New EP Alert: British Artist Juliette Ashby Blends Jamaican Rhythms with English Soul
- Ted Reyes
- 7 hours ago
- 2 min read
There are singers on this earth who have the power to transform an “okay” song into a great tune with sheer power and technique. And yet there are singers who, with the unique character of their voices can transform great tunes into legendary music. Yes, these vocalists may not be the ones who can whistle two extra octaves, but rest assured, they are the ones who can sing a phone book and make people weep. British artist Juliette Ashby is one of those.
From the first notes of her song “Rise,” I know that I will be remembering her voice long after I hit the stop button–perhaps forever. It’s one of those things. Indelible marks made by generational talent. And that’s not all. When the musical gods showered gifts to mortals, Juliette got a storm’s worth for she is also one of the most prolific composers of music for film, television, and advertisements in the UK today.
In addition to her work as a performer, Ashby has built a notable presence in music supervision and licensing. She founded SoulShack Productions in 2008 to support emerging talent and provide music for film and television, and her compositions and placements have appeared on prominent U.S. television series, including Mob Wives, Single Ladies, and Basketball Wives.
She recently released a self-titled reggae EP under the artist-driven label Kinetik. The five-track release is an instant classic.
Watch Juliette’s Live Performance of her song “Power” from her studio in London.
Juliette was born and raised in North London, and her musical journey began early and grew up immersed in the sounds of Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, and other seminal artists, influences that would later inform her own stylistic fusion of roots reggae, R&B, and soul.
“I grew up in a musical family,” Juliette said in an exclusive interview. “There was always music in our house.”
Her biggest musical influence, however, was Bonnie Raitt.
“The first song I ever wrote was a country song because she was my biggest influence,” Juliette said. “And then of course, Bob Marley. I loved what he wrote and how he sounded.”
Her first big experience recording her own music was at age ten, and at the age eighteen, she was at a studio recording a song she wrote for a film.
“It was at that moment when I knew that I wanted to create music not just for myself but for TV for film and all other things,” Juliette said. “I want to create emotions for people.”
Juliette’s recording career includes multiple extended plays and albums. Her debut EP, Acoustic Emotions (2013), showcased her emotive vocal delivery and songwriting, followed by Over + Over (2015), a project that blended 1990s R&B textures with soul and reggae elements.
Juliette also appeared in the Oscar- and BAFTA-winning documentary Amy (2015), which chronicles the life of her childhood friend, Amy Winehouse; she contributed both music and personal testimony to the film’s narrative.
Across her diverse body of work, Juliette continues to blend soulful lyricism with genre-spanning sounds, establishing her as a distinctive and dynamic figure within the contemporary British music scene.
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