art is like magic. music is ancient ritual magic. you know that sublime feeling of being at a concert and everyone is singing the same song? everybody’s heartbeat syncs up and there is community and connection and empathy between humans. i love it. music is the best medium for telling stories and spreading messages, in my opinion. i think people accept the hardest, most heartbreaking truths through music.
LT: What’s your dream lineup if you could host an earth day festival?
A: my dream earth day festival lineup would be björk, khruangbin, and joe hisaishi who composed a lot of the studio ghibli film soundtracks. I want joe hisaishi to come play the howls moving castle, spirited away, and ponyo soundtracks with an orchestra while everyone lies in a field of wildflowers. that would be gorgeous.
LT: Coachella is making strides to make the festival more sustainable, any thoughts on how you’d like festivals and shows to be more eco-friendly or any thoughts on why gathering people together in a space like Coachella is meaningful and can be a vehicle for positive change?
A: Its so difficult to make touring sustainable, due to it being so expensive, but i’m trying my best with the resources i have; no single use plastics, limited rider to avoid waste, etc. There are so many things that I can be doing that I would like to implement this upcoming world tour! if anyone has more ideas, i would love to hear them! In regards to festivals, i can imagine creating a sustainable space for that volume of people would be quite the task. I’ve always thought it would be a great idea to seal seeds in the paper of biodegradable cups, so that when people inevitably litter them across a festival ground, they are planting flowers for the bees!
