Ash Riser
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Ash Winston Riser (August 29, 1989 – June 12, 2021), also known by his former stage name Ashtrobot, was an American recording artist and music producer. Born and raised in California, he embarked on his music career when he was 15 years old, forming a rock band called Pistol Pistol (stylized P!stol P!stol). Due to differences between members, the band broke up in 2009 and Riser subsequently began to put his focus on music production, fusing electronic and
hip hop music Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...
, among other genres. Riser later began working with longtime friend, Derek Ali of
Top Dawg Entertainment Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label. Specializing in hip hop and R&B artists, TDE is based in Carson, California. The label was founded in 2004 by record producer Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, who is the chief exec ...
, who introduced him to West Coast rapper
Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
, with whom he began heavily collaborating. Riser would go on to sign a record deal with Israeli music producer
Borgore Yosef Asaf Borger (; born 20 October 1987), known professionally as Borgore, is an Israeli EDM producer, DJ, singer-songwriter and rapper. He is the founder of the label Buygore Records. Biography Yosef Asaf Borger was born to a Jewish fam ...
's record label, Buygore and also had a production deal with Chest Rockwell Entertainment. During his life, Riser had played multiple sold-out shows with fellow label-mates and musicians such as ETC! ETC!, Kennedy Jones, Ookay, Protohype and
Dirtyphonics Dirtyphonics is a French electronic music band from Paris, consisting of members Charly Barranger and Julien "PitchIn" Corrales. Known for blending Drum and bass, Dubstep, and other bass music genres with heavy metal and cinematic influences, t ...
. Ashtrobot


Life and career

Ash Winston Riser was born on August 29, 1989, in
Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ) is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent Beach Cities, beach c ...
. It was here he first encountered music and founded his rock band, Pistol Pistol (stylized P!stol P!stol), at the young age of 15. The band, which he formed with high-school classmates, initially started out as a
cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. N ...
, covering songs by
Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, keyboards, backing ...
and
The Strokes The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...
, among other bands. His first serious music project !stol P!stol was a great success with appearances on ''The Drop'' on
Sí TV NuvoTV (formerly known as Sí TV) was an American cable television, cable television network. It was launched on February 25, 2004, and catered to the Latino community with exclusively English-language programming. It ended operations on Septem ...
and music featured on
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
. During their time together, P!stol P!stol released an album titled ''The Cause''. However, due to differences between members, the band broke up in 2009. Since the break-up of his band, he decided to spend countless hours in the studio perfecting his style and sound, producing
bass music Bass music is a term used to describe several genres of electronic dance music and hip hop music arising from the 1980s on, focusing on a prominent bass drum and/or bassline sound. As one source notes, there are "many different types of bass music ...
. While focusing on music production after P!stol P!stol's disbandment, Riser got a phone call from his longtime high-school friend, Derek Ali, better known as MixedByAli, the in-house
mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...
of West Coast indie record label,
Top Dawg Entertainment Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label. Specializing in hip hop and R&B artists, TDE is based in Carson, California. The label was founded in 2004 by record producer Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, who is the chief exec ...
(TDE). Ali asked Riser to come by the studio and record vocals with an artist he was producing for named
Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
, a Compton-based rapper. Lamar and Riser had an instant musical synergy, with Lamar finding Riser's voice to be very original and complementary to his own. Lamar appreciated that Riser used his voice as a musical instrument to add more soul to tracks. In 2009, Riser was featured on Lamar's debut
extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
(EP), ''
Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
'', on a
bonus track An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...
titled "Determined". Lamar and Riser collaborated again in 2010, for Lamar's ''
Overly Dedicated ''Overly Dedicated'' (sometimes stylized as ''O(verly) D(edicated)'' and abbreviated as ''OD'') is the fourth solo mixtape by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, released on September 14, 2010, via Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). It is the first mixtap ...
'' project, appearing on the song "Barbed Wire". In 2011, Riser was featured on Lamar's '' Section.80'' project, lending his vocals on the tracks, "Keisha's Song" and "Ronald Reagan Era". In July 2011, Riser released an EP under his label, D.R.E.A.M. Brigade Recordings. The EP, titled ''21st Century Electric Church Music'', is a collection of songs compiled by different artists and includes Riser's song, "Ghetto Blastuh". Riser then began collaborating with Lamar's
Black Hippy Black Hippy was an American hip hop supergroupAb-Soul Herbert Anthony Stevens IV (born February 23, 1987), better known by his stage name Ab-Soul, is an American rapper. Raised in Carson, California, he signed to indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2007, where he eventually formed We ...
. Riser was featured on "Beautiful Death", from Ab-Soul's 2012 project, ''
Control System A control system manages, commands, directs, or regulates the behavior of other devices or systems using control loops. It can range from a single home heating controller using a thermostat controlling a domestic boiler to large industrial ...
''. In 2013, Riser signed a recording contract with Israeli music producer
Borgore Yosef Asaf Borger (; born 20 October 1987), known professionally as Borgore, is an Israeli EDM producer, DJ, singer-songwriter and rapper. He is the founder of the label Buygore Records. Biography Yosef Asaf Borger was born to a Jewish fam ...
's record label Buygore, as well as his management company, Buygore Management. Around that time, Riser also signed a production deal with Chest Rockwell Entertainment, founded by Greg Ogan and Spencer Neezy. On April 22, 2015, Riser released an EP titled ''Modern Medicine'', which he mixed,
mastered Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source from which all copies will be ...
, produced and recorded by himself. In June 2015, when asked if he was still with Buygore, Riser responded with: "not since 2014". On June 22, 2016, Riser released his third EP that year, titled ''R.I.S.E.'', which includes productions from
808 Mafia 808 Mafia is an American record production and songwriting group founded by record producers TM88, Lex Luger, and Southside. Its other members include Fuse 100, Tarentino, Purps, Swede, Nonstop Da Hitman, and MP808, among others. The group's ...
,
Metro Boomin Leland Tyler Wayne (born September 16, 1993), known professionally as Metro Boomin, is an American record producer and music executive. Widely acclaimed for his dark and cinematic production style, he is regarded as one of the most influential p ...
,
Sonny Digital Sonny Corey Uwaezuoke (born March 5, 1991), better known by his stage name Sonny Digital, is an American record producer, rapper, and DJ.
, TM88 and
Zaytoven Xavier Lamar Dotson (born January 12, 1980), known professionally as Zaytoven, is an American record producer from Atlanta, Georgia. He has released collaborative projects with artists including Gucci Mane, Usher, Future, Young Dolph, Mig ...
.


