Astreal are an indie rock band, most often associated with the genres of

post rock Post Rock may refer to: * Post-rock, a form of experimental rock music * Post Rock (South Georgia) Elsehul (also Paddocks Cove, Else Cove, Elsie Bay, Elsa Bay, Else's Hole, and Else Bay) is a bay along the north coast of South Georgia Island in th ...

shoegazing Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

, and

noise pop Noise pop is a subgenre of alternative and indie rock that developed in the mid-1980s in the United Kingdom and United States. It is defined by its mixture of dissonant noise or feedback with the songcraft more often found in pop music. Shoegazi ...

. The band formed in Singapore in 1992, although some date their origins to 1992 with their first incarnation as Breed. They are known for their incendiary live performances, as well as for being one of Singapore's first indie rock bands fronted by a female vocalist . Although they cite My Bloody Valentine,

Slowdive Slowdive is a British rock band that formed in Reading, Berkshire, in 1989. The band consists of Rachel Goswell on vocals and guitar, Neil Halstead on vocals and guitar, Christian Savill on guitar, Nick Chaplin on bass and Simon Scott on drum ...

, and

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as influences, it is also known that past and current members have interests in

industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Cromagnon, Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten a ...

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

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and

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

. The current members are Ginette Chittick (bass/vocals), Muhammad Alkhatib (guitars), Joseph Chian (drums) and Jason Ang (keyboards/synths).

History

The original Astreal line-up were formerly known as Breed, consisting of members Pagit Yong (vocals), Muhammad Alkhatib (guitars), William de Silva (bass), and Alwyn Lim (drums). Formed in 1992 among

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friends, it is rumored that their initial name was derived from the

Godflesh Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham. The group formed in 1982 under the title Fall of Because but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals and programming) and G. C. Gree ...

track '

Like Rats ''Like Rats'' is a studio album by American singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek, released on February 19, 2013 on Caldo Verde Records. Self-produced by Kozelek, the album is a collection of acoustic cover songs. The album was released on the same da ...

'. They recorded two rare cassette EPs, ''Dive Gemma'' and ''Chlorine Explosion'', during this period. Pagit left the band in 1994. The remaining core of the band consisting of Alkhatib, William, and Alwyn would remain consistent until 2002. With the departure of their vocalist, the remaining members recruited Melissa Lim as their vocalist and decided on a new band name, 'Astreal'. This line-up recorded the album ''Ouijablush'' which was released by

Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affiliate ...

's Singapore subsidiary. Melissa left the band in 1999. Astreal's search for a new vocalist ended soon after with the recruitment of Ginette Chittick, a bass player formerly with female punk rockers PsychoSonique. With Ginette handling vocal and bass duties, William switched to the guitar and became notorious for his use of multiple effects gadgets, creating coruscating sheets of noise at live performances. During this period, Astreal's signature sound would take a darker-sounding orientation due to the new direction of the band's sonic template. It was also this period where the band wrote several of the songs, including 'Projektion', 'Wallflower', and 'Losing You', that would go into the making of their second album. William left the band in 2003 due to musical differences. With William's departure, the band recruited Nick Chan as a second guitarist and producer to continue writing and performing. Alwyn left the band in 2003 to pursue a doctorate in sociology. Reduan Hussin was added soon after as a replacement drummer and the band got down to writing This is Dormant, Lover and the Sea, Ceremony and With Child. The band released their second album, ''Fragments Of The Same Dead Star'' in 2006 on Wallwork Records, distributed by EMI. Nick Chan and the band then parted ways at the end of 2006. The band went on to be nominated for the Street Style Awards at the end of '06 and played several well received shows, Lime Sonic Bang, ZoukOut, Crossborders Kuala Lumpur and Explore Singapore as a three piece. After remaining under the radar for several months in the early part of 2007, Astreal performed their first solo show 'Lover and the Sea' at the Recital Studio Esplanade. The show saw the introduction of Jason Ang as keyboardist and fourth member of the band. The title of the show is said to symbolise new beginnings. Juice magazine named Astreal the best band of 2007. On March 12, 2009, Astreal played on Channel 5's 'Live n Loaded.' As 2017 approached, Astreal released their third studio album 10 years after ''Fragments of the Same Dead Star''. The new album titled ''Light'', coincided with their appearance at the Laneway Festival Singapore where singer Ginette DJed at back in 2011.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''"Ouijablush"'' (1997) * ''"Fragments of the Same Dead Star"'' (2006) * ''"Light"'' (2017)

References

External links

Astreal's Channel V Amp site

Music For America Review of ''Fragments Of The Same Dead Star''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Astreal Singaporean rock music groups Shoegazing musical groups Noise musical groups Singaporean post-rock groups Singaporean indie rock groups Musical quartets Musical groups established in 1992 1992 establishments in Singapore