SRSQ (pronounced "seer-skew") is the solo musical project of American singer and keyboardist Kennedy Ashlyn. Ashlyn started making music under the name Them Are Us Too in high school, later expanding the group to a duo after meeting Cash Askew in college. After releasing one album together, Askew died in the

Ghost Ship warehouse fire The Ghost Ship warehouse fire was a fire that occurred in a former warehouse in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland, California, that had been converted into an artist collective with living spaces. The fire occurred on December 2, 2016, at ...

in 2016. Ashlyn retired their shared name and started working as SRSQ the following year. Under the name, Ashlyn has released two albums, ''

Unreality Derealization is an alteration in the perception of the external world, causing those with the condition to perceive it as unreal, distant, distorted or falsified. Other symptoms include feeling as if one's environment is lacking in spontaneity, ...

'' (2018) and ''Ever Crashing'' (2022). SRSQ's

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as ...

-centric sound has drawn comparisons to bands such as

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins was a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instru ...

Early life

Ashlyn, full name Kennedy Ashlyn Wenning, started off in music singing in a choir at age 5. She performed in musical theater and

show choir A show choir (originally known as a "swing choir") is a musical ensemble that combines choral singing with choreographed dance, often with an overarching theme. It is most relevant in the Midwestern United States and was popularized by the America ...

in school and took a year of opera training in college. She started making

noise pop Noise pop is a subgenre of alternative and indie rock that developed in the mid-1980s in the United Kingdom and United States. It is defined by its mixture of dissonant noise or feedback with the songcraft more often found in pop music. Shoegazi ...

music solo under the Them Are Us Too name in high school. Growing up, Ashlyn's favorite band was

the B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, ...

, and she also grew up listening to bands such as Cocteau Twins,

Dead Can Dance Dead Can Dance are an Australian music duo first established in Melbourne. Currently composed of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry, the group formed in 1981. They relocated to London the following year. Australian music historian Ian McFarlane d ...

, and

the Sundays The Sundays were an English alternative rock band, formed in the late 1980s, which released three albums throughout the 1990s. The band's beginnings came with the meeting of singer Harriet Wheeler and guitarist David Gavurin while attending ...

, music she picked up on from her mom's taste. Ashlyn went to college at

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge ...

, living in a house. Her housemates offered to host their friend Askew's 19th birthday party in 2012. The party was goth-themed, with an Askew-curated soundtrack including

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depech ...

, and

the Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock music, rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stop ...

. Neither Ashlyn nor Askew were goths, but they shared interest in the music and aesthetic which none of their other friends did. Less than 24 hours later, after performing her third-ever solo show, Ashlyn asked Askew to join Them Are Us Too.

Career

Them Are Us Too

The duo recorded a demo together and toured the West Coast. They signed to

Dais Records Dais Records is an American independent record label founded in August 2007 by musicians Gibby Miller and Ryan Martin, based in Los Angeles, California, and Brooklyn, New York. The label has released recordings from artists including Drab Majes ...

and both dropped out of school. Dais released their debut album, ''Remain'', on March 24, 2015, when the duo were both 21 years old. They toured more and worked on more music, but never released a second album together. On December 2, 2016, a fire broke out at the former warehouse-turned-concert venue the Ghost Ship in

Fruitvale, Oakland, California Fruitvale (originally Fruit Vale and formerly Brays) is a neighborhood in Oakland, California, United States. It is located approximately 4 miles (6.44 km) southeast of Downtown, and is home to the city's largest Hispanic population, with H ...

. Askew was among 36 people who died in the fire, with her body having been identified two days after. Ashlyn's last conversation with Askew, from earlier in the day of the fire, was about a demo the latter had recorded for the song "No One", the first song Askew had written for the duo. Ashlyn, having moved to Dallas the previous year, flew back to Oakland immediately, staying at Askew's girlfriend Anya Dross's house. The two started making music together, and performed a cover of

Jimmy Eat World Jimmy Eat World is an American rock band formed in 1993 in Mesa, Arizona. The band is composed of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Jim Adkins, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch, and drummer Zach Lind. They ...

's " Sweetness" in tribute to Askew at a benefit concert on December 14, before Ashlyn returned to Dallas the following January. She spent most of the subsequent six months in bed, accomplishing little beyond her debut SRSQ show in May 2017. She has said she remembers little of that period, even what songs she performed at the May concert. After a time working as SRSQ, Ashlyn got back in the studio with Dross and Askew's stepfather Sunny Haire to record one last Them Are Us Too release. That album, ''Amends'', was released on June 29, 2018, by Dais. ''Amends'' consists mainly of songs written by the duo which were planned to be on their eventual second album, with the closing title track having been written by Ashlyn as her "own goodbye to the project and to Cash." The album also includes a finished version of "No One" with lead vocals by Dross. With the release of ''Amends'', Ashlyn officially retired Them Are Us Too and moved fully into SRSQ.