Death

Riser was one month away from releasing his second studio album, ''H.O.P.E.'', when he unexpectedly died in the early hours of June 12, 2021. His death was a shock across the Los Angeles music scene, and several of his fellow musicians paid tribute to him.


Discography


Studio albums


EPs


Singles

;As lead artist ;As featured artist


Guest appearances


Remixes

;2010 *"Glaciers (Ashtrobot remix)" by Her Majesty & the Wolves ;2011 *"When I Look At You (Ashtrobot remix)" by Emalkay *" She Will (Ashtrobot remix)" by
Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...
*"Beg for Mercy (Ashtrobot remix)" by
Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his dynamic vocal performances that combine his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after ...
*"Purple Swag (Ashtrobot remix)" by
ASAP Rocky Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a member of the hip hop music, hip hop coll ...
;2014 *"Oakland (Ash Riser remix)" by Vell *"
No Type "No Type" is a hip hop song by American hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd. It was released on September 15, 2014, by EarDrummers Entertainment and Interscope Records, as the second single from their debut studio album '' SremmLife'' (2015). The song was p ...
(Ash Riser remix)" by
Rae Sremmurd Rae Sremmurd ( ; "Ear Drummers" Anadrome, spelled backwards) is an American hip-hop duo composed of brothers Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi, both of whom originate from Tupelo, Mississippi. They signed with record producer Mike Will Made It's label Mike ...
;2015 *"Run Ricky Run (Ashtrobot remix)" by Manolo Rose


Awards and nominations


Grammy Awards

{, class="wikitable" !Year !Nominated work !Award !Result , - ,
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
, ''
To Pimp a Butterfly ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' is the third studio album by the American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 15, 2015, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was recorded in studios throughout ...
'' (as background vocalist) ,
Best Rap Album The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories ...
,


References


External links

* * * * * * *


Further reading


Meet Ash Riser
''VoyageLA''. Retrieved June 29, 2021 {{DEFAULTSORT:Riser, Ash 1989 births 2021 deaths 21st-century American singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American rock singers American rock songwriters Alternative hip-hop musicians American alternative rock guitarists American lead guitarists American alternative rock musicians American hip-hop record producers American hip-hop singers Singer-songwriters from California Musicians from Redondo Beach, California West Coast hip-hop musicians American remixers 21st-century American guitarists Guitarists from California American male guitarists Engineers from California Record producers from California 21st-century American male singers American dubstep musicians EDM trap musicians Grammy Award winners for rap music