Astronomy Class
Encyclopedia
Astronomy Class are an Australia
n hip-hop
/ reggae
group from Sydney. The group comprises Ozi Batla (Shannon Kennedy), Sir Robbo (Shane Roberts) and Chasm (Chris Hamer-Smith).
Kennedy is a member of The Herd, whilst Roberts is a member of Frigid and prog, downtempo and Krautrock band Tooth.
The resulting album, Exit Strategy
was released in September 2006 and was selected by Triple J
as its first feature album for 2007. The album features guests such as Lotek, Hau from Koolism
, Urthboy, Ben Ezra (ESL), Gina Mitchell (Fbi’s Basslines), DJ Skoob (NSW DMC Champ), 2Buck, Murda1, Lotek and BVA (Mnemonic Ascent), as well as Jane Tyrell (The Herd). Tracks from the album such as "A Bright Tomorrow", "Done The Sums" and "Rewind The Tape" all receiving airplay on Triple J and community radio stations across Australia. On the back of the album release Astronomy Class undertook a national tour covering five states and seventeen destinations over three months.
When asked how the name of the band came about, Kennedy advised (in an interview with Scene Magazine):
This notion was confirmed in a recent interview with Music Feeds
where Ozi Batla discusses his love of sci-fi and related subject matter.
Astronomy Class were the sole support artists for Lily Allen
's Brisbane and Sydney tour dates in 2007.
Marking the International Year of Astronomy
, Astronomy Class released their second album, Pursuit Of Happiness, on 2 May 2009. The album features guest vocals by Vida-Sunshyne, The Tongue, Diafrix, Kween G (KillaQueenz), and Ash Grunwald
. The group toured nationally in support of the release between May and June 2009.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
/ reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
group from Sydney. The group comprises Ozi Batla (Shannon Kennedy), Sir Robbo (Shane Roberts) and Chasm (Chris Hamer-Smith).
Kennedy is a member of The Herd, whilst Roberts is a member of Frigid and prog, downtempo and Krautrock band Tooth.
Biography
The group formed when Kennedy decided to collaborate with producers Roberts and Hamer-Smith in 2006."The original concept for Chasm and I was to do a production album, with various MCs and singers," Roberts says. "We'd both worked separately with Batla in the past, he was our main MC, so we gave him the beats [first]. He was really taken with them and expressed a desire to have them all for himself. That was how it started."
The resulting album, Exit Strategy
Exit Strategy (album)
Exit Strategy is the debut album from Astronomy Class and was released on 30 September 2006. It also features collaborations from several prominent Australian MCs and musicians.-Track listing:...
was released in September 2006 and was selected by Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
as its first feature album for 2007. The album features guests such as Lotek, Hau from Koolism
Koolism
Koolism is an Australian hip hop duo originating from Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.The members are lyricist Hau Latukefu and producer/DJ/musician Danielsan Ichiban .-History:Koolism started out in 1992 when Elleson joined a group by the name...
, Urthboy, Ben Ezra (ESL), Gina Mitchell (Fbi’s Basslines), DJ Skoob (NSW DMC Champ), 2Buck, Murda1, Lotek and BVA (Mnemonic Ascent), as well as Jane Tyrell (The Herd). Tracks from the album such as "A Bright Tomorrow", "Done The Sums" and "Rewind The Tape" all receiving airplay on Triple J and community radio stations across Australia. On the back of the album release Astronomy Class undertook a national tour covering five states and seventeen destinations over three months.
When asked how the name of the band came about, Kennedy advised (in an interview with Scene Magazine):
"A theme started to emerge that kind of had an astral flavour. There’s a bit of a history in hip hop and also reggae of doing astral/space themes. As I kept writing, there was sort of a narrative coming out about that same theme going on – it just started to stick after a while."
This notion was confirmed in a recent interview with Music Feeds
Music Feeds
Music Feeds is a free bi-weekly digital music and lifestyle magazine established in 2008 and based in Sydney, Australia. It is distributed electronically every second Tuesday, with additional material posted on the website regularly....
where Ozi Batla discusses his love of sci-fi and related subject matter.
Astronomy Class were the sole support artists for Lily Allen
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...
's Brisbane and Sydney tour dates in 2007.
Marking the International Year of Astronomy
International Year of Astronomy
The International Year of Astronomy was a year-long celebration of astronomy that took place in 2009 to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the first recorded astronomical observations with a telescope by Galileo Galilei and the publication of Johannes Kepler's Astronomia nova in the 17th century...
, Astronomy Class released their second album, Pursuit Of Happiness, on 2 May 2009. The album features guest vocals by Vida-Sunshyne, The Tongue, Diafrix, Kween G (KillaQueenz), and Ash Grunwald
Ash Grunwald
Ash Grunwald is an Australian radio announcer and blues musician.-Early career:...
. The group toured nationally in support of the release between May and June 2009.
Discography
- Exit StrategyExit Strategy (album)Exit Strategy is the debut album from Astronomy Class and was released on 30 September 2006. It also features collaborations from several prominent Australian MCs and musicians.-Track listing:...
- Elefant Traks (9 September 2006) - Pursuit of Happiness - Elefant Traks (2 May 2009)