ASTR is the solo project of American

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

R&B vocalist Zoe Silverman, originally formed with producer

Adam Pallin Adam Pallin, also known by his stage name 1-900, is an American record producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the producer/programmer half of the pop duo Little Jackie with Imani Coppola. His production and songwriting often blend ...

. Their debut EP, ''Varsity'', was named the twentieth best album of 2014 by ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

''. Their second EP, ''Homecoming'', was released in 2015.

History

ASTR formed in 2013 after meeting at a yoga class. Producer Adam Pallin was previously one half of

Little Jackie Little Jackie is an American musical duo consisting of Imani Coppola and Adam Pallin. Little Jackie, which derives its name from the 1989 hit song "Little Jackie Wants to Be a Star" by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, released a hit single in 2008 called ...

alongside

Imani Coppola Imani Francesca Coppola (born April 6, 1978) Imani Coppola profile
''TV Tropes' ...

, who had a top-twenty hit with "

The World Should Revolve Around Me "The World Should Revolve Around Me" is the debut single by American pop/R&B duo Little Jackie. The song became a top 20 hit on the UK Singles Chart, also peaking within the top 40 on the Irish Singles Chart. Upon its release, the song was met wi ...

" in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in 2008. Zoe Silverman is the daughter of

Tom Silverman Tom Silverman is an American entertainment executive. He is most notable for founding the pioneering hip-hop and electro-funk music label, Tommy Boy Records, now known as Tommy Boy Entertainment. Early life and education Silverman grew up in Wh ...

, the founder of

Tommy Boy Records Tommy Boy Entertainment is an American independent record label and multimedia brand founded in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is credited with helping and launching the music careers of Queen Latifah, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digita ...

. In their earliest press coverage, ASTR were described as "mysterious" and left unnamed, and then briefly referred to only as Zoe ASTR and Adam ASTR. A 2013 interview with ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' revealed their identities, explaining that the duo had not wanted to disclose their real names in order to "distance themselves" from their backgrounds. Their debut single "Operate" was released through Tommy Boy Records in May 2013, followed by a second single "Razor". The duo also played several sets at

CMJ Music Marathon CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

in the autumn. ASTR later released a cover of

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

's "

Hold On, We're Going Home "Hold On, We're Going Home" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake, featuring the R&B duo Majid Jordan. The song was produced by Noah "40" Shebib, OVO Sound's Majid Jordan and Nineteen85, and it is the second single from his third studio album, '' N ...

", which was a breakthrough hit on

Hype Machine Hype Machine is a music blog aggregator created by Anthony Volodkin. History Hype Machine was originally a music database created in 2005 by Anthony Volodkin, then a sophomore computer science major at Hunter College.Heilemann, JohCapturing th ...

and compared favourably to the original. In 2014 ASTR released their debut six-track EP, ''Varsity'', on 21 January via

Neon Gold Records Neon Gold Records is a New York City-based boutique record label founded in 2008 by Derek Davies and Lizzy Plapinger. Initially operating as a vinyl-only singles label, Neon Gold has launched the debut releases and international careers of ...

later named it their twentieth best album of 2014. ASTR performed at

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...

for the first time in March 2014, and were praised as an "aural threat" by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...

'' in May. ASTR also created a new song, "Hold On Me", exclusively for DJ

Annie Mac Annie Mac (born 18 July 1978), is an Irish DJ, broadcaster and writer. She hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1, including BBC Switch and ''Future Sounds''. She also DJed in various locations, including hosting her AMP (Annie Mac Presents ...

's blog, and released a remix of

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery b ...

's "

Boom Clap "Boom Clap" is a song by English singer and songwriter Charli XCX, released as the first single from the soundtrack album of '' The Fault in Our Stars'' (2014) and is also featured on XCX's second studio album, '' Sucker''. There are two exist ...

" in the summer. ASTR were the first act to sign for the new independent

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

300 Entertainment Theory Entertainment LLC, doing business as 300 Entertainment, is an American record label founded by Lyor Cohen, Kevin Liles, Todd Moscowitz, and Roger Gold. The label's roster includes acts across multiple genres such as hip hop, rock, pop, el ...

. ASTR released their second EP, ''Homecoming'', on November 6, 2015. The track "Activate Me" was produced by

Darkchild Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists. Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among hi ...

. Silverman described ''Homecoming'' as "nostalgia pop" with lyrical themes around "industry sexism". ASTR toured nationally in the month of the release. A remix of

Carly Rae Jepsen Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After studying musical theatre for most of her school life and while in university, Jepsen garnered mainstream attention after placing third on the fifth season of ...

's "Run Away With Me" was released in the summer of 2015, and a standalone single featuring Mick Jenkins titled "It's Over" was premiered by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' in September. ASTR also performed at

Governors Ball The Governors Ball Music Festival (commonly known as Governors Ball or Gov Ball) is a multi-day music festival held in New York City. Launched in 2011 by original founders Jordan Wolowitz, Tom Russell, Yoni Reisman, the festival features an arr ...

in June 2015. ASTR released a new single, "Bleeding Love", in March 2016.

References

{{Authority control Musical groups from New York City Musical groups established in 2013 2013 establishments in New York City