Originally, the duo consisted of Anders Hagström and Yasmine Uhlin. However, she announced her surprise departure from the band in Hamburg at the last concert of the Out Of line festival tour 2008.
Anders and Yazmine met in November 2005 and, upon discovering that they shared the same musical vision, decided to form a band. Their collaboration soon came to fruition with the release of a 9 track demo entitled "Angora Overdrive" after a very intensive month in the studio.
The second four track demo, "Parliament of Rooks", which was finished in February 2006, had a more refined sound compared to their first offering. They decided to send it to a few select labels because the reaction they got to the first demo was quite overwhelming. Having sent the demos on Monday, Ashbury Heights was contacted and contracted by German Out of Line records on Wednesday, only an hour after the label had received the CD. This probably makes Ashbury Heights one of the fastest signings in history. Several other labels expressed an interest in the band, but there was no bidding war as Out of Line moved so quickly.
Although having signed the famous German act "And One" at about the same time as Ashbury Heights, which ate a lot of the labels' resources, Out of Line wasted no time. The legendary producer John Fryer was brought on board to produce the promotional single "Cry Havoc" in April 2006, something quite unheard of in the world of the electronic underground. Very few bands in the synth-genre get to release promo-CDs (if any), and certainly no other band in modern synth-history has released a promo-CD produced by a celebrity of the likes of Fryer.
John Fryer would eventually mix their first album "Three cheers for the newlydeads". Released in october 2007, the debut album was recieved with overwhelming optimism from press and audience alike proving once and for all that Ashbury Heights truly is a force to be reckoned with.
In 2008 Ashbury Heights returned with the "Morningstar in a Black Car" EP, containing five new songs and four remixes. The EP received good reviews and helped keep up interest for the band. A video was made for the track "Spiders", a low budget affair which nevertheless managed to project some of the bands unique flair.
Ashbury Heights, with brand-new female vocalist Kari Berg, released their new album 'Take Cair paramour' on the 2nd of july 2010. In 2010, following a long running dispute between Hagström and the record label Out Of Line the band disbanded. This dispute was settled in 2011, whereupon Hagstöm and Out of Line renewed their collaboration. However, it took until 2013 for Hagström to find a new singer. The new singer is Tea F. Thimé, the first female to co-write lyrics for Ashbury Heights.
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashbury.heights
Official Tumblr: http://ashburyheightsofficial.tumblr.com/
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/ashburyheights
Anti Ordinary
Ashbury Heights Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Life is so much simpler when you're ordinary, ordinary
We won't be normalized,
We have dreams to realize!
We won't be traumatized
We have dreams to realize!
Stay, stay deranged
People like you better when you're ordinary, ordinary
So why don't you surrender and be ordinary, ordinary?
We won't be normalized,
We have dreams to realize!
We won't be traumatized
We have dreams to realize!
Stay, stay deranged
Don't let them convince you to be ordinary, ordinary
You can be the star of anti-ordinary, ordinary!
Stay, stay deranged
Stay, stay, stay
Stay, stay deranged
We won't be normalized,
We have dreams to realize!
We won't be traumatized
We have dreams to realize!
Everybody wants you to be ordinary, ordinary
Life is so much simpler when you're ordinary, ordinary
People like you better when you're ordinary, ordinary
So why don't you surrender and be ordinary, ordinary?
Don't let them convince you to be ordinary, ordinary
You can be the star of anti-ordinary, ordinary!
The lyrics to Ashbury Heights’ song Anti Ordinary are a celebration of individuality and rejecting societal norms that pressure individuals to conform and be “ordinary”. The opening lines suggest that there is a general desire among people for others to be “ordinary” since life is “simpler” that way. However, the chorus emphasizes that the singer and their comrades “won’t be normalized” and “won’t be traumatized” since they have dreams to realize. The repeated phrase “stay deranged” further highlights this idea of embracing one’s unique perspective and behaviors.
The second verse encourages the listener to resist the pressure to be “ordinary” and surrender to conformity by holding onto their dreams and remaining convinced of their value. The final lines encourage the listener to be proud of their unconventional identity, to reject the push for them to be “ordinary” and instead “be the star of anti-ordinary”.
Line by Line Meaning
Everybody wants you to be ordinary, ordinary
Society expects you to conform and be like everyone else
Life is so much simpler when you're ordinary, ordinary
Following the norm is easier as there's no resistance and no need for individuality
We won't be normalized,
We won't let societal norms dictate us
We have dreams to realize!
We have ambitions to achieve and goals to fulfill
We won't be traumatized
We won't allow ourselves to be oppressed by the society's expectations
Stay, stay deranged
Always stay unique and true to yourself
People like you better when you're ordinary, ordinary
People often prefer those who are similar to them and easily predictable
So why don't you surrender and be ordinary, ordinary?
Why not give in to society's expectations and be like everyone else?
Don't let them convince you to be ordinary, ordinary
Ignore the pressure to conform and stay true to who you are
You can be the star of anti-ordinary, ordinary!
You have the potential to be different and unique, and that can make you stand out in a positive way
Contributed by Aria R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.