Starbenders
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Starbenders are an American rock band from the suburbs of
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, Georgia. The group was formed in 2013 by lead singer and guitarist Kimi Shelter and Aaron Lecesne. After adding guitarist Kriss Tokaji and drummer Emily Moon, Starbenders were signed to
Nico Constantine Nico Constantine is an American music director, producer, and guitarist, known for his work with Lady Gaga, Biters, Program the Dead, Comes with the Fall, and Madfly. He is the founder of Institution Records. Biography Madfly and Comes with t ...
’s label, Institution Records. With Constantine as their producer, the band has released three EPs, one full-length, one 7-inch, and six singles on Institution Records and two singles and two full-lengths on Sumerian Records.


Career

Starbenders released their self-titled debut EP in 2014 to positive reception with the lead-off single ''Touch'' and quickly followed with the singles ''Brake'', ''Paper Beats Rock'', and ''Powder'' in 2015 while touring the United States extensively. The band spent the remainder of 2015 recording 2016's full-length ''Heavy Petting'', which was released by Institution Records. The record was engineered by
Matt Goldman Matt Goldman (born December 30, 1969) is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixer, and songwriter based in Atlanta, Georgia. Biography Born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States, Goldman is a drummer by trade. Goldman c ...
at Glow-In-The-Dark Studios] and Jeff Bakos at Studio B, and mixed by
Mark Needham Mark Needham is an American music engineer, mixer and producer. He has worked with many prominent names in music, including: Blue October, Newsboys, Fleetwood Mac, The Killers, Imagine Dragons, Chris Isaak, John Hiatt, Michelle Branch, ...
and Will Brierre. The band led with the single ''Blood'' and released a music video for the track, followed by videos for ''Paper Beats Rock,'' ''Powder'', and ''Time Stops'', which won "Best Music Video" at the 2016 Oregon Film Awards. Starbenders continued to be active through 2017, touring and releasing the singles ''Far From Heaven'' and ''So High'', (again mixed by Needham). In late 2017 the band began work on their new EP ''JULIAN'' and released the title track ''Julian'' as a single in advance of the EP's official release in January 2018. Starbenders toured extensively in 2018 in support of JULIAN, notably touring alongside Charlotte Kemp Muhl's UNI, Rosegarden Funeral Party on the Children Of The Night tour, and
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in support of the grunge icons' new record ''
Rainier Fog ''Rainier Fog'' (pronounced: ) is the sixth studio album by American rock band Alice in Chains, released on August 24, 2018, through BMG, the band's first release on the label. The title was inspired by Mount Rainier, a volcano that overlooks the ...
''. In 2018 Starbenders signed a distribution deal with Japanese labe
B.I.J Records
for Japanese releases. In April 2019, the band released the EP ''Japanese Rooms'' and embarked on an extensive tour of Japan to support the EP. Despite only being available in physical copies in Japan, the EP was named LA Weekly's "Album Of The Week." In May 2019, it was announced that Starbenders had signed to
Sumerian Records Sumerian Records is an American record label based in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and London. The label was founded in 2006 by Ash Avildsen.Palaye Royale Palaye Royale is an American rock band from Las Vegas, formed in 2008 by brothers Remington Leith, Sebastian Danzig, and Emerson Barrett. Formed under the name Kropp Circle, the band released one EP and two singles before changing their name to ...
. Starbenders continued to tour through 2019, supporting Jamie Bower's band
Counterfeit A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...
on a North American tour and releasing the single "Holy Mother" in September. Starbenders began 2020 with a US tour with
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frontman
Danny Worsnop Danny Robert Worsnop (born 4 September 1990) is an English singer most prominently known as the lead vocalist of rock bands Asking Alexandria and We Are Harlot. He has worked with several artists including I See Stars, Papa Roach, With One Last ...
. On February 14, they released their debut full-length on Sumerian Records, ''Love Potions'', produced by longtime producer Nico Constantine. Reflecting on the thirteen months it took the band to record the album, Kimi Shelter revealed, "We really just put our all into it. We wanted to come in old-school with it, and make sure that we were really honouring the ghosts of rock'n'roll past. It was frustrating, but the process really made us. It was both parts: beauty and pain." They collaborated with Remington Leith from
Palaye Royale Palaye Royale is an American rock band from Las Vegas, formed in 2008 by brothers Remington Leith, Sebastian Danzig, and Emerson Barrett. Formed under the name Kropp Circle, the band released one EP and two singles before changing their name to ...
on
Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...
cover ''Precious''. ''Love Potions'' was later re-released as a digital version with 7 additional bonus tracks, including the bonus track from the Japanese version ''True Love'', an acoustic version of ''Bitches be witches'' and a remix of ''Push'' (both have already been released with the singles before). In April 2021 they digitally released an acoustic version of ''Time Stops'' and a coupling track together with ''The Mavens'' and Lilith Czar as singles for the soundtrack of American musical drama television series
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. In August 2021 they released the digital single ''No one listened''. After that they intensely toured several countries. Their tour included a headliner US tour with 22 dates across the country and a their third tour in Japan in 2022 which was originally planned for 2021, but postponed to 2022. They were joined on the 10 dates in Tokyo, Kyoto and Nagoya by Japanese artists such as 88Kasyo Junrei, SPARK!!SOUND!!SHOW!! and THE BOHEMIANS. In August 2022 they announced they would be the opening act for
Palaye Royale Palaye Royale is an American rock band from Las Vegas, formed in 2008 by brothers Remington Leith, Sebastian Danzig, and Emerson Barrett. Formed under the name Kropp Circle, the band released one EP and two singles before changing their name to ...
's North American leg of their ''Fever Dream'' tour consisting of 25 dates. Later they announced they would make their European debut as opening act for the ''Fever Dream'' tour alongside English rock band
Yonaka Yonaka (stylised as YONAKA) are an English rock band based in Brighton. The group consists of Theresa Jarvis on vocals, George Edwards on guitar, and Alex Crosby on bass and keyboards. Yonaka released their debut album, ''Don't Wait 'Til Tomorro ...
on 34 dates. This was followed by a Summer tour across the US together with The Haunt, several festival dates and a UK tour in October 2023. Prior to the release of their third full length album ''Take back the night'' on September 22, 2023, they released ''Seven white horses'', ''If you need it'', ''Blood moon'', ''The Game'' and ''Sex'' as singles in 2022 and 2023. The 13 track album also included a cover of
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's ''Poison''. ''The Game'' reached #33 of the Rock Charts on Rock Radio. In February 2024, drummer Emily Moon left. They also announced a US tour with
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and Diamante. New drummer Qi Wei made her debut appearance with the band on this tour, and was confirmed as a member.


Members


Current members

*Kimi Shelter – vocals, rhythm guitar (2013–present) *Aaron Lecesne – bass (2013–present) *Kriss Tokaji – lead guitar (2016–present) *Qi Wei - drums (2024–present)


Former members

*Kyle Gordon – lead guitar (2013–2016) *Katie Herron – drums (2013–2017) *Emily Moon – drums (2017–2024)


Discography


Studio albums

* ''Heavy Petting'' (2016) *''Love Potions'' (2020) *''Take Back the Night'' (2023)


EPs

* ''Starbenders'' (2014) * ''Julian'' (2018) *''Japanese Rooms'' (2019)


7-inch

* "Powder" (2015)


Singles


References

{{Reflist American musical quartets Female-fronted musical groups Musical groups from Atlanta Mixed-gender bands Rock music groups from Georgia (U.S. state)