Astra (band)
Encyclopedia
Astra is a rock
band from San Diego, California
. Their sound is in the style of the '70s progressive rock
and psychedelic rock
, and includes a variety of keyboards and long jams.
With this line-up, the band released their first album The Weirding in May 2009 on Rise Above Records
.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band from San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Their sound is in the style of the '70s progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
and psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
, and includes a variety of keyboards and long jams.
History
Richard Vaughan, Conor Riley, brothers Iain (drums) and Stuart Sclater formed the band Silver Sunshine in 2001 in San Diego. The band was renamed Astra after Iain Sclater decided to leave in 2006. The band was soon joined by David Hurley and Brian Ellis.With this line-up, the band released their first album The Weirding in May 2009 on Rise Above Records
Rise Above Records
Rise Above Records is a London, England based independent record label owned by Lee Dorrian . It is named after a Napalm Death song from their EP Mentally Murdered. It was formed in the late 1980s and originally made to sell live releases by Napalm Death and S.O.B., but by 1991 had changed to cater...
.
Personnel
- Richard Vaughan – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, keyboards - Conor Riley – vocals, guitars, keyboards
- Brian Ellis – guitars, moog synthesizerMoog synthesizerMoog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
- Stuart Sclater – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- David Hurley – drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, percussion, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...