SRSQ

Ashlyn chose the name SRSQ, pronounced "seer-skew" and originally stylized as "srsQ", as shorthand for "serious question". Ashlyn says that because of the two words which act as its phonetic components, its meaning has expanded to include being "like a warped seer, or a skewed vision." The project was originally intended as an outlet for Ashlyn to experiment with

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

song remixes and noise music. Ashlyn gave her first performance as SRSQ in May 2017. On August 24, 2018, she announced her debut solo album ''

'', which was released by Dais on October 26. On August 16, 2019,

Uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, se ...

and the Body released the collaborative album ''Everything That Dies Someday Comes Back'', with SRSQ providing vocals to the song "Patron Saint of Regret". The same year, Jorge Elbrecht released the album ''Gloss Coma – 002'', with SRSQ featuring on the song "The Entrance of Cold" alongside Molina and

Samantha Urbani Samantha Urbani ( ; born September 18, 1987) is an American singer, songwriter, visual artist, filmmaker and producer from Mystic, Connecticut. She formed Friends; after three years, a trio of singles, and the album '' Manifest!'' on Fat Possum ...

. SRSQ's second album, ''Ever Crashing'', was announced on May 9, 2022, and released on August 19, also by Dais. In February 2023, SRSQ was announced as part of the lineup of Oblivion Access, a music festival in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, which will run from June 15-18. The next month, she was announced to be joining

Frankie Rose Frankie Rose (born 1979) is an American musician and songwriter. She was an original member of Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls and Beverly. Career Formerly of bands Vivian Girls and Beverly, Frankie was the drummer for the acts Crys ...

on a tour of US and Canada in May and June. In November, Vyva Melinkolya released the album ''Unbecoming'', featuring SRSQ's vocals on the track "Bruise".

Style

SRSQ is primarily referred to as a

project, though her music has also been said to include genres such as

darkwave Dark wave (also typeset as darkwave) is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as be ...

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

, and gothic rock, and has been compared to artists such as

, My Bloody Valentine, and

. Ashlyn has described Cocteau Twins as "kind of in my blueprint as a person and artist", and also named major influences such as

Slowdive Slowdive is a British rock band that formed in Reading, Berkshire, in 1989. The band consists of Rachel Goswell on vocals and guitar, Neil Halstead on vocals and guitar, Christian Savill on guitar, Nick Chaplin on bass and Simon Scott on d ...

and the Knife.

Equipment

Ashlyn primarily writes and plays music on synthesizers such as a Yamaha PSR-48 and a

Roland JX-3P The Roland JX-3P is a synthesizer produced by Roland Corporation of Japan from 1983-1985. The "3P" in its name refers to "Programmable Preset Polyphonic". It is notable as one of the company's first synthesizers (along with the Jupiter-6) to in ...

, which she runs through

effects pedals An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing. Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in ...

including the

DOD Electronics DOD Electronics, or simply DOD, is a Cort Guitars company that makes guitar effects pedals, many of which are now discontinued. Additionally, the company has made active crossover gear. History DOD originally stood for David Oreste DiFran ...

Death Metal Distortion FX86B,

Boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, a p ...

MT-2 Metal Zone, and Strymon BlueSky reverb pedal. She uses Roland's VT-3 Aira for vocal manipulation.

Personal life

Ashlyn currently lives in

East Dallas East Dallas, also referred to by the East Dallas Chamber of Commerce as the Lake & Garden District, is an expansive area of numerous communities and neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas ( United States) that border nearby suburban cities to the ea ...

, Texas, having moved to the state in 2015 to be with her girlfriend, fellow musician Leigh Violet of Psychic Killers and Visage Irregular. Ashlyn met Violet while on tour with Them Are Us Too, and decided to move across the country to be with her despite being advised against doing so. Ashlyn has been diagnosed with ADHD and

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

, which served as the main inspiration and subject matter for ''Ever Crashing''. She self-identifies as a queer

femme ''Femme'' (; , literally meaning "woman") is a term traditionally used to describe a lesbian who exhibits a feminine identity or gender presentation. Alternate meanings of the word also exist with some non-lesbian individuals using the word ...

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' (2018,

Dais A dais or daïs ( or , American English also but sometimes considered nonstandard)dais
in the Random House Dictionary< ...

) * ''Ever Crashing'' (2022, Dais)

EPs

* ''"Unreality" Live Sessions'' (2020)

Singles

Guest appearances

References

{{reflist Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Santa Cruz, California Musicians from Dallas Singers from California Singers from Texas 21st-century American keyboardists Dais Records artists University of California, Santa Cruz alumni People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder American musicians with disabilities People with bipolar disorder American LGBT singers American LGBT songwriters 21st-century American LGBT people Queer singer-songwriters