David Asher is a popular Canadian musician who rose to prominence in the early 1990s as part of the alternative rock band Moist.
Then he gained worldwide popularity thanks to his solo work, in particular the hit Black Black Heart, which became famous all over the world.
Childhood and family of David Usher
David was born on April 24, 1966 in Oxford (UK) - the home of the famous university. The musician has mixed roots (Jewish father, Thai mother).
David's family often moved from place to place, so the singer's childhood took place in Malaysia, Thailand, California and New York. After some time, the family finally settled in Kingston (Canada).
Here the boy graduated from college, and then went to the city of Burnaby to enter the Simon Fraser University.
The Beginning of David Usher's Musical Career
It was while studying at the university in 1992 that David became a member of the Moist group. In addition to him, the group included: Mark Macovey, Jeff Pierce and Kevin Young.
They all met at the university, and two months after the group was formed, they gave their first concert.
A year later, the first demo recording (which consisted of 9 songs) was made and released in a small edition on cassettes, and in 1994 a full-fledged release Silver was released.
The group quickly gained popularity in Canada and in Europe, especially in Germany and the UK.
In 1996, the group's second album Creature was released, singles from which were played on various radio stations. 300 thousand copies of the album were sold.
Solo work of the artist
After the release of the team album Creature, David began recording his first solo disc. The album Little Songs was released in 1998. Simultaneously with the release of the new album, John toured with the band Moist.
The next year is the period of recording and release of the third and last to date (in the classical line-up) full-length album Moist.
Immediately after the release, the group gave many concerts in support of the disc, but during the tour, the band's drummer Paul Wilkos injured his back and temporarily left the group.
Following his departure, other participants suspended their activities. The group did not officially break up, but only suspended its activities.
Taking advantage of a break in team work, David released the second CD Morning Orbit. It is in this album that there is a single Black Black Heart, thanks to which Usher gained worldwide popularity.
Canadian singer Kim Bingham took part in the recording of the song. Also used in the chorus is Leo Delibes' recording of The Flower Duet (1883).
The album also included two compositions performed by Usher in Thai. This once again emphasized the versatility of the singer and aroused considerable interest among the public.
The musician's third album Hallucinations was released in 2003. Two years later, David took an unexpected step and refused to cooperate with the largest company EMI.
Instead, he chose to release his CDs on the small independent label Maple Music. The experiments didn't end there. The first release released on Maple Music had a clear concept and contained only acoustic compositions.
The album If God Had Curves was recorded mainly in New York. To record the record, David attracted local musicians who created music in the style of indie rock.
Guest musicians included Tegan and Sara, Bruce Cockburn and others.
Artist's move to New York
Since 2006, Usher has lived in New York, where he moved his family. His follow-up albums Strange Birds (2007) and Wake Up and Say Goodbye are inspired by New York City and have featured collaborations with local musicians.
From that moment on, David periodically collaborated with his Moist bandmates.
From 2010 to 2012 Usher released two new releases: The Mile End Sessions (2010) and Songs from the Last Day on Earth (2012), then it was decided to reform the Moist group.
Interestingly, the 2012 album for the most part contained old songs re-recorded in acoustic sound. With the recording of the album, he was assisted by another member of Moist - Jonathan Gallivan, which also contributed to the reunion of the group.
After a 12-year hiatus, in 2014 the band re-released a new album, Glory Under Dangerous Skies. The album was warmly received by the public, who rejoiced at the return of the legendary band.
To date, this is the last album of the group, however, it is known that the band is preparing a new album, and Jeff Pearce, one of the members of the first line-up, is also participating in the recording.
The last solo album Let It Play was released in 2016.
Other projects
David Asher is the founder of the Reimagine AI studio based in Montreal. The studio specializes in the development of projects related to the development and active use of artificial intelligence.
To date, the musician has sold more than 1,5 million copies of albums and has dozens of music awards.
