Astreal

Favouring the reverb-soaked vocals and windswept distortion of shoegaze while touching on post-rock and noise-rock, Singapore's Astreal was formed in 1992 by vocalist Pagit Yong, guitarist Muhammad Alkhatib, bassist William de Silva, and drummer Alwyn Lim, initially operating under the name of Breed. After releasing a pair of demo cassettes (Dive Gemma, and Chlorine Explosion), Pagit Yong left in 1994 and was replaced by new singer Melissa Lim. The group changed its name to Astreal in 1996 and set about recording their debut full-length, Ouijablush, which was released in 1997 by the Singapore arm of Japan's Pony Canyon. Further line-up changes took place in the years that followed, with Melissa Lim quitting in 1999 and Ginette Chittick, a former bass player with female punks PsychoSonique, added as vocalist and bassist. Subsequently, William de Silva moved over to the guitar and soon built a reputation for his adventurous musicianship, often incorporating multiple effects pedals into the band's live performances. Astreal racked up a clutch of songs before William de Silva quit in 2003 over to creative differences. By the release of their second album, the original iteration of Astreal had changed significantly, with Ginette Chittick and Muhammad Alkhatib now joined by guitarist Nick Chan and drummer Redzuan Hussin. Fragments of the Same Dead Star came out in 2006, but it would be over a decade before their third album would emerge. In 2017, the newly formed unit of drummer Joseph Chian, keyboardist Jason Ang, Ginette Chittick, and Muhammad Alkhatib, made their return to the music scene with Light.

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