Courtesy of Def Jam Recordings
Houston is a city full of endless culture and talent, and [Ashton Travis](https://www.instagram.com/ashtontravis/) is one. The poet turned singer-songwriter is on a quest to heal the world, blessing listeners all over the world with his soulful melodies over ethereal production. His music is a direct byproduct of his H-Town upbringing, from the slow chopped & screwed sound to the old school Cadillacs who played these records.
Born to parents from Guyana and Antigua, Ashton came up as a member of the city’s National Poetry Slam team, writing stanzas before getting in the studio. From the second he saw his cousin making beats on Fruity Loops, he would soon write raps of his own. Growing up listening to 97.9 The Box, which included everyone from Lil Keke and Paul Wall to Slim Thug and Mike Jones to various screw tapes.
Travis explains, “I be listening to everybody because for a minute, that’s all you really know — until you realize there’s other artists around the world doing shit.”
Most recently, Ashton unleashed his debut EP titled _Phoenix Mode_, reminiscent of a an individual who’s viewing life with brand new eyes. Sounds like “Death Row” sees Ashton reflecting on his inner demons, while “Passion & Pain!” details the dichotomies that come with life. Flaunt caught up with Ashton via Zoom to discuss his upbringing in Houston, _Phoenix Mode,_ working with superproducer Chase B, his recent birthday, goals, and more!
**How does Houston influence your music?**
The Houston attitude is the reason why I march to the beat of my own drum. We don't really follow trends, we make our own and stick to them. Our music flows loud and bangs in the trunk, that's why I make the moody music I make. Infectious music you can feel through the speakers, through the headphones.
**When did you realize you could do music for a living?**
When I went to college, I was making music and a lot of people on campus were fucking with it. Taking it from school, going back home and sharing it with their friends. This is when Twitter and Instagram started poppin’ off, it was cool to see how far my music could travel without me having to leave the comforts of my own home. Once I saw that, I realized this could really work.
**Debut EP _Phoenix Mode_ out now! How you feeling?**
I’m feeling a sense of relief. I’ve been waiting to put it out for a while, been working on music my whole life. For somebody to be working on something for so long and not have anything tangible like a body of work to claim, it feels good to finally have that for myself. All the people that ask about my music, they can finally go and type my name in the search bar. Press play and catch a vibe.
**What changes did you see in yourself when making this project?**
Being more confident and at ease, finding out what works for me and what doesn't. Putting more confidence in my sound and what I want to put out, being more sure.
**What is your sound?**
It’s a vibe. You can drive to it, put in your headphones and get away from reality — while still being able to relate to whatever the fuck you got going on in your real life. For those 22 to 23 minutes of this project, you’ll be in the whip with me. Whatever type of spacecraft or car, I take you on this ride and journey through my music. When you open your eyes at the end of it all, you’ll feel better about yourself.
**How does music help you heal?**
It’s therapy, making music is cathartic. I’m a human like everybody else, I think about shit like everybody else. Some people write in their diary, some people shoot a gun at a target, some people beat people up, some people do karate, some people paint, some people play video games, some people cook. Everybody has some way they release, that’s my release. It happens that my release, I get to listen to it over and over again and so do you.
**“Almost There” is your most personal song on the project, what made you write this song?**
I realized how toxic I was being in a relationship, wanted to be very honest and vulnerable about what I had going on without actually having the conversation with the people I’m talking about. I wrote the first verse to somebody, wrote the second verse to somebody else. Anybody who listens to it can relate somehow, some way. The people I wrote it for can listen to it and sense how I feel, in a way apologizing for myself while also baring my truth and being honest.
