Ashnikko on working with Ethel Cain on ‘Dying Star’: ” It was quite magical”

nme.com:

Ashnikko has shared what it was like working with Ethel Cain on their track ‘Dying Star’, calling it “quite magical”.The two singers teamed up on the final track featured on Ashnikko’s debut album ‘WEEDKILLER‘.

The song wraps up the entire LP which was based on a short story Ashnikko wrote about about a race of AI robots who destroy a fae forest.Speaking to NME as the latest star of The Cover, they shared the process of creating ‘Dying Star’ saying :“I wrote the first verse of the song in a session, and I didn’t know what to do with it and was sitting on it for a while.”They continued:“Then I played it to Ethel, and ‘Dying Star’ came out.

It was quite magical making that with her, she’s such an incredibly talented musician and songwriter.”Ashnikko also discussed the decision to place the song at the end of their debut LP as a glimmer of optimism within the tumultuous narrative arc of ‘WEEDKILLER’. “My lead character has been beaten and broken down but has also done horrible things and is incredibly violent on this path towards vengeance and vengeance alone,” they said.“As they move through the story, and the record evolves, I wanted to end the record with a dying star and the last line, ‘I want something soft’.

That song is about coming back to a place of hope and realising that all you want is your home back and you want kindness and softness and I think that fighting isn’t worth it.”Elsewhere in the chat, the singer explained their decision to take on the Ashnikko alias.“Having a stage persona that is different from you is protective, because when people attack Ashnikko I try not to take it personally.