Ashton Irwin talks BLOOD ON THE DRUMS: "I bleed for this, it's my purpose"

It might feel like just yesterday that a baby-faced 5 Seconds of Summer burst onto the scene in an explosion of ball-strangling skinny jeans and bandanas but, somehow, the band's debut album was released a whole decade ago.

In that time drummer Ashton Irwin, alongside bandmates Luke, Calum and Michael, navigated his twenties under the microscope of millions of fans the world over.

Now 30, Ashton's released his second solo studio album BLOOD ON THE DRUMS; the follow-up to 2020 debut Superbloom. A two-sided collection comprising 'The Thorns' and 'The Roses,' BLOOD ON THE DRUMS sees Ashton encapsulate over 10 years of experience across a generous 16 tracks; and no topic's off limits.

Already known for his honest approach to songwriting (2020 release Skinny Skinny confronted the burden of body dysmorphia from an all-too-rarely-heard male perspective), this new record addresses themes of addiction and abandonment, as Ashton continues to push his boundaries sonically.

To celebrate the album's release, and get a deeper understanding of the record's mission statement, we caught up with Ashton from his LA studio. Oh, and we put some of your questions to him, too.

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Ashton! Congrats on the release of BLOOD ON THE DRUMS. How are you feeling?

I’m stoked. I like to lay it out and do it properly, create a little world, create a little era for myself and make sure I’m being as creative as possible with my perspective, especially my visual stuff.

I’ve made a video for every song, so that’s been my whole thing. I’m making visual albums now, as well. I’m so down for the ride, I’ve been loving it. 

You've been involved in some great music videos over the years (Don't Stop, we're looking at you). How important is it for you to be involved in the visual presentation of the record?

It’s pretty much all I’ve done in my whole life in this music game. Getting better at the visuals is a constantly shifting thing. Video content held a very different space 10 years ago, so these days I do it out of passion.

As a kid I wanted to be an actor, but I got older and definitely don’t want to be now! But what I do get to do is star in my own little music video concepts that I’ve come up with, and animate my own sounds and lyrical messages. That part of it’s so good for me, I love it.

What typically comes to you first when creating a new song, the lyric or the visual?

The lyric gives birth to the visual concept, and if the lyric isn’t powerful enough to boost your imagination into a place you’re seeing interesting things, you might not be hitting the mark. Usually when I’m making a song, I’ll say ‘oh my God, I can’t wait to make a video for this!’

The more I do it, the closer I get to achieving what I’m seeing in my head. 

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What was the very first track you wrote for this record?

Basically, I got booted out of the US ‘cause my visa ran out, and had to go back to Australia to wait it out. I was back in Australia for a few months but, before I boarded that Quantas flight back from LA, I got a quick two-day session in and wrote The Canyon; the first song on the second half of the album.

I was really grateful for it – it left a mark, somewhere to begin and gave me something deep conceptually to continue making the record. That was a tastemaker and, while there’s nothing else really like it on the record, it inspired me to be more direct with my goals in what I wanted to create.

And what was the last piece of the puzzle?

There were endless songs happening. I think the last one was Indestructible, though. Everyone was like ‘this has to be the single!’. I think it’s an amazing song, I love it, but it’s just so tough and me, personally, I can be a tough guy, but-. It’s kind of hard rock, but it’ll be an amazing song to perform live.

What unique challenges did this record bring that your debut solo release didn't?

Mainly positive ones, to be honest. When I make albums I go into this kind of crazy self-improvement mode. You want to feel as fluid as possible; you don’t want to feel unhealthy or lethargic, so when I make albums I go into full karate kid mode. That’s a challenge. You’re transforming yourself into a more confident place to sing to people and share your music. Switching out of band mode is a challenge for me, too.

When you’re in a band, you’re constantly thinking of other people’s best interests. When you’re on your own, you’re not with your tribe and you’ve gotta think about yourself and your artistry. Switching into a more selfish mode was kinda hard. It’s like ‘wait a second, what do I truly want to do?’ There’s a lot of soul searching that comes with that. 

Which songs are you most excited to perform live?

The Canyon. It's about male depression, young men and what they’re like these days. I never knew my dad, but it’s based around my feelings and my relationship with that. I know there are a lot of people out there with similar feelings and upbringings.

