shimmera new song by Christchurch artists Ashy and Vallé, offers self-reflection with a catchy pop edge.

The collaboration came about after the pair met at a songwriting camp in Christchurch organized by the Australasia Performing Right Association (APRA) and led by Kiwi singers Tami Neilson and Delaney Davidson.

Christchurch rapper Enjalas Jenkinson, aka Vallé, came to New Zealand from Papua New Guinea 20 years ago and also runs a hair salon.

In 2020, Ebro Darden, Apple Music‘s global hip-hop and R&B editorial manager, described Vallé as an up-and-coming artist.

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Ashy, aka Ashy Bachelor, is a 23-year-old singer/songwriter who was dubbed Apple Music’s Artist of the Week for her song Ego.

”Vallé and I are both in Christchurch but had never met before this writing camp. It was at the Center for the Arts, artists traveled from all over the country to attend,” Ashy said. “Essentially the bones of this piece were written that day.”

The song has a deep meaning and message, she said. When she was seven years old and growing up in Christchurch, she saw Padma Lakshmi, an Indian-American TV presenter, on television for the first time.

”The general meaning is about representation. For me, the story focuses on a climactic moment, when I was a little kid and saw someone who looked like me on TV,” Ashy said.

”Vallé and I want to be that for people now. We didn’t have that growing up, but we basically want to be a mirror for the next generation growing up. ”

The video for shimmer was filmed at Christchurch Town Hall.

“Being in this venue was amazing, we had the whole place to ourselves,” Ashy said.

”Auckland had its lockdown and unfortunately there were no shows at the time so it was possible for us.”

Caroline Harvie-Teare, general manager of Venues Ōtautahi, which runs City Hall, said the shoot was a positive event in difficult times.

“Ashy is an incredible talent with a bright future. What a juxtaposition of seeing future talent against the backdrop of a rich local history.”

She said she was looking forward to one day “welcoming Ashy to Christchurch Town Hall to perform live”.

In recent months, Ashy has signed with Native Tongue Publishing in Australia and SXSW mainstay Cary Caldwell has become her manager through his company 212 Music.

This week, Ashy will be part of the Going Global Presents showcase, an international online music event.

“A lot of music is being created. I have some cool collabs in the works,” Ashy said.

“I was delighted to be chosen for this. Nine acts were chosen in New Zealand, but because of Covid-19 everything is online. It’s a big goal for artists to have access to this showcase, many international delegates see it.”

In April – ”fingers crossed” – she will tour Australia with Christchurch band Dillastrate before heading to the SXSW conference and festival in Austin, Texas and Europe in 2023.

“At the end of the day, I want to be an internationally recognized artist and tour. One of my great passions is songwriting and working with the best of the best in the business is a goal, and I’m working towards that.

Booked to perform at the now-cancelled Christchurch Electric Avenue, O Week and Summer Nights events, as well as events in Auckland, she said losing all her gigs at once was difficult, but she was focused on the to come up.

“My mindset is to focus on trying to rehearse and be productive right now, otherwise it’s easy to put yourself down and stuff. ”