Hailing from Southampton, Ashley Thomas was raised on a diet of Stevie Wonder, Prince, Marvin Gaye, David Bowie and Parliament, to name just a few. He started playing drums at an early age, quickly followed by guitar, bass and later, piano. After moving to London to concentrate on becoming a professional musician, various major record/publishing companies seized on his talent for writing addictive songs.

However, a broader, more underground approach appealed to his sensibilities. He set about combining the quality of 60s/70s soul/funk with the more contemporary sounds - a fusion of classic vocal hooks and syncopated rhythms held together by beautifully crafted song structures. "When I starting writing songs my benchmark was Steely Dan. They're classic songwriters. I feel like the art of songwriting has been lost somewhat, grooves rule these days, but I consider that only 20% of a song!"

Ashley's influences have yielded a unique vocal sound that is hard to pigeonhole, and with "A Tale Of Two Cities" Ashley utilizes all of his experiences too, from his time on the burgeoning London scene to the sophisticated, Gallic charms of his current Parisian home.

"Has everything from jazz to latin to funk. But above all is dripping with quality soul. Superb!" - Craig Charles Funk & Soul (BBC6Music)
"One of the best acoustic 'white boy' soul albums i've heard for a long time. Kind of reminds me in places of Lewis Taylor!" - Kev Beadle (Solar Radio)
"This is really, really good!!! Great songs and melodies...right up my street. Could be big!" - Mad Mats (Raw Fusion)