The Astrals - The Astrals

Website:

www.astralsmusic.com

Music Style:

Rock

Country:

France/UK

Band Description

High octane indie rock with a chic new wave aesthetic. The Astrals are French indie musician Stephan Versini, featuring British drummer Justin Welch (Elastica). They released a high energy, anthemic debut EP 01/2014


Additional Band Websites

Artist Biography

The Astrals finds French multi-instrumentalist Stephan Versini composing sweeping and sincere anthemic new wave-inflected indie rock with the assistance of British drummer Justin Welch, formerly of Elastica. The project was forged in 2012 from Versini’s insightful compositions with Welch adding emphasis through his powerful precise beats.

 

Stephan Versini had already made an impact in Los Angeles with his indie rock band in the early 2000s prior to returning to France in 2008. Upon returning to France, Versini quickly became involved in numerous projects while embracing modern recording methods that allowed him to write and record demos on the go. This fit his nomadic lifestyle perfectly and he found himself contacting Welch with an idea to record his compositions from his home studio in Southern France and have Welch record drums from a studio in Brighton, UK. In 2012, the duo began the recording process in earnest resulting in a myriad of recordings that Versini whittled down to tracks that would comprise the Astrals’ debut EP.

 

Versini contacted former head engineer of Mute Records, Kevin Paul (Nick Cave, Depeche Mode), to assist him in the mixing of the self-titled EP with tracks being finalized in 2013 including mastering by Doug Shearer, noted for his work with Kasabian, The Fall, and Gorillaz among others. With the finished product ready, Versini sought the proper outlet for the Astrals debut and found it in a digital release through indie label Brightness Records on January 3, 2014.

 

Mature, contemplative compositions meet a youthful vitality in delivery in the Astrals sound; a deluge of high octane indie rock with a chic new wave aesthetic that never compromises in sincerity. Lyrical and melodic themes juxtapose passion with reclusiveness, optimism with darkness, spirit with introspection. The unique sound found its voice through a diversity of gear including 80s synths and 60s amplifiers. A minimalist approach was taken in cultivating the lush sound with quick, dynamic takes and edits used sparingly. The resulting 5 tracks perfectly exemplify Versini’s diverse love of new wave, post-punk, synth pop, shoegaze, and Brit pop while offering mercurial musings between danceable adrenaline-soaked beats.

Press Release

 

 

The Astrals, the highly anticipated project from French indie artist and multi-instrumentalist Stephan Versini, featuring British drummer Justin Welch (formerly of Elastica) have finally released their high energy, anthemic debut self-titled EP in early January through Brightness Records. Assisted by former Mute Records’ head engineer Kevin Paul (Nick Cave, Depeche Mode) and mastered by Doug Shearer (Kasabian, The Fall, Gorillaz), the duo have crafted a collection of 5 diverse songs steeped in emotion, fusing adept song-writing and precision musicianship with the sheen and allure of new wave, yet anchored in indie rock.

Stephan Versini had already made noise in the Los Angeles scene in 2003 with his former band but upon his return to France in 2008, his nomadic lifestyle found him more interested with writing and recording on the go. He contacted Justin Welch (former drummer of Geffen-recording artists Elastica who have the proud distinction of the fastest selling number 1 album in the UK of all time) about adding his intense drum style to the compositions through long-distance file sharing. Thus, the seeds of the Astrals were sown.

The compositions on the EP are immediately catchy while defying classification, taking an addictive high-adrenaline combo of new wave and indie further enhanced by a mélange of influences including Brit pop, post-punk, drum ‘n’ bass, and shoegaze.