Astreal first shot into prominence with the BigO Singles Club No.3 back in Nov 1996. But they're not new to the scene, having been around as Breed since 1992. The band now comprises Melissa on vocals, Muhammad on guitar, William on bass and Alwyn on drums.
Since the Singles Club release, their unreleased demo Ouijablush has been much raved about, including a glowing 4-stars-out-of-5 review in Life! and a No. 20 placing in Paul Zach's Top 20 of 1996. Fans are now able to hear it, which is being released in one piece by Cheapskate.
Surprisingly for a vocalist, Melissa is very publicity-shy and declined to be interviewed. It's a drastic contrast from the rest of the band, who are disarmingly frank and have no qualms about speaking up.
Ouijablush was originally for personal pleasure, but was obviously too good to remain just that. It was recorded entirely by the band themselves, William having studied sound engineering.
"The demo tape was just for us to pass to friends, for them to listen. We didn't have money to release it," said William. "Since we could do it ourselves, why not? Besides, we had no money to get a professional."
Cheapskate picked up the album when Astreal passed a tape to them. But it's presently only a distribution deal. The band will play at the album launch on 23 Aug at Tower Records, and at other upcoming gigs.
But even as Ouijablush is being released, Astreal are changing and progressing. Two tracks on the upcoming No Excuse compilation will feature a new sound, which Alwyn described as being "cleaner".
"We've already started to change, because we recorded Ouijablush a long time back," said William. "Our new songs that are coming out on the No Excuse compilation are slightly different already. We're moving away from this noise sound."
"We're selling out!" joked Muhammad. Yet in the next breath, Muhammad admitted that sales were not his main priority. "I guess it's always been a self-satisfaction thing."
If Ouijablush does well, Ponycanyon will sign Astreal to another album,
which Muhammad hopes would be released next year. If not? They hope to
release it on their own. "If we can get the resources," qualified Alwyn.
- Xiao Jinhong
