Ashley Iona Releases New Single 'Leaving' Music Video

Leaving is the latest anthemic alt pop single from Ashley Iona. Written during Ashley’s time in LA, the track is about finding the strength the end what you know is bad for you and having the courage to keep walking away when it follows you around.

“I wrote leaving when I knew I had to get out of a toxic relationship but the other person didn’t want it to end. I felt trapped and like I was fighting for what I wanted everyday. This song came out of that exhaustion and needing to find more strength. The opening lyrics, ‘Feels like I’m losing a battle’ was where I was started and by the end of the song I’ve found my feet again. Writing it helped me actually get there.” - Ashley Iona

After her debut IONA EP in 2016, Ashley Iona has been writing for Anjunabeats artist Sunny Lax, who she met while touring and opening for Sjzerdene in London. After a sync with MTV on the Season finale of their show Scream and a writing project underway, she moved back home to Sydney in 2017 and began writing new music and developing her live show Electric Sets with local guitarist John Romeo. Electric Sets became the inspiration behind Leaving, developing and discovering the sound as she was playing the songs for the first time.

Leaving also represents Ashley’s first hand at production, choosing to co-produce this song with guitarist, John Romeo. “I’ve always hired a producer, but then felt like by the end of the process, I was negotiating for what I wanted. I already knew how I wanted this song to sound, so I decided to ask Johnny if he’d help me make it.” The pair have spent most of this year refining and creating productions together, referencing bands from Radiohead, David Bowie and Adele to achieve the soulful gritty pop sound they wanted to create.

As a student of The University Of Sydney, currently studying Speech Pathology, Ashley was recently chosen as a finalist for the National UniSounds Competition. There were 150 entrants and Ashley received over 3000 votes from industry professionals to earn one of the six places in the finale. She also received 4000 votes, across three tracks, from the public vote.

Collaborating with recent Sydney College of the Arts graduate Harry Klein to create the music video, once again Ashley wanted to create a duality between feeling trapped and escaping. “I had this image of being a dark space, so you could barely see me. The video is an intimate journey through that dark place.”

For Fans Of: Angie McMahon | Meg Mac | Dream Wife

‘Leaving’ is available now in digital stores.

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