Ash Winston Riser (August 29, 1989 – June 12, 2021),[1] also known by his former stage name Ashtrobot, was an American recording artist and music producer. Born and raised in California, he embarked on his music career when he was 15 years old, forming a rock band called Pistol Pistol (stylized P!stol P!stol). Due to differences between members, the band broke up in 2009 and Riser subsequently began to put his focus on music production, fusing electronic and hip hop music, among other genres. Riser later began working with longtime friend, Derek Ali of Top Dawg Entertainment, who introduced him to West Coast rapper Kendrick Lamar, with whom he began heavily collaborating. Riser would go on to sign a record deal with Israeli music producer Borgore's record label, Buygore and also had a production deal with Chest Rockwell Entertainment. During his life, Riser had played multiple sold-out shows with fellow label-mates and musicians such as ETC! ETC!, Kennedy Jones, Ookay, Protohype and Dirtyphonics. Ashtrobot
Ash Riser | |
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Birth name | Ashleigh Winston Riser |
Also known as | Ashtrobot, Ash Riser |
Born | Redondo Beach, California, United States | August 28, 1989
Origin | Los Angeles, California, United States |
Died | June 12, 2021 Los Angeles, California, United States | (aged 31)
Genres | |
Occupations |
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Instruments |
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Years active | 2004–2021 |
Labels |
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Life and career
editAsh Winston Riser was born on August 29, 1989, in Redondo Beach, California.[2] It was here he first encountered music and founded his rock band, Pistol Pistol (stylized P!stol P!stol), at the young age of 15. The band, which he formed with high-school classmates, initially started out as a cover band, covering songs by Weezer and The Strokes, among other bands.[3] His first serious music project [P!stol P!stol], was a great success with appearances on The Drop on Sí TV and music featured on ESPN. During their time together, P!stol P!stol released an album titled The Cause.[3] However, due to differences between members, the band broke up in 2009.[3] Since the break-up of his band, he decided to spend countless hours in the studio perfecting his style and sound, producing bass music.[3]
While focusing on music production after P!stol P!stol's disbandment, Riser got a phone call from his longtime high-school friend, Derek Ali, better known as MixedByAli, the in-house mixing engineer of West Coast indie record label, Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). Ali asked Riser to come by the studio and record vocals with an artist he was producing for named Kendrick Lamar, a Compton-based rapper. Lamar and Riser had an instant musical synergy, with Lamar finding Riser's voice to be very original and complementary to his own. Lamar appreciated that Riser used his voice as a musical instrument to add more soul to tracks.[4] In 2009, Riser was featured on Lamar's debut extended play (EP), Kendrick Lamar, on a bonus track titled "Determined". Lamar and Riser collaborated again in 2010, for Lamar's Overly Dedicated project, appearing on the song "Barbed Wire". In 2011, Riser was featured on Lamar's Section.80 project, lending his vocals on the tracks, "Keisha's Song" and "Ronald Reagan Era".
