“I know that the most joy in my life has come to me from my violin.” Albert Einstein said that – the guy who gave us the theory of relativity. So we can take his word for it that the violin is a noble pursuit, its four strings tuned in perfect fifths paving the way for musicians the world over to dazzle us with their dexterity as they raise the violin to their chin.
There’s a convergence of new cool that is happening at the intersection of classical music and social media. It’s being spearheaded by electronic violinists like Asher Laub, who is part of a new breed of musos bringing sexy back to the violin with their genre-bending approach to finding new audiences for their sound online and in the flesh.
Search the hashtags for ‘electric violin’ on social media sites like Instagram and you’ll see what we mean. When Bob Dylan went electric, the hippie folk scene revolted. Today, there are a handful of electric violinists bringing classical music into our feeds, and the world is ready for it. We are on the cusp of greatness: a musical precipice where labels fall away and Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame is reduced to 15 seconds of a TikTok video where you get to show us what you got.
Thankfully, when it comes to classical music, artists such as Asher Laub have a lot to give. Asher’s ballsy ambition is to reshape the music industry, as he goes about popularizing the violin and modern music production any which way he can, using all the mediums of modern communication that are available to him.
Listen to his latest single, Dreaming Awake, which is just the kind of paradox that is likely to perplex the music industry into reshaping at least the way it classifies its music. Labels are onerous so it’s with a caveat that we throw around these terms: Asher Laub is mixing the soprano sound of the violin with EDM beats and a hip hop feel that you can’t help but bob your head to. He’s literally dreaming awake, helping us mere mortals imagine a world where all the world’s sounds come together in harmony.
Violinist Lindsey Sterling is another maestro who’s not shy to dress up like a drum majorette and sell the strings with a bit of sass – all the while performing pirouettes on stage. Taylor Davis is a female violinist who’ll let you into her world and perform the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack while you’re scrolling through your phone. It’s the accessibility and ease with which one can enjoy the violin nowadays that is seeing it find its way into the cultural mainstream – where it surely belongs.
Musicians like Asher Laub have been on the grind for most of their lives. Asher started classical violin training at age 2 and like a Gladwellian ‘10 000 hours of practice makes perfect’ is now reaping the benefits of being able to mix breakdancing and beatmatching with the sound of his electric violin.
Not shy to perform at weddings and celebratory occasions as a way to support his musical ambitions and young family, Asher became known for his iconic LED-alighted violin that visually helped set him apart from the bazouki player (as spoofed by Monty Python in the famous ‘Cheese Shop’ sketch) and the lone guitar of Seu Jorge in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. That annoying ‘background music’ of a maringá band is not the ambition that Asher has for him and his violin.
Here is a virtuoso violinist not content to let his music play second fiddle to whatever show we’re more accustomed to. This is the show. The violin riffs soar as Asher’s string instrument lights up with blue LED lights and acrobatic choreography ensues. That’s how he started grabbing our attention at least. Then, just as quickly, he sold his LED violin to a music shop owner because he wasn’t satisfied with the sound it was producing.
Asher Laub will just as humbly show you his musical production skills on Instagram, describing the layers that go into producing a track that provides wonderful insight into the ways of a recording artist. There’s an enthusiasm that is infectious; a passion for his craft that will surely take him far. Having performed in concert with the Buffalo Philharmonic at the tender age of 13, it won’t be long until he’s packing stadiums in Slovenia like Hauser and has string family friend, the cello. Or in this, 2Cellos.
The Beatles used the cello in a lot of their songs, and four violins in Eleanor Rigby (“Ah, look at all the lonely people”) in their attempts to infuse pop music with an understanding of classical music. Most recently, Billie Eilish’s ‘Lovely’ with Khalid comes to mind for its swooning violin melancholy as a pop song that has posited the violin in the front row. Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve is an ear worming violin-heavy 90’s hit that’s actually sampling its strings section from the 1965 Andrew Oldham Orchestra.
With popular music, it’s all been done before. You think Justin Bieber was a child prodigy? Try Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Kids trained in classical music are kickstarting this trend of schooling regular civilians when it comes to understanding the ins and outs of making memorable music. DSharp is another violinist who understands this: covering Khalid and other pop superstars, posting regularly on Youtube, and elevating the consciousness of those that get to listen.
Asher Laub is an important part of this conversation. He’s popularizing the violin with a pop music sensibility, never shy to add a beat or another layer to his sound. But what is most admirable about his musical endeavor is the way that the violin takes center stage.
On songs like Dreaming Awake (about what we choose to covet) or Gratitude (a soothing response to the global pandemic) you’d be forgiven for thinking Asher is about to break his collarbone, as he bends his violin to the will of his relentless enthusiasm and unbridled joy, grinning from ear to ear.
Watching and listening to Asher Laub, it’s evident that – like Einstein – much of the joy in his life has come from playing the violin. Whether it is live in concert, at a private gathering, or listening to him unpack his sound on social media channels, the rest of us are all far better off for being able to bear witness to the quiet violins of Asher Laub.
Follow Asher Laub:
Website: asherlaub.com
Facebook: facebook.com/asherlaubmusic
Instagram: instagram.com/asherlaub
Twitter: twitter.com/asherlaub
Spotify: spoti.fi/30twuvo
