Track Of The Day: Astra
Are you ready for the SWOPP (Second Wave Of Psychedelic Prog)? Of course you are! Check out our latest – and undoubtedly longest – Track Of The Day from the soon-to-be-legendary Astra. The track is called Beyond To Slight The Maze and it clocks in at a colossal 11 minutes, 36 seconds! (Note: For those of you who were having trouble with download limits earlier… please try again, we’ve sorted it now.) Click here for previous Tracks Of The Day.
With their heads floating in the mist of Europe’s original psychedelic and progressive eras, Astra formed under the winter sun of San Diego, California in the year 2001 as Silver Sunshine.
With the departure of original Silver Sunshine drummer Iain Andrew Sclater, and the joining of new drummer/multi-instrumentalist David Hurley in 2006, their sound and direction evolved and grew.
The band decided to change their name to Astra and, with the joining of guitar wizard/multi-instrumentalist Brian Ellis, the planets finally aligned.
So, what’s on the horizon for Astra?
Well, Richard Vaughan (guitar/mellotron/vocals), Conor Riley (guitar/mellotron/arp odyssey/organ/vocals), Stuart Sclater (bass), David Hurley (drums/flute/various noisemakers) and Brian Ellis (guitar, moog) recently completed their debut full-length album titled The Weirding for Rise Above Records.
The Weirding is due for release this May – and the good news is that it’s a full-blown concept album!
As band founder Vaughan explains: “The main themes are death, introspection and contemplating what lies beyond.
“It’s about pondering the rapidly deteriorating state of the world today and trying to find an escape.”
Vaughan describes Astra’s music as “sometimes heavy, sometimes gentle, but always freaked”.
See if you agree. Listen to Beyond To Slight The Maze (the closing track on The Weirding) by using the link below! (Just right click on the link and select ‘download’ or ’save link as’.)
http://astratheband.com/mp3/ASTRA_Beyond_To_Slight_The_Maze.mp3
…And for more info about Astra, go to:
This band is SO essential. Don’t miss this download.
ASTRA and DIAGONAL are the 2 new BEST bands !
It’s old future or new past sound,or could even be named eco-sound.
For the large part this is a straight rip-off of Echoes by Pink Floyd. No bad thing, but rather shameless nonetheless.
The more I play it the more I love it. The song has a great Yes/Floyd/Genesis feel to it (especially the ending). Bring on the album!