In July 2011, Riser released an EP under his label, D.R.E.A.M. Brigade Recordings. The EP, titled 21st Century Electric Church Music, is a collection of songs compiled by different artists and includes Riser's song, "Ghetto Blastuh".[5] Riser then began collaborating with Lamar's Black Hippy cohort and TDE label-mate, Ab-Soul. Riser was featured on "Beautiful Death", from Ab-Soul's 2012 project, Control System. In 2013, Riser signed a recording contract with Israeli music producer Borgore's record label Buygore, as well as his management company, Buygore Management. Around that time, Riser also signed a production deal with Chest Rockwell Entertainment, founded by Greg Ogan and Spencer Neezy. On April 22, 2015, Riser released an EP titled Modern Medicine, which he mixed, mastered, produced and recorded by himself.[6][7][8] In June 2015, when asked if he was still with Buygore, Riser responded with: "not since 2014".[9]
On June 22, 2016, Riser released his third EP that year, titled R.I.S.E., which includes productions from 808 Mafia, Metro Boomin, Sonny Digital, TM88 and Zaytoven.[10]
Death
editRiser was one month away from releasing his second studio album, H.O.P.E., when he unexpectedly died in the early hours of June 12, 2021. His death was a shock across the Los Angeles music scene, and several of his fellow musicians paid tribute to him.[1]
Discography
editStudio albums
editTitle | Album details |
---|---|
Ghosts |
|
H.O.P.E. |
|
EPs
editTitle | Album details |
---|---|
Doc Brown and the Kid[11] |
|
Vs. The World EP Pt. 1[12] |
|
Vs. The World EP Pt. 2[13] |
|
Modern Medicine[14] |
|
Home[15] |
|
Late Praise[16] |
|
R.I.S.E.[10] |
|
On Everything[17] (with Don Alfonso) |
|
Ssssh[18] |
|
Singles
edit- As lead artist
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Ghetto Blastuh" | 2011 | 21st Century Electric Church Music |
"160 Levels"[19] (with Mychael K) |
2012 | non-album single |
"Moon Cry"[20] (featuring Papo and Mike G) |
2017 | Ghosts |
"Impressed"[21] | 2018 | non-album singles |
"Howl"[22] | ||
"20 Something"[23] | ||
"Hallelujah"[24] |
- As featured artist
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Rock Me"[25] (Chris Moody featuring Ashtrobot) |
2012 | The Beginning |
"Get Sore"[26] (Atom Pushers & Choppa Dunks featuring Ash Riser) |
2014 | non-album single |
Guest appearances
editTitle | Year | Other performer(s) | Album |
---|---|---|---|
"Follow Me"[27] | 2009 | Jupiter Rising | The Quiet Hype |
"Determined"[28] | Kendrick Lamar | The Kendrick Lamar EP | |
"Barbed Wire"[29] | 2010 | Overly Dedicated | |
"Ronald Reagan Era"[30] | 2011 | Section.80 | |
"Keisha's Song (Her Pain)"[30] | |||
"Beautiful Death"[31] | 2012 | Ab-Soul, Punch | Control System |
"Erykah's Lament"[32] | Tae Beast, Ben Freedlander | The Tae Beast Tape 2 | |
"Honeymoon"[33] | 2014 | Champagne Drip | Bikini Radio |
"Never Wanna Leave"[34] | Sikdope | — | |
"Wesley's Theory"[35] | 2015 | Kendrick Lamar | To Pimp a Butterfly |
"London to LA"[36] | Swindle | Peace, Love & Music | |
"God Said Trap (King Trappy III)"[37] | Jay IDK | SubTrap | |
"Leave It Behind"[38] | 2016 | Virtual riot, 12th Planet | Chemistry EP |
"Long Way Down"[39] | 2018 | Sahtyre | The Gorgeous Darkness |
Remixes
edit- 2010
- "Glaciers (Ashtrobot remix)" by Her Majesty & the Wolves[40]
- 2011
- "When I Look At You (Ashtrobot remix)" by Emalkay[41]
- "She Will (Ashtrobot remix)" by Lil Wayne[42]
- "Beg for Mercy (Ashtrobot remix)" by Adam Lambert[43]
- "Purple Swag (Ashtrobot remix)" by ASAP Rocky[44]
- 2014
- "Oakland (Ash Riser remix)" by Vell[45]
- "No Type (Ash Riser remix)" by Rae Sremmurd[46]
- 2015
- "Run Ricky Run (Ashtrobot remix)" by Manolo Rose[47]
Awards and nominations
editGrammy Awards
editYear | Nominated work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | To Pimp a Butterfly (as background vocalist) | Best Rap Album | Won |
References
edit- ^ a b "RIP Ash Riser: Death of producer rocks LA music scene". June 13, 2021.
