Astreal was formed in Singapore in 1992 with influences ranging from shoegaze/noise bands, ambient soundscapes to electronica and rock.
Discography:
Released two self-recorded demos, Dive Gemma (1993) and Chlorine Explosion (1994)
Released a full-length album Ouijablush under the Pony Canyon label
Appeared in compilations BigO Singles Club CD no.13 in 1996, No Excuse Compilation by Pony Canyon in 1997.
Released second full-length album Fragments of the Same Dead Star under Wallwork Records and distributed by EMI. The album is a collection of 11 songs which can be described as a spacey hybrid of indie/electronica.
Performances:
Astreal has played at some of these venues. In no particular order: the World Trade Centre, the Substation, Baybeats, Zouk Club, Home Club, the Hard Rock Café Singapore, LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, the Singapore Youth Park, Zoukout 2006, Lime Sonic Bang 2006 and outside of Singapore in Peer Share (Bangkok), Bar Code (Bangkok), 3some (Bangkok), Paul’s Place (Kuala Lumpur) and LaundryBar (Kuala Lumpur) to welcoming audiences.
Some noteworthy appearances include Baybeats 2003, 2004 and 2006 at the Esplanade, of which saw the attendance of over 80,000 people in ‘06.
The band also opened for Australian indie rock band Screamfeeder and their own debut album Ouijablush was launched at Tower Records.
A track from Ouijablush was also played on a local television series, “Spin’.
The song ‘Stay Awake’ was aired on the legendary UK-based John Peel BBC radio show in 1996
Closer to home music columnist for the Straits Times and radio DJ Paul Zach described the debut album as “something that would ignite a bidding war between record labelsâ€. ‘Stay Awake’ was also aired on the local station FM 98.7 the same year, receiving frequent rotation on the playlist.
In 2005, Astreal has also played in clubs in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as well as Bangkok, Thailand.
In 2006, several reviews have named Fragments of the Same Dead Star the best local release and it received airplay on Lush 99.5FM and 987FM. Astreal was also nominated in the Music category of the Annual Street Style Awards in 2004 and 2006.
