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
Phantasmagoria
Ashbury Heights Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And all I loved I loved alone
The second son of a setting sun
Scores to settle one by one
Years of love have been forgot
Years of trouble years of draught
Years of ever gently tapping
On your chamber all for naught
Claims to be the soul I'm missing
Even though I keep on saying
That chair is empty now
Can't you see, can't you see?
That chair is empty now
Life is phantasmagoria now
And every shadow is reaching out to me
Life is phantasmagoria now
And all that's left is the stranger part of me
By a shore of silver ashes
Where a sea of sorrow crashes
There is someone who remembers
Someone who bears my resemblance
Someone who has all the seeming
Of a ghost forever dreaming
And when I call it always answers
"I cannot tell you anything"
And every ghastly apparition
Claims to be the soul I'm missing
Even though I keep on saying
That chair is empty now
Can't you see, can't you see?
That chair is empty now
Life is phantasmagoria now
And every shadow is reaching out to me
Life is phantasmagoria now
And all that's left is the stranger part of me
The lyrics to Ashbury Heights' "Phantasmagoria" reflect on feelings of loss, loneliness, and the struggle to move on from past relationships. The opening lines speak of thoughts of death and being left alone, with references to tombstones and a setting sun. The chorus alludes to the idea of life being like a phantasmagoria, a constantly shifting and disorienting experience, where every shadow seems to reach out and touch the singer. The repetition of the line "that chair is empty now" reinforces the theme of loss and the feeling of absence left by someone who has left the singer's life.
The second verse introduces the idea of a "shore of silver ashes" and someone who remembers the singer, but who cannot give any answers to their questions. This section seems to add another layer to the theme of loss and the difficulty of moving on from situations that feel unresolved. The final repetition of the chorus highlights the idea that even though the singer keeps acknowledging the absence and loss they feel, there is no clear resolution or closure.
Line by Line Meaning
Mid-dark thoughts of the grey tombstone
I'm thinking about death and feeling somber.
And all I loved I loved alone
I am lonely and have loved without companionship.
The second son of a setting sun
I am a forgotten child of an ending time.
Scores to settle one by one
I have many unresolved conflicts that need to be addressed.
Years of love have been forgot
I have forgotten the years where I loved and was loved.
Years of trouble years of draught
I have experienced many years of hardship and emptiness.
Years of ever gently tapping
I have waited for something to change, but nothing ever did.
On your chamber all for naught
My efforts have been in vain and have resulted in nothing.
And every ghastly apparition
I see and feel the presence of spirits that I have lost.
Claims to be the soul I'm missing
These spirits pretend to be what I've lost, but they're not.
Even though I keep on saying
Even though I tell myself that what I've lost is gone.
That chair is empty now
The space where my lost loved one used to be is now vacant.
Can't you see, can't you see?
Why can't anyone else see how I feel?
Life is phantasmagoria now
My life is filled with illusions and ghosts.
And every shadow is reaching out to me
Even my own shadow seems like it's trying to grab me.
And all that's left is the stranger part of me
I am a foreigner to myself, and only a small part of me remains.
By a shore of silver ashes
I am near a place that resembles death and endings.
Where a sea of sorrow crashes
A sea of grief and sadness washes over me.
There is someone who remembers
There is someone who knows what I've lost.
Someone who bears my resemblance
This person is similar to me.
Someone who has all the seeming
This person seems to have what I've lost.
Of a ghost forever dreaming
This person is like a dream and is not truly there.
And when I call it always answers
When I look for this person, they respond.
"I cannot tell you anything"
But they cannot give me what I want or need.
Contributed by Alyssa N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.