California Holds Her Breath is a really beautiful song, too. I was writing it for a really long time, it took me months and months, for some reason. They’re the songs with the sharpest concepts I can see living on longer than myself. That’s touching on addiction, and things that’ve happened to people I love out here in California. I love performing it live; I played it recently at a tiny showcase and riffed it to a crowd of 50 people and it felt so good. It was very humbling, a very cool moment for me.

I’m really excited for those songs, they’re really meaningful.

Your first album, Superbloom, was released during lockdown, meaning you couldn't take it on the road right away. That must make you even more excited this time around?

My perception of performing live changes all the time. I’m turning 30 and I’ve been in the music industry since I was 16; a long time now. It’s all about challenging myself; I go and sing anywhere, taking leaps of faith everywhere.

I’ve played drums, performed and sang in venues everywhere, but doing this as a solo artist is really refreshing. I’m just really glad I’m doing it while I’m young, and that I have the energy and the soul to be doing it at this point in my life.

Who was the first person you played BLOOD ON THE DRUMS to, and what was their reaction?

I played it to two people; I played it really late in the picture. I played it to Calum. I always play my albums to Calum before I release them – he’s a good person to play your music to. He doesn’t always have an opinion on it right away.

He’s a cool guy because he’s not like ‘that’s your best one, the rest are weird’ or whatever; he lets you do your thing. Then I played it to John Feldmann’s daughter Milla. She’s 15, she’s been around music her whole life, her dad’s obviously a producer, so getting a gauge on what she thought about it was interesting and hilariously brutal. She loved it – not all of it – but she thought some of it was cool! 

To be honest, I don’t share it too much before it comes out. Trying to be a little more uninfluenced is healthier for me, especially when I’m trusting my gut. I’m not trying to be everybody’s favourite artist, and that’s cool with me. I’ve dealt with so many painful moments with music that’s leaked, and that’s so depressing for an artist. I try to just keep it close for a while.

If you could perform this album at any venue in the world, where would it be?

I’d rip Koko in London. I'd rip the Hammersmith Apollo. I mean, jeez, I’m in that phase where I’d love to give anything a go. My whole mantra as an artist is that I just have to be able to play anywhere to a high quality, whether it’s to 10 people or 100,000 people. That’s the long-term exercise we’re doing here. If I’m going to be performing for a long time, I need to be able to do great anywhere you put me!

A lot of fans on socials are asking the age-old question, Ashton - will you be going to Brazil?

Most likely! I did, and the funny thing was, when I was in Brazil, people were still asking us to come to Brazil. Brazil’s amazing, we’ve been to São Paulo, Porto Alegre, prayers with them as they went through a horrible flood recently, Rio...I love going to Brazil! 

Is BLOOD ON THE DRUMS in any way connected to Superbloom, or is it a whole other record in and of itself?

I didn’t really think twice about the first album in making this. All I knew was I felt extremely different. What I wanted from it in terms of sonics and image was a total transformation.

Across a span of time – and I feel like this with the band, too – I want people to be able to identify unique characteristics about each body of work I come back with, especially when they’re four or five years apart. 

Do you have a comfort song on this record?

On this album, I’d say Lose You. It’s not necessarily a comforting topic, but it has a cool Night Rider vibe to it. I love the eighties thing it’s got going on.

Finally, Ashton, what's the overall message of this album? No pressure...

BLOOD ON THE DRUMS isn’t necessarily about me beating the crap out of my drums until I bleed, it’s more an internal dialogue. It’s like, yeah, these things that we love are hard.

Being an artist, a lyricist and a performer, it’s a more poetic, outward way of me saying ‘I bleed for this, this is my purpose.’ It’s encouraging people to be resilient with what they want to do with their lives and things they want to overcome. All the topics – overcoming heartache, family traumas, addictions – really, it’s an album of strength. That’s where I was writing it from. 

I’m on a healing journey, for sure. I always have been. That’s my relationship with my music, it’s cathartic and it helps me process what’s happened  - and is happening - to me.

Ashton Irwin's BLOOD ON THE DRUMS is out now via AI Music Group/BMG.

Article images: Ryan Fleming.