Asha Banks is finding her stride. In a recent Asha Banks interview, the sprightly musician and actress appeared on screen at 9am, wearing a red and white raglan shirt, ready to discuss a career that is currently moving at breakneck speed. Hectic schedules are nothing new for her; she recounts a vivid anecdote from the summer when she was balancing midnight shoots for her lead role in Amazon’s hit romance Your Fault: London with morning rehearsals for her debut festival performance at London’s iconic BST Hyde Park.
“We were filming at midnight for the last scene of the movie, where I’m sobbing kerbside with Matthew, who plays Nick. I was crying so hard that my eyes literally blew up – it looked like I’d been stung by a wasp!” she recalls with a laugh. “I wrapped around 4am. The next day, I had to wake up at 10am to do all-day rehearsals for BST and then film that night and shoot again. It was my first festival – it was nuts. I had to wear sunglasses for the whole of BST.”
The Hectic Balance of a Multi-Hyphenate
Despite the occasional chaos, Banks finds grounding in her home life in St Albans. Her mornings often involve a cup of tea, Marmite on toast, and time spent with her dog, Violet—a Jack Russell Chihuahua mix she affectionately describes as an “adorable rat-looking thing.” These moments of normalcy provide a necessary counterweight to a professional life that is currently split between two demanding creative worlds.
“I had the second My Fault movie come out a couple of months ago, so I was doing lots of press for that,” she explains. “Now, I’m in the music-releasing world. I’ve got a new single coming out in a couple of weeks, and then a project in October, so I’m very much finishing tracks and writing new stuff. I’ve got my Asha hat on for the moment.”
Lately, that “Asha hat” has involved meticulously planning the rollout for ‘Anything But,’ a soft-pop track characterized by moody, emotive lyrics reminiscent of early Gracie Abrams or Griff. It follows the success of ‘Biggest Fan,’ a song Banks wrote specifically with the live experience in mind. “It screamed at me: ‘Festivals, festivals!’” she says. The track features stinging, relatable lyrics like, “You’re digging a hole, but you get away with it/You know what to do, I’m a sucker for you.”
From the West End to the Recording Studio
At just 22, Banks already boasts a resume that includes BBC credits like A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and prestigious theatre roles in Les Misérables, Spring Awakening, and Annie. While acting was a “burning desire” from a young age, music was a simultaneous passion that was truly ignited at age 14. During a production of The Boy in the Dress, she worked alongside prolific producer Guy Chambers and Robbie Williams.
“I watched Guy Chambers in the workshop room rewriting some of the music with the musical director at the piano,” she recalls. “I remember watching that process and going home writing a song because I’ve just been with Guy Chambers, and that really kickstarted me writing more and learning instruments.”
Today, her songwriting process is deeply personal and sensory, often involving curated Pinterest boards and mosaic-like visual patterns to find the right harmony. She draws inspiration from the “quietly visceral” reactions elicited by artists like Phoebe Bridgers and Bon Iver. “It’s lovely to be able to talk unashamedly about music and not be embarrassed because I’m not technical at all,” she says. “I grew up doing musical theatre and being in musical spaces, but never anything technical.”
Bottled Up: Finding a Visceral Voice
Banks’ upcoming EP, titled Bottled Up, represents a shift toward a more honest and perhaps more aggressive sound. “This project is more frustrated than anything I’ve ever written before, and there’s more anger in it,” she admits. “I’m such a non-confrontational person, but this EP being called Bottled Up says it all. It’s all my inner emotions that I usually wouldn’t express all in this musical form… It feels more energised, more blunt and honest.”
Her resilience in the face of industry pressure is something she credits to her early start in acting. “Rejection as an adult probably is almost harder because as a kid, you’re so invested in something, and then it doesn’t go your way, and you’re so devastated,” she says. “I think that resilience has made me who I am. If I do a show and it doesn’t go well or something goes wrong, I’m able to think that there’ll be another show and I’ll bounce back.”
Manifesting the Future
As she prepares to tour the US this autumn, Banks is already looking further ahead. Her ambitions are specific and bold: she is manifesting a performance at Glastonbury 2027 and a show at Colorado’s legendary Red Rocks venue. She also dreams of collaborating with Bon Iver, an artist who has long been a touchstone for her own musical arrangements.
“We’re on the same journey, and I think that as long as I keep being honest, then each project is a moment in time that is a reflection of that,” she concludes. With her blend of theatrical discipline and raw musical talent, there is little doubt that Banks’ manifestations are well on their way to becoming reality.