Astreal

Ethereal indie merchants Astreal have been delivering their sonic sounscapes to excitable audiences across the region since 1992.  Singer/bass player Ginette spills the beans on writing songs about love, the importance of keeping clean and why they like to call each other "Baby."  Should be interesting...

Hello, who are you then?
Heya!  My name is Ginette Chittick and I play bass and sing for Astreal.

Give us a brief history of Astreal:
Astreal’s been around since ’92 and we used to be called Breed. We played music very influenced by My Bloody Valentine, Ride and Slowdive. Members came and went and now we’re a three piece sonic assault: Ginette, Muhammad and Wan.  We’ve played 5 shows in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur and we hope to do many more around the region.

We think Astreal is a cool name - How'd you come up with it?
We’ve always been interested in the stars and all things astral, so we just added an “e” to the equation. Besides, it’s aesthetically pleasing.

What’s the battle plan?
Just to forge ahead for as long as it’s fun. We’re writing new songs right now, but we’re not in a rush to get anywhere.

How would you describe your music?
I would say for some, it’s an acquired taste.  But largely it’s rhythmic, textural, sonic layers with ethereal vocals.

Is there a message you want to get across through your music?
Na, we don’t have any grand message to say or anything to prove through our musicianship (or lack thereof!).  All our songs are love songs.  So perhaps, the message is just simply, love.

What, in your view, is success?  Is there anything specific you would like to achieve with your music?
Success is when you make music you like, have fun while doing it and as a bonus, people wildly like it too!

I would like our music to touch people the way that music from my favourite bands have, like how say, The Cure has touched my heart.

Ah, you must then have heard that The Cure are coming to Asia this summer.  Are you wetting your pants in excitement?
I've prepared my granny knickers to slop against Robert Smith's face.  They're definitely on my 'must-see-in-my-lifetime-before-they-disband-or-before-i-die' list.

Nice.  So what has been  your own personal favourite show with Astreal so far, and why?
Wow, tough one!  I like most of our shows, but in recent times, I think my favourite was the Lime Sonic Bang show.  The kids were really screaming and going wild.  It was great, they’re not usually our core target audience, but at this show, these kids were really supportive and fun to play to. So I really enjoyed it.

The perfect crowd is…
Like the kids at the Lime Sonic Bang show. Not afraid to have fun.

Do you have any special preparations or rituals you go through before playing a show?
This is silly and embarrassing, but we usually put our hands together and shout out “Baby!”, whilst throwing our arms up!  This is because all our better halves call us “Baby”, so we always joke that we’ve got the same name.

If you could curate your own all time dream festival line up – who would you invite to play?
1) The Cure
2) Curve
3) Nine Inch Nails (Muhammad’s favourite band)
4) Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5) My Bloody Valentine
6) New Young Pony Club
7) Tokyo Police Club
8) Suede
9) Blonde Redhead
10)  Broken Social Scene
11)  Cansei de ser Sexy
12)  Peaches
13)  Elastica
14)  The Go! Team
15)  Cast from Hedwig and the Angry Inch
16)  The Polyphonic Spree

I'm not being too greedy, am I?

Describe your perfect day:
Well I recently just experienced it at a paradise island off the coast of Malaysia called Rawa.  My better half and I went there in February.  My perfect day went like this: I woke to his sunshiny smile, we got into our bathing suits, went to the sun bleached pier, fed the fishes, dived off the jetty into the clear blue water, went to have a whopping buffet breakfast, sat around played card games in the shade, drank fresh orange juice all day, frolicked on the sand, skimmed stones on the water, snorkeled, explored the island, swam in the cool cool amazingly crystal clear waters, had lunch, took tons of snaps and underwater snaps, played some snooker, had a fabulous dinner, laid out on the sand to star gaze at the millions of stars out, talked and talked for hours, looked at the tiny blue lights the jellyfish emitted as they lay washed up, dying on the sand, like constellations reflected here on earth.  So generally, I spent a wonderful time with my favourite person in the world.

Sounds divine.  OK, tell us something not many people know about you:
I’m a germaphobe.  If I wasn’t suffering mildly from eczema, I would wash my hands every half an hour.  I don’t even like sharing someone else’s pen or mouse.

What’s the best thing about Singapore? We're guessing you like the cleanliness...
Well, it’s my turf. ;) That’s why I like it.  Everyone knows everyone, and it’s easy to excel if you try hard enough.  But it’s also too comfortable. I would like to get out, experience a different world, different seasons, skies, stars, faces and buildings.  I don’t mean a holiday, but to live for a period of time.

And the worst?
The folks here need to be more thoughtful and learn proper manners, especially on public transportation and cinemas.

The state of Singapore’s indie scene is…
Burgeoning!

Your current favourite local acts are:
Electrico and Aspidistra Fly.

What do you guys do to pay the bills? Do you have a day job?
I’m an art college lecturer teaching graphic communication and graphic design history and theory.  Muhammad owns his own web solutions firm and Wan is a restaurant captain and is an imaginary stripper.

What keeps you going, musically?
I suppose the process of making and creating music.  The camaraderie in the studio and the performing.  All that contributes to the push factor.

What are you going to do right now?
I have to go teach a class right now.  It was heaps of fun, this interview! Thanks!

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Check Ginette and her Astreal cohorts out here.

Responses[1]

Posted by AMP Ed on March 26, 2007 12:06:00 PM HKT #

Glasscase   ( 19 months ago ) # maybe guys you can also check our band too..   tnx alot..   keep rockin