Today we’d like to introduce you to Asher Yelo
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
When my family and I immigrated to California from England, I was almost 6 years old and was homeschooled for 5 years thereafter. Being in a creative family, I found my passion for music pretty early at 11 years old with music production (at the time, on my Mum’s laptop which had GarageBand). It started as a hobby, but as I progressively developed my skills I recognized that I could potentially make a career out of this. And so from 16 years old, when I decided to dedicate my life to music, I’ve been taking all the possible steps I can to cultivate an artist career through internships, building a music business network, sowing into creator relationships, doing collaborative projects, pitching songs for sync licensing, and more.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been smooth in the slightest haha! But I think that in and of itself means I’m on the right track. I’d argue that anyone who manages to attain any sort of success, in whatever capacity, it is predominantly due to the overcoming of obstacles and struggles. My biggest struggle is my perpetual lack of patience, which then leads me right into the hands of disappointment, comparison, doubt, etc. It’s a door I struggle to close often. Somehow, at 22 years old, I’ve allowed myself to believe that I’m “late to the game” because I haven’t had my viral moment yet, I haven’t had crowds by the thousands coming to my shows yet, but it’s quite a silly way to carry myself, especially at these early stages of my career. So as an encouragement to everyone reading this, be patient, kind, and diligent with yourself. I’m learning how to do it as well.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m an all-around musician, so I produce, write, and sing all my own original music as well as work as a collaborator for other people’s projects. For myself, I’d describe my sound as Cinematic Pop/RnB, and then I produce and write mostly in K-pop, Pop, RnB, Ballad, Afrobeat, and Film Scoring genres. I’m a very story-centered creative, so my songs and visuals are always touching on the depths of the human experience, calling people up to be better, vulnerably exploring what it means to be a young person in a turbulent and dangerous culture. My faith plays a huge role in all of this, and I feel a great deal of joy and solace in the fact that what I’m doing is not just for me; it’s my way of serving, my way of (hopefully) bringing value to people’s lives.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Yes indeed. The pandemic exposed a lot of the good and a lot of the ugly in the world. But I became very certain of one thing in particular. We need people. We need each other; we need a cultural shift that is community centered and selfless. And I’m not talking about having another “woke moment” where we make another month dedicated to a minority, or a new hashtag on Twitter… I’m talking about fundamentally rethinking how we raise these next generations to learn how to love, to have character, to have hearts of service. Western culture has cultivated a world of individualism and in turn is creating a fabricated epidemic of isolation; kids are trying to feel loved through their SnapChat score, adults would rather meet someone on an app rather than approaching someone in public because they’re too afraid to be scrutinized for it, families are splitting because some are politically left while others are leaning right… We MUST as a society step back and recognize the implications of how we are conducting ourselves and be humble enough to take accountability in all the capacities in which we contribute to the problem of a fear based society; fear of missing out, fear of rejection, fear of loneliness, etc. Love cancels out all fear, and if we genuinely led with love first, the tangible change that would happen would be incredible. We are born to be in community, live in community, serve in community, and love in community. And I know first hand that it exists and is FULLY possible. I have travelled to and lived in 5 continents, and have seen this exemplified time and time again. In fact, I’m actually writing this while in Guinea, Africa surrounded by beautiful families and kids who are doing life together in full faith that if we do not get to make it tomorrow, we still have each other in this moment. That’s what’s important. And I want to be someone who contributes to that shift through the arts.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://asheryelo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asheryelo
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@asheryelo
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/asheryelo
Image Credits
Kane Borchert, Adam Hart, Nico Marks
