Ashnikko’s Creativity in “WEEDKILLER”

Ashnikko transcends dimensions yet again with highly anticipated debut album, WEEDKILLER. This artist continues to ever-evolve in their sound, from early singles like “STUPID (ft. Yung Baby Tate)” to viral hit “Daisy.” We’re consistently anchored by a cheeky humor and subversive personality, unique to Ashnikko.

WEEDKILLER parallels this universe with our own; a concept album that layers a dystopian fantasy of their own creation with experiences of their own. From song one, we’re instantly transported to the whimsical universe where emotions are dramatized, gender stereotypes are disrupted, and revenge reigns supreme.

This thirteen-track concept album perfects the bold, genre-blending sound that has defined her work to date. Throughout WEEDKILLER, the story is woven of a fae civilization. Machines called Weedkillers emerge, occupying and destroying the civilization by feeding on their organic matter. Our faerie protagonist then seeks revenge by becoming part machine.

About the album, Ashnikko explains:

The world I’ve been crafting for the past two and a half years is finally hatching. I felt immense release writing this record. It deepened my sense of selfhood. It sent roots out of my feet and into the earth. I reclaimed my body from the weedkillers who latched onto my skin like ticks. I hope you are able to writhe around and scream in the forest and howl at the moon and scurry around like a rat to this album.

We’ve seen the first tastes of Ashnikko’s brilliant and thoughtful visuals to her creation throughout the album’s title track. The birth of our main character is visualized. And we also see the antagonists, the Weedkillers, who seek out to destroy the symbiotic relationship she, her fellow nyms, and the mother trees have (1). The remaining visuals express different chapters throughout Ashnikko’s character’s hero’s journey.

The biggest surprise the album has to offer? It’s likely the far softer edges that Ashnikko provides, particularly in their collaboration with Ethel Cain. “Dying Star” is vulnerable, slowed, and wrenches the heart through the closest to a love story we’ve heard from this badass warrior musician.

It’s about coming home to someone soft, coming home to this home planet and sinking into the grass and allowing yourself just to be (1).

Ashnikko’s WEEDKILLER World Tour – her biggest headline tour to date – is underway. We hope to witness more of this beautifully crafted story in action. See a full list of dates here.

See the full YouTube album playlist here. Listen to the album, and stay tuned for more updates on Ashnikko!