Astral | en

The name Astral may refer to one of four bands or one DJ:

1) Astral is a dream pop group from San Francisco, California. Astral was formed by singer-guitarist Dave Han and drummer Shawn Poh in 1999; bassist Amy Rosenoff joined them in 2001. Their vocals are frequently compared to those of The Cure; other influences include My Bloody Valentine, Joy Division, and Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet. Their music is of an ethereal, melodic nature; this ambient sound is created largely by heavy use of distortion and feedback effects in Han's guitar. Poh's drumming could best be described as post-punk; Rosenoff's bass is highly audible. Astral released an LP, entitled "Orchids", in 2003. Two songs from that album, "Raining Down" and the title-track instrumental, were preloaded in the Rio Carbon MP3 Players.

2) Introduced to the world of electronic music in the 90's through the music of Orbital, the Orb and Prodigy. Astral’s interests in dance music breeds his desire to learn the art of mixing…

Citing Shiloh, Luke Chable, Hybrid, Benz & MD & Nubreed as his influence, Astral’s style spells ‘Progressive & Melodic’. During 2002’s much talked about Heineken THIRST competition (headlined by superstar DJ Paul Oakenfold), Astral emerged as one of the top 8 finalists in Singapore – mesmerizing the dancefloor with his signature style of lush melodies & uplifting beats.

Driven by his passion for dance music, Astral hopes to be involved in production in the near future.

3) Astral is also a techno metal band formed by keyboardist Vlada Astral and guitarist Charlie Rock. The current lineup consists of two more members - James Malone (guitars, vocals) and Ritchie Hutson (drums/percussion).

4) Astral is also a symphonic black metal from Český Těšín (Czech Republic). They were formed in 1996 by vocalist Maestro and guitarist Sammael.

5) Progressive Instrumental band featuring Kris Villines (ex Dorcia guitarist). Astral started as a side project in 2006 and, as of January of 2010, is Kris Villines' full time music project.

6) Pre Gnaw Their Tongues project. Mories created two demos under this name: "We the Unclean Shall Flourish" (1993) and "The Celestial Nightmare" (1994). These demos were not released at the time but are have now been made available by Mories for free download at the Gnaw Their Tongues Bandcamp site:

http://gnawtheirtongues.bandcamp.com/album/we-the-unclean-shall-flourish-the-celestial-nightmare-demos-93-94 .