- ^ "ASH RISER". Facebook.com. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ a b c d "TrapStyle's Q&A with Buygore & DREAM Brigade's Ash Riser TrapStyle | More Than Music". Archived from the original on May 20, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
- ^ "Kendrick Lamar "co-signs" Ash Riser". YouTube. October 15, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "21st Century Electric Church Music – EP by Various Artists". Music.apple.com. July 4, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Ash Riser – Modern Medicine (EP) – BLUNTIQ". Archived from the original on April 27, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
- ^ "[Mixtape] Ash Riser- "Modern Medicine" (Prod. Ash Riser) – the Come up Show". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
- ^ "NEW MIXTAPE: Ash Riser – MODERN MEDICINE EP | Mitchell DeGuzman". Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
- ^ https://twitter.com/ASHRISER/status/605462403837362176 [dead link]
- ^ a b "DXclusive: Ash Riser Unveils "R.I.S.E." EP". HipHopDX. June 22, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Doc Brown and the Kid – EP by Ash Riser". Music.apple.com. August 29, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Ash Riser – VS The World EP Pt.1". SoundCloud.com. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Ash Riser – VS The World EP Pt.2". SoundCloud.com. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Ash Riser: Modern Medicine EP". Str8outdaden.com. April 22, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Ash Riser – HOME (EP) | Lunchroomraps". Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
- ^ "Ash Riser Releases "Late Praise" EP". HipHopDX.com. June 20, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "On Everything". Amazon.
- ^ "SSSSH – EP by Ash Riser". April 21, 2021.
- ^ "Get millions of songs. All ad-free". Music.apple.com. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Moon Cry (Feat. Papo & Mike G) – Single by Ash Riser". June 9, 2017.
- ^ "Impressed – Single by Ash Riser". July 27, 2018.
- ^ "Howl – Single by Ash Riser". August 17, 2018.
- ^ "20 Something – Single by Ash Riser". August 29, 2018.
- ^ "Hallelujah – Single by Ash Riser". September 17, 2018.
- ^ "Chris Moody feat. Ashtrobot – Rock Me". Discogs.com. January 24, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Get Sore (feat. Ash Riser) – Single by Atom Pushers & Choppa Dunks". Music.apple.com. March 11, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "The Quiet Hype – Jupiter Rising | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Kendrick Lamar EP Mixtape Hosted by Unknown". LiveMixtapes.com. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Kendrick Lamar – Overly Dedicated – Unknown". Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ a b "Section.80 – Kendrick Lamar | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Control System – Ab-Soul | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ http://taebeastproducer.bandcamp.com/track/-feat-ash-riser-ben-freedlander [permanent dead link]
- ^ http://www.malaysiansafari.com/2014/music/bikini-radio-ep-out-now-free-download/ [dead link]
- ^ "PREMIERE: Sikdope ft. Ash Riser – "Never Wanna Leave (VIP)"". Complex.com. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ Digital Booklet – To Pimp a Butterfly (Media notes). Kendrick Lamar. Top Dawg Entertainment. 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Peace, Love & Music by Swindle". Music.apple.com. September 25, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Jay IDK – Subtrap Mixtape". LiveMixtapes.com. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Get millions of songs. All ad-free". Music.apple.com. May 2, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "The Gorgeous Darkness, by Sahtyre".
- ^ "Glaciers Hmatw Ashtrobot Remix". Wn.com. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "EMALKAY When I look at you ASHTROBOT REMIX". YouTube. January 27, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Lil Wayne ft. Drake- She Will [Ashtrobot Remix]". YouTube. December 2, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Get millions of songs. All ad-free". Music.apple.com. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ http://www.askmeaboutmymusic.com/post/8899008514/purple-swag-ashtrobot-remix-purple-swag-asap [dead link]
- ^ "Vell – OAKLAND Feat. DJ Mustard (Ash Riser Remix)". Runthetrap.com. August 29, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "[Trap] Rae Sremmurd – No Type (Ash Riser Remix)". YouTube. October 22, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "run ricky run ashtrob remix". MediaFire.com. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
External links
edit- Official website
- Ash Riser at AllMusic
- Ashtrobot at AllMusic
- Ash Riser discography at Discogs
- Ashtrobot discography at Discogs
- Ash Riser's channel on YouTube
- Ashtrobot's channel on YouTube
Further reading
edit- Meet Ash Riser. VoyageLA. Retrieved June 29, 2021