Ash Kabosu

“	I thought there would be one or two stand-out songs or choruses that really resonate with people, but they’re singing every word and that's nuts. Like, that’s dedication that we don’t even deserve, and that's wonderful.	”
― Ash Kabosu, “Lovejoy Are Taking the World by Storm, One Show at a Time”; 88.9 FM WERS website, August 1, 2023

(Visit Ash's photo gallery here: Photo GalleryAsh)

Ash Kabosu is an English musician and Lovejoy's bassist. He is also an accomplished animator^[1].

Ash’s introduction to playing an instrument came courtesy of his father. “When I was very young, my dad found an old Spanish guitar in the attic of our family home that wasn’t ours,” he tells us. “I’ve kind of always played guitar, and I’ve always been interested in music; my dad is in a band as well, bless him, doing dad rock. It’s always been a part of me, but I never ever thought I’d do anything with it.”^[2]

Ash grew up on the late 2000s indie rock of Foals and Bombay Bicycle Club.^[3] He notes that his father has "a really good sense for music" and took him to some of his first live shows as a child, specifically mentioning that the second show he ever saw was My Chemical Romance on their Black Parade tour. He was also fortunate enough to see Linkin Park perform Hybrid Theory in full at Download Festival in 2014. ^[4] Consequently, Ash lists Linkin Park as a major influence growing up. In this 2023 interview with Alternative Press, Ash explains "My friend Jamie had just gone on holiday to the States, and he came back, and he was losing his mind over this CD that he and his dad had bought. It was Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory.” These early interactions instilled a love of music, especially live music, that Ash expressed in a 2023 Instagram story^[5] "...Main takeaway is I feel very for all the experiences I've had and all the shows I've been to. If you ever get the chance to see ANY live music, take it. You never know what is going to happen and who isn't going to be around all of a sudden." Some of Ash's current favorite artists include Bombay Bicycle Club^[6], Loupe^[7], Swim School^[8], & English Teacher^[9]

After high school, Ash attended university (College and university in the UK mean something different than in the US - explanation here). He studied film production, becoming especially interested in Asian movies. Upon completion of college and then university, Ash worked in TV production. He'd also taught himself animation as another means of income^[10], and worked with companies such as Cartoon Network and Disney.^[11]

Ash is also a talented graphic artist, having created Lovejoy's logo and famous "Anvil Cat" skull design^[12], among many other items and forms of media. He is involved in everything from merchandise to tour posters and is the creative mind behind Lovejoy's Anvil Cards.

Trivia

Ash loves "boardgames & trading cards & collectibles"^[1]
He taught one of Picasso's grandsons, Gaël, how to use Photoshop^[1]^[13].
Ash started his own YouTube channel on May 31, 2021, creating compilation vlogs of his life, including his work and travels with Lovejoy.
Orange juice is one of Ash's favorite beverages^[14], and he even has a tattoo of an orange juice carton that was drawn by a fan^[15].
Ash is a huge fan of ProjectISR clothing designer Underwater^[16]. See the reference gallery below for some of the items.
He has a number of tattoos - we've created a special gallery for them towards the bottom of this page.
Ash has historically hosted a number of fan giveaways, perhaps most famously his "egg hunts", where he would hide Lovejoy vinyl records and similar items, often signed, around various places in the city, and provide clues via social media so fans could search and find the prizes^[17]^[18]^[19].
Ash posted a series of selfies on social media titled "i'm going out bye". Check out the gallery below for examples.
As of August 2023, Ash's favorite songs to play live are Portrait Of A Blank Slate, Scum, and Sex Sells^[20]
The entire band (including Ash) voted Ash "Most Likely to Die in a Zombie Apocalypse"^[21]