Jason Wilson introduces new band, Ashara and releases debut single, “My Love Sings Like A Lintie”
Toronto’s own Scottish-Canadian, two-time Juno Award nominee, Canadian Reggae Award winner and best-selling author Jason Wilson fronts a new group called Ashara and announces their debut self-titled album – set for a September 29 release. Recently, they launched the lead single and video, “My Love Sings Like a Lintie,” – just in time for Ashara’s premiere concert tour in Scotland later this month.
“My Love Sings Like a Lintie” is produced by Jason Wilson, Mars Giammarco, and Carl Harvey. The track expresses a joyful blend of Scottish folk, global roots, and reggae.
The video director is Imran Babur, and the art director is Tahir Mahmood. The principal dancer and choreographer is Sophie Mlodzik, and the other dancers are Amelia Dunlop and Sara Pica.
Jason Wilson explains,
“A lintie is a Scottish word for a small linnet bird (finch). The song is ostensibly about chasing fleeting youth. I ‘see’ this chase occurring down the Lugar Water, by the dam in Ochiltree, Ayrshire, Scotland, where my mom was born.”
Wilson performs vocals, guitar, accordion, and keyboards on the new single, along with band members Laurel Tubman on vocals, Marcus Ali on Irish flute, Carl Harvey on guitar, Vince Reel on drums, Michael Shapinko on bass, and Jack Smedley on fiddle. Plus, special guests include Scottish trad musician Ross Ainslie on whistles and noted Toronto guitarist Tim Bovaconti on mandolin. The track was recorded in Ontario, Canada at Valley Road Studio, Stouffville, Canterbury Studios, Toronto, and Red Egg Studio, Bolton, and it was mastered by Andy Krehm at Silverbirch Productions, Toronto.
Watch the video for “My Love Sings Like A Lintie” below and learn more about Ashara via our mini-interview.
First off, care to introduce Ashara to our readers?
As a collective, we see Ashara as a joyful blend of Scottish folk, global roots, and reggae; it really is where Scotland meets Jamaica in Canada! The collective includes me on vocals, acoustic guitar, and piano, legendary Jamaican-Canadian guitarist Carl Harvey (Toots & The Maytals), and my regular band mates, saxophonist Marcus Ali, vocalist Laurel Tubman, drummer Vince Reel, and bassist Michael Shapinko. Then we have an incredible rotating cast of award-winning Scottish trad musicians, including noted fiddler Jack Smedley (Rura), the great Highland piper Ali Hutton (Old Blind Dogs), feted accordionist John Somerville (Treacherous Orchestra), and the fabulous Scottish-based Jamaican songstress Subrina (Ibrina) Ward, who has herself brought together the musical worlds of Scotland and Jamaica.
You have unveiled the lead single, “My Love Sings Like a Lintie,” to the world. What can you tell us about the writing process of this track?
A lintie is a Scottish word for a small linnet bird (finch family). My mom and dad came over from Scotland with my sister Juli, my grandmother, and my Aunt Susan in 1966. I was born here. In those first few years of my life, my first tongue was Lowland Scots, and my funny accent added to all the other funny accents I heard at our townhouse complex on Keele Street and at school.
The song is ostensibly about chasing fleeting youth, a suitable topic for a man of my vintage. And as such, I’m reverting back to my childhood bastardized Ayrshire-Torontonian accent. But when I think of the song, I ‘see’ it in the small Ayrshire village of Ochiltree, where I spent my summers and where my mother was born. Specifically, I ‘see’ this chase of fleeting youth occurring down the Lugar Water by the dam in Ochiltree, where my mom learned to play the bagpipes. She would pipe to the coos while my great-grandfather patiently fished nearby.
You also shared a music video with the release. What was the highlight of the video shoot?
I would have to say that, as the shoot took two days, I was so impressed by the whole team. Sophie Mlodzik’s choreography and dancing were particularly breathtaking, and her fellow “linties,” Amelia Dunlop and Sara Pica, were so well beyond their years in terms of poise and professionalism. The trio danced ALL day on both days and made every time look like the first. I was trying to keep up by remembering my own words!
On the video, you worked with video director Imran Babur and art director Tahir Mahmood. What was that experience like?
Imran’s preparation is second to none, and alongside Tahir, the team’s attention to detail for every shot was matchless. There were many moments of gratitude in my mind; I would be out of the shot or on a break and marveling at everyone’s commitment to making this work the best it can be, and I really think the viewer can see this in the final result.
What’s your favourite thing about being an artist in Toronto?
I think it takes a few tours outside of Toronto to know just how good we have it here. We have a real, muscular interculturalism that we often take for granted. Our palettes are so wonderfully rich and diverse, and sometimes we don’t even know how liberally we borrow from one another. Still, I see this not as some nefarious beast in need of taming but rather as something beautiful that transcends the borders proscribed by dull, genetic-mapping gatekeepers, something very universal. Toronto makes good sapiens-art.
Upcoming Shows:
January 24 – Bathgate – Reconnect Regal Theatre
January 25 – Perth – Perth Concert Hall
January 26 – Ayr – The Gaiety Theatre
January 27 – Greenock – The Beacon Arts Centre
January 28 – Glasgow – Drygate, the UK’s Celtic Connections Festival