Will Ashon

An original and profound portrait of contemporary Britain told through the testimonies of its inhabitants.SHORTLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE 2023A spectacularly enjoyable and compelling reading experience . . . funny, moving, surprising and thought-provoking. It humanises literature in this toxic moment.MAX PORTER, author of LannySeemingly simple yet so deeply profound, The Passengers is an absorbing insight into the lives and minds of so-called ordinary people: their hopes and fears and idiosyncrasies at a specific moment in time.CLIO BARNARD, director of Ali & Ava and The Essex SerpentA nations psyche comes to the surface. The Passengers is not just an oral history of the contemporary moment but, drenched in mood and texture, renders the country itself as a sonic collage.SUKHDEV SANDHU, GUARDIAN Between October 2018 and March 2021, Will Ashon collected voices - people talking about their lives, needs, dreams, loves, hopes and fears - all of them with some connection to the British Isles. He used a range of methods including letters sent to random addresses, hitchhiking, referrals from strangers and so on. He conducted the interviews in person, on the phone, over the internet or asked people to record themselves. Interview techniques ranged from asking people to tell him a secret to choosing an arbitrary question from a list. The resulting testimonies tell the collective story of what it feels like to be alive in a particular time and place - here and now. The Passengers is a book about how we give shape to our lives, find meaning in the chaos, acknowledge the fragility of our existence while alleviating this anxiety with moments of beauty, love, humour and solidarity.A magical mystery tour of Britain . . . extraordinary.DAILY TELEGRAPHAshons gloriously polyphonic book scales the heights. A deeply felt and humane portrait of where we are.NIVEN GOVINDEN, author of Diary of a FilmThis book couldnt have come into my life at a better time. Its a guiding mate. It enters like a cat through a window, ready to take your attention and show you what it needs to.TICE CIN, author of Keeping the House

An original and profound portrait of contemporary Britain told through the testimonies of its inhabitants A spectacularly enjoyable and compelling reading experience funny moving surprising and thought provoking It humanises literature in this toxic moment MAX PORTER author of Lanny Seemingly simple yet so deeply profound The Passengers is an absorbing insight into the lives and minds of so called ordinary people their hopes and fears and idiosyncrasies at a specific moment in time CLIO BARNARD director of Ali & Ava and The Essex Serpent A nation s psyche comes to the surface The Passengers is not just an oral history of the contemporary moment but drenched in mood and texture renders the country itself as a sonic collage SUKHDEV SANDHU GUARDIAN Between October 2018 and March 2021 Will Ashon collected voices people talking about their lives needs dreams loves hopes and fears all of them with some connection to the British Isles He used a range of methods including letters sent to random addresses hitchhiking referrals from strangers and so on He conducted the interviews in person on the phone over the internet or asked people to record themselves Interview techniques ranged from asking people to tell him a secret to choo

Will Ashon tells, in 36 interlinked 'chambers', the story of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and how it changed the world. As unexpected and complex as the album itself, Chamber Music ranges from provocative essays to semi-comic skits, from deep scholarly analysis to satirical celebration, seeking to contextualise, reveal and honour this singularly composite work of art. From the FBI's war on drugs to the porn theatres of 42nd street, from the history of jazz to the future of politics, Chamber Music is an explosive and revelatory new way of writing about music and culture.

"What kind of story you want? Rough story or nice story?"A collaboration between author Will Ashon and Michal Novosad, Rafals Saga presents a tale of homeless life in London: the difficulties, the despair, the endless problems, but also the humanity and humour and, most of all, the heartbreaking beauty of being alive. As William Morris pointed out, the most grinding poverty is a trifling evil compared with the inequality of classes and this inequality of class is crystallised in the decisions we make when we see someone begging. Michal tells the story of the death of his friend, Rafal, and in doing so forces us to confront what it means if and when we calculate whether someone is worthy of receiving our small change.

El ensayo definitivo sobre el disco más importante de la historia del hip hop.En el año 1993 la cultura hip hop vivía sus años dorados en Estados Unidos. Dos décadas le había tomado al rap erigirse como indiscutible catalizador de la realidad politica, social, economica y artistica de los barrios marginados de la potencia mundial. A golpe de beat, sample y rima, la musica protesta se alejaba de las guitarras.En ese contexto ve la luz el album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), debut del clan neoyorquino que lideraria el resurgir de la costa este como estandarte del rap hardcore Straight Outta Compton habia virado la atencion hacia California un lustro antes y que serviria de referente a futuras generaciones de productores y MCs de todo el mundo. Una obra compleja, comica y explicita que el reputado escritor, periodista y productor discografico britanico Will Ashon disecciona en el compendio de textos trenzados sobre estas paginas. Treinta y seis ensayos que parten de la obra canonica del clan para abrirse a continuacion en infinitas direcciones y contextualizar asi su gestacion y repercusion.Musica de camara es un libro erudito, academico y divertido a partes iguales, que se vale de las herramientas de la literatura comparada, la historiografia y la critica musical para celebrar una hazaña pionera, una tormenta destinada a pulverizar el establishment discografico y cultural de final de siglo.

El ensayo definitivo sobre el disco más importante de la historia del hip hop. De tan grata y enriquecedora lectura como la propia audición de la ambiciosa obra discográfica aquí objeto de autopsia, Musica de camara es un abreviado compendio ?urdido por el autor, periodista y productor discografico Will Ashon? que tiene por objeto proponer treinta y seis breves aproximaciones a las entrañas de la obra que catapultaria el hip hop a lo mas alto del panteon de la musica popular afroamericana: Enter the Wu-Tang Clan (36 Chambers). Treinta y seis pinceladas multidisciplinarias componen el retablo de la vida y tribulaciones de un colectivo cuyas andanzas pueblan los surcos de la obra fundamental para abrazar la comprension cabal del hip hop; movimiento cuya importancia artistica y contestataria trasciende las soflamas raperas al uso y se manifiesta tambien en el arte parietal urbano, la danza y la propia ideologia de quienes las declaman, mas tambien de quienes las hacen suyas. Valiendose de provocadores ensayos, inmisericordes satiras, chispas de muy necesaria erudicion y semblanzas tan crudas como desternillantes, Ashon trata de ?y consigue con eufonica maestria? contextualizar y rendir tributo a tan improbable y fundamental obra de arte...