**Your song “Casino” is produced by Chase B, how’d that collab come about? Any more collaborations with him in the future?**
We’re playing cards like I’m doing now. \[shuffles cards\] We’re in the studio catching a vibe, he had a beat I really like. I got in the booth and started mumbling, coming up with melodies. The first thing I said was “we can take a Caesar Palace trip.” I expanded on that idea, talked about taking a gamble. It’s funny because we’re right about to go to the club. We started off making the song in the studio, left to go to the club and came back. It’s in the music: alright, let's take a gamble. You meet somebody in the club or the party, you want to roll the dice. Dip out with them, take a Caesar Palace trip. That’s metaphorical for we can go anywhere.
**Do you guys have more on the way?**
Oh yeah for sure, definitely. We got a few records. That’s one of my best friends, my brother. It’s really natural, like playing basketball with your homie. You’re basically working on your game, iron sharpens iron.
**What was it like to see his career take off the way it did?**
It’s cool to see, I was there every step of the way. You don't really notice until you look backwards. I always looked at it as pretty normal. I was there when he said “I want to be a DJ,” he bought his first deck and turntables.
**I was listening to “Death Row,” what demons are you facing?**
What I was facing was holding myself back. I made that song 2 years ago so I don't feel that way at that moment. I was bullshitting, having a lot of fun, doing everything except for what I was supposed to be doing. For a person who didn’t know me, would look at me and think my life was lit. In my mind, I’m not even doing what I was put on the earth to do. At this point in time, I need to go at it and treat it like it’s Death Row.
**3 things you need in the studio?**
Space. My studio sessions aren’t really the typical artist, I don't like a lot of people in my session. I need space, a fire engineer, and good music. Good beats, good sounds, whether a musician’s working with me or it’s on my laptop. I love a good glass of scotch but I don't need Johnny Walker to make a fire song. I need space to create and a fire engineer who can keep up with what I got going on, because I like to move fast when I work. \[shuffles cards\]
**What’s your love for cards?**
It’s like a stress ball. That way I don’t rip my fingernails off like I usually do. I have nice fingernails, so don't think that they look crazy. People bite their nails and I tend to rip mine off if I’m nervous.
**I saw you released “Robbery” on your birthday. How did you celebrate?**
I’m in Houston, so it’s basically open. My friends threw me a surprise party, I got wasted out of my mind. I was on edge about it because leading up to nighttime, I’m like “where the fuck are these n\*ggas at?” Every single day, everybody’s on my line. Nobody’s hitting me. I hit my friends like “are you trying to watch the game somewhere?” They said “yeah we’re here already.” What the fuck? Nobody invited me. I was pissed.
I went to the crib, my homegirls call me “what you trying to do for your birthday?” I don’t care man, I’m just tryna do something. She said “meet me at this spot around 10pm, let’s bring it in together. Let’s turn up.” Alright, we’ll do that. It’s this bar way up top, I get in the Uber and go all the way to the spot. This is a regular spot we go to, the manager and owner know us. They know exactly what we like to eat and drink. Right before I pull up, I send a text like “get me my marg and a quesadilla, I’m pulling up.” These n\*ggas hit me back saying “we left already,” so now I’m super mad. They know I’m a moody person, I didn’t hit them back. Once they told me they dipped, I went to the spot the girl told me to go to. When I got there, there was a whole DJ, balloons, mad people, bottles everywhere. Okay, you guys are dickheads. \[laughs\]
**Goals for yourself as an artist at this point in your career?**
I want to put out a catalog of music that lives far beyond I will physically, music inspires the next person to be great. Whether it’s a kid who wants to make his music to or a man wants to be better to his family or his girl, or a woman who wants to understand people better, I want my music to last beyond a party setting or the speakers that it comes out of. I want it to resonate and live with you forever. I got songs that I know I wasn’t even alive for when it came out, that I really really love. An artist I call my favorite artist who were dead and gone before I was even born, I want to have that same type of longevity to somebody else in the future.
**What can we look forward to next?**
More music, another project. To keep feeding people, getting all these songs out that I love to sit on. A bad habit, but you know how shit goes.
**Anything else you want to let us know?**
Everybody be great!
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