Astrophe had the absolute pleasure of talking to Actor and Musician, Ayesha Madon, who has recently stolen the hearts of audiences worldwide. We get a little more insight into her nostalgic new single ‘Fish and Chips’ and her recent role in the hit Netflix series Heartbreak High.

Your brand new single ‘Fish & Chips’ echos the nostalgia of your childhood trips in Wollongong. Did you experience any forms of nostalgia while being on set in a high school environment? How did you navigate these feelings and channel them through Amerie?

Somewhat yes, Hartley High is quite different to my old high school so it definitely felt like it’s own experience, but the closeness of the cast and the way set runs in terms of schedule and routine, felt very reminiscent of high school. Amerie and I also had very different high school experiences but one thing that was similar was the stakes. When you’re a teenager everything feels like much higher stakes and as an actor, that’s a real gift to play with again.

How have you found the community you’ve built so far in your acting and musical career?

What I love most about both acting and music is that they’re both deeply collaborative and I’m very lucky to work with some of the best humans around. I like to keep my little community very small but strong.

You reference fish in both your latest track ‘Fish & Chips’ and your previous single ’Goldfish’, can you give us an insight into this reoccurring motif.

I like to think of ‘Goldfish’ and ‘Fish & Chips’ as inverted twins. They’re both about my mental health, my relationship with nostalgia and my reliance of imagination and escapism. But ‘Fish & Chips’ puts more emphasis on destruction and loss and ‘Goldfish’ feels more constructive and hopeful. These are both very different paths I tend to take regarding my mental health.

You’ve had some breakthrough milestones in the past two years, with three single releases and a second season renewal for Heartbreak High. How do you celebrate your wins?

To be candid, I probably need to learn to celebrate more. I haven’t really had time to celebrate (lol) but I definitely feel like achieving those milestones creates way more freedom for me creatively, and that’s a celebration in itself. Also just being proud of myself for how hard I’ve worked and the satisfaction knowing how far I’ve come is kind of all I need in order to commemorate an achievement.

Nationwide, audiences have enjoyed watching gen-z representation accurately portrayed on the screen in Heartbreak High, for international audiences what do you hope they take away from the show?

That Australians don’t ride kangaroos to school.

What can we expect to see next from you in the near future? Are you working on any upcoming projects we should look forward to seeing?

Expect the unexpected.

Fish and chips. Tomato sauce or Tartare?

Fish- ew neither. Chips- ketchup (if I’m in the mood) but prob just a shit tonne of chicken salt.

Top - Brendan Plummer / Jewellery - Marne Blingwall / Skirt - Lilli Mckenzie / Shoes - Phoebe Pendergast / Earrings - Marne Blingwall // Top - Lilli Mckenzie / Bolero - Remi Nataylia / Bottoms - Remi Nataylia / Shoes - Bottega Veneta / Jewellery - Marne Blingwall // Dress - Michael Yuxiao Zhang / Skirt - Michael Yuxiao Zhang / Shoes - Phoebe Pendergast / Jewellery - Marne Blingwall // Top - Vintage / Bottoms - Michael Yuxiao Zhang / Shoes - Phoebe Pendergast / Earrings - Marne Blingwall