Kennedy Ashlyn, formerly of California-based darkwave duo
Them Are Us Too, continued to make lush, mournful electronic pop songs following the tragic death of her close friend and musical collaborator Cash Askew. Her first album under the solo moniker
SRSQ,
Unreality, was released in 2018.
Ashlyn began making lo-fi noise-pop at a young age, and gradually started performing as a solo act, playing both guitars and keyboards. Cash Askew witnessed one of her shows in 2013, and the two immediately began working together.
Them Are Us Too soon earned a devoted following among fans of goth, darkwave, and dream pop, with Ashlyn's soaring, multi-octave vocals often receiving comparisons to
Elizabeth Fraser and
Kate Bush. The duo's debut album, Remain, was released by Dais Records in 2015. Sadly, Askew (only 22 years old at the time) was one of the 36 individuals to perish in the fire which destroyed the Oakland warehouse known as Ghost Ship in December of 2016.
TAUT's second album,
Amends, was issued posthumously in June of 2018. Four months later, Ashlyn's grief-stricken yet uplifting debut as
SRSQ,
Unreality, was released by Dais. ~ Paul Simpson