1.Growing Up
Listening to my grandpa playing his sweet sax every afternoon was a big musical moment in my childhood. He was the only remotely musical person in our family. I dug it. I also dug the tapes my sister brought back from her school trip to Malaysia. I loved Guns N’ Roses’ Lies, The Bangles’ Best Of and New Kids On The Block. Lies in particular was bad arse – it had a lot of swearing, which I enjoyed.
2.Your Band
Astronomy Class is like a family. We are friends who happen to make music together, so that is the best situation. The band has gone through many different phases and challenges, but somehow we keep rising up. We all met many moons ago now, all through a love of music, particularly the tunes put out by the record label Elefant Traks.
3.The Music You Make
Our first record Exit Strategy was recorded and mixed at Tardis Studios in Marrickville with Mike Burnham. He had a lot of influence on the overall aesthetic of our sound. That was also present on our second record Pursuit Of Happiness. Both those albums are steeped in a heavy reggae influence but always with hip hop beats and swagger. Pursuit Of Happiness was more of a soul record, whereas the first album was almost strictly working with reggae vibes. Our third album, Mekong Delta Sunrise, was a move in a new direction – we almost exclusively sampled Cambodian ’60s and ’70s records to make the album.
4.Music, Right Here, Right Now
I think there is a lot of great music in Sydney, but not many venues. However, I always enjoy catching shows at Play Bar . There’s soldiers out there putting on shows and making it happen against the odds which is inspiring and I appreciate it, as Sydney does not lend itself to live music and night culture right now.
5.What Do You Love About Glebe?
Besides performing at Mr Falcon’s for our upcoming show, I also put on a night at the same venue once a month, playing records. You’ll often find me lurking into the early hours of the morning around Mr Falcon’s and Different Drummer. Both venues have a vibe to them.
[Astronomy Class photo by Chris Frape]
Glebe Gig Hoptakes place,as part of Sydney Fringe Festival 2016, atMr Falcon’s, Record Crate, Different Drummer, Staves Bewery, The Little Guy and B.E.D. on Saturday September 17.
