Ashley Naylor (The Church, Paul Kelly, Even etc) announces launch for new solo album ‘Soundtracks Vol.2’

ASHLEY NAYLOR – GUITARIST FOR PAUL KELLY, THE CHURCH AND THE ROCKWIZ ORKESTRA AND SINGER/SONGWRITER/GUITARIST WITH BELOVED MELBOURNE BAND EVEN – ANNOUNCES ALBUM LAUNCH FOR FORTHCOMING NEW SOLO ALBUM SOUNDTRACKS VOL 2

NAYLOR AND HIS NEW INSTRUMENTAL BAND SPACESHIP TO LAUNCH SOUNDTRACKS VOL 2 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17 AT THE BRUNSWICK BALLROOM

SOUNDTRACKS VOLUME 2 IS OUT OCTOBER 20 AND WILL BE AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER OCTOBER 6 ON BANDCAMP AT 6:00PM AEDT 

FIRST SINGLE “SPACESHIP” IS OUT NOW

“Many of my favourite moments on stage are when I get to focus solely on the electric guitar” – Ashley Naylor

Ashley Naylor guitarist for Paul Kelly, The Church, the RocKwiz Orkestra and a host of others, and guitarist, songwriter and singer of beloved Melbourne band Even, is breaking out on his own in late 2023 as he enters a new phase focused on instrumental guitar music.

Taking inspiration from the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Dicky Betts, Peter Frampton, Eddie Hazel, David Axelrod and more recent artists like AIR and Spiritualized, Naylor’s new music, which will be performed live by his new 4-piece band Spaceship, is featured on his forthcoming instrumental solo album Soundtracks Volume 2, out October 20 on El Reno Music.

Naylor, who is currently touring the US with The Church, has just announced that he and Spaceship will perform a “Soundtracks Vol. 2 Album LIFT-OFF Concert” on Friday 17 November at the Brunswick Ballroom. Tickets are on sale now.

Soundtracks Volume 2 will be available for pre-order as an LP, CD or digital download on the El Reno Music Bandcamp site on October 6 at 6PM AEDT (which coincides with the start of Bandcamp Friday at midnight Pacific time). Fans are encouraged to follow El Reno on Bandcamp to receive a notification when the pre-order goes live. 

Soundtracks Volume 2, which has been preceded by the 8-minute single “Spaceship”, will be Naylor’s second volume of instrumental guitar music and will be his first solo release since Even‘s acclaimed 2021 ARIA Top 20 Double album Reverse Light Years. It won’t be the first new release of 2023 to feature Naylor’s remarkable playing though; most notably he appears throughout The Church‘s latest album The Hypnogogue, which was his first album with the iconic group he joined in 2020.  Naylor also played on Paul Kelly‘s recently released cover of the Sunnyboys‘ classic “Alone with You”, and also appears on the new ARIA Top 10 album Hey Dawn by up & coming Australian alt-country superstar Fanny Lumsden. He has also helped ready for release a new album Centaurus – out November 3 – by The Ronson Hangup, another long-term project which he fronts alongside former Anyones singer and songwriter Steve Pinkerton.

Naylor, who in 2021 featured on Vika & Linda‘s #2 ARIA charting album The Wait, and Paul Kelly’s #1 ARIA charting Christmas Train and toured with both PK and the sisters nationally, has had a frantically busy year, involving a lot of touring with both Paul Kelly and The Church. The Church in particular has provided Naylor with a momentous time this year: having undertaken a 21 city, six week with the band in March & April, he is currently in the midst of a second US Church tour, taking in 26 cities in 5 weeks. As the release of Soundtracks Volume 2 approaches, he has his sights set on space – inner and outer, wherever his playing will take him – and is getting his instrumental guitar head on. Stay tuned.    

Praise for Ashley Naylor & Even’s 2021 ARIA Top 20 Double album Reverse Light Years

“If you need any proof of Naylor’s guitar genius, all you have to do is listen to Even’s new album, Reverse Light Years'” – Jeff Jenkins, Rhythms

“If you love the enduring power of guitar-charged rock’n’roll, Reverse Light Years is the kind of record that can restore the soul, feed the mind and heal the heart… Eight albums in and still growing. What a band. Definitive statement? Thus far, anyway.” – Noel Mengel, Loudmouth

“This is music to get lost in…” – Martin Boulton, The Age

“If you like guitar-driven pop-rock in just about any form, you’ll almost certainly find something for you here … You could think of Reverse Light Years as something of a sampling platter, but that doesn’t do justice to how harmoniously these songs live together. “ – Dan Condon, Double J/ABC.net.au

“Reverse Light Years is immense in every sense – 17 tracks that sparkle and shine with varying influences sharing a common thread; an ear for melody and a knowing sense of fun and excess. Guitar-based jangle pop that flexes its muscles and strikes a pose.”  –  Arun Kendall, Backseat Mafia

“The Melbourne band’s eighth album is their best yet – a musical cornucopia of glam stompers, magnificent power pop and epics… This might be the best double album in its field since Paul Kelly’s Gossip. ***** “ – Andrew Stafford, The Guardian

ASHLEY NAYLOR’S SOUNDTRACKS VOLUME 2 IS OUT OCTOBER 20 ON EL RENO MUSIC
Soundtracks Volume 2 will be available for pre-order on the
El Reno Music Bandcamp site on October 6