Rob Astor

Electronic Artist ROB ASTOR Releases “Unseen” Tracks On RAHU ----- ROB ASTOR’s RAHU, Filled With Outtakes And Alternate Versions Of Music From Previous Albums, Is A Soundtrack For Fiction, Film, & Nature ----- With the release of four studio albums and a holiday collection to his credit, Rob Astor has cleared his musical vaults, packaging numerous unreleased recordings as a double CD offering entitled RAHU. The title is fitting for two reasons. The first reason, in Ancient Burmese, the word “rahu” means “unseen”. The second reason, a bit more complex, is as a science fiction author, Rob has been writing a novel bearing the title RAHU. ----- Packed with music intended as a soundtrack to three stories, alternate versions of previously released material, and filled out with brand new recordings, Rob Astor equates his RAHU collection to a box set. “Musicians always have leftovers that just don’t fit on their albums. I know that very well now,” Rob says with a laugh. “In every sense of box sets being filled with outtakes and rarities, RAHU is my little box set.” ----- “Many of the tracks on the first CD are music I wrote as a soundtrack for the RAHU story,” Rob Astor says. “I had an idea in mind to create a full blown soundtrack, thinking the story was good enough to be a film.” The music goes with key scenes in the story. Fusing the sounds of Tangerine Dream, John Williams, James Horner, Spencer Nilsen, Norm Orenstein, Biosphere, and Ken Davis, Rob Astor’s soundtrack works in a way that can only be described as Rob Astor in content. ----- Using a blend of New Age and Neo-Classical, the track “Life On Europa” is heartbreakingly beautiful, gorgeously magical in its execution. Much like the story, the RAHU collection has many moods woven throughout its tapestry. “Dinosaur Spheres Descending From Orbit” and “Earth Twin & Earth Parallel” build to a real sense of danger while “Aurora On Planet Rahu” is bright, filled with a sense of hope. “Six Moons Of Pluto”, inspired by a recurring dream, “Sways in time with the thoughts of trees.” The calming tranquility of “Walking In the Garden At 3 AM” will transport you to another dimension filled with the peacefulness of a midnight walk through nature. ----- The RAHU novel tracks are just a sampling of Rob Astor’s soundtrack visions. “Summer Rain On Ganymede”, combining Jazz elements to sound rainy, belongs to a short story entitled “Ganymede Summer”. “Dream Sequence”, “Approaching Storm”, and “X’hal Minor” were all written for another novel, BATTLEGROUND ALBANY. Reflective of his John Williams influenced Neo-Classical work on XENOPHOBIA, “X’hal Minor” is built around converging String Sections leading up to complete chaos in the form of a pounding back beat. “If I had a character named ‘X’hal Minor’ in the story of XENOPHOBIA, I would have placed the track on that album.” ----- Stepping back in time to early 2003, many of the tracks Rob Astor was working on remained largely unfinished because of a snowmobiling accident. “As I began working on XENOPHOBIA and BEYOND MARSTROPOLIS (in 2006), I also wanted to finish the work I’d begun back then (in 2003). I didn’t want this body of material to lay around forever incomplete. The music wanted life as much as I wanted to give it life.” The extra effort was worth the wait! ----- RAHU has a total of thirty tracks. That’s two and a half hours of music! Some of Rob Astor’s best recorded works are showcased within the confines of these two compact discs. “I fell right back into the mindset I had (then) for the unfinished music. Surprisingly, polishing them was much easier than I expected.” ----- A grand total of fourteen tracks might have once been a part of Rob’s first CD, QUADRANGULAR OSCILLATIONS, including the nine tracks written and recorded for the story of RAHU, as well as the other soundtrack pieces. One of those was intended to be the first album’s title track, “Quadrangular Oscillation”. Rob was looking for a very specific sound to the music, one which he didn’t find until much later. “I was going for a very metallic feel,” Rob explains. “I didn’t get it right until well after the fact.” ----- “Quadrangular Oscillation” was Rob’s first experiment at setting music to a scene in a movie. “I wrote the track to go with the part in ‘Cube 2: Hypercube’ where everyone faces off with the Razor Sphere.” ----- Also included on RAHU are a few more versions of Rob Astor’s favorite piece of music, “Echoes Of Raindrops (Xack’s Theme)”, which belongs to a novel called LIBERATION DAY. (There’s also a version on MARSTROPOLIS.) “Two of those versions were finished in 2003 and I completely forgot I had them for a few years.” Look for a rain of computer chips instead of raindrops while listening to these. The third is an extended remix, finished in 2000. ----- The longest piece of music on RAHU from those past sessions, and in Rob Astor’s entire catalogue to date, is “Northern Lights”, a New Age ode to the Aurora Borealis. It was conceived and envisioned to be Symphonic in length and released as a one track EP. In this finished version, Rob Astor finds the length to be perfect. “The music is still a soundtrack for a natural phenomena.” ----- Some of the album’s other alternates include an extended version of the highly popular BEYOND MARSTROPOLIS track “Get Vertical!” as well as various versions of “Endor-9 Aviary”. RAHU outtake material can be sampled in the form of two tracks intended for the previously mentioned album in the form of “Double Helix” and “Dark Side Of The Sun”, left out because they felt different than all the rest of the music, according to Rob. ----- As for brand new recordings, Rob Astor serves up several on RAHU. “Eventide Sunrise” combines Electric Guitar with New Age. “Hades Playing Piano” is a Piano lament Rob says was inspired by a dream detailed in the album’s liner notes. Looking to the past for inspiration, and bringing his soundtrack endeavors full circle, Rob Astor also created music fit for the days of silent films in his track “Silent Movie Romance”, proving he can explore any style and perfect it. ----- Pick up a copy of Rob Astor’s latest release RAHU. It just might turn out to be the soundtrack for your creative projects! ----- Rob Astor’s new CD, RAHU, is now available at CDBaby.com, Apple’s iTunes, Mood.MyRealTalent.com, Electronic.MyRealTalent.com, MyRealTalent.com. ----- Visit Rob Astor on the Internet at: ----- http://www.myspace.com/soloartistrobastor ----- RAHU Track List --- -- CD 1 ----- Get Vertical! (Extended Version) ----- Radial Cybernet 3 ----- Northern Lights ----- Liquid Glass ----- Eventide Sunrise ----- Life On Europa ----- Walking In The Garden At 3 AM ----- Drifting Through Stardust ----- Six Moons Of Pluto ----- Geometric Language ----- Geometric Language II ----- Aurora On Planet Rahu ----- Dinosaur Spheres Descending From Orbit ----- Earth Twin & Earth Parallel ----- Dream Sequence ----- Approaching Storm ----- X’hal Minor --- -- CD 2 ----- Summer Rain On Ganymede ----- Hades Playing Piano ----- Silent Movie Romance ----- Double Helix ----- Dark Side Of The Sun ----- Quadrangular Oscillation ----- Diamond Dust ----- Endor-9 Aviary (Edit) ----- Endor-9 Aviary (Extended Intro) ----- Echoes Of Raindrops (Xack’s Theme) (Science Fiction Mix Alternate Key) ----- Echoes Of Raindrops (Xack’s Theme) (Science Fiction Mix) ----- Echoes Of Raindrops (Xack’s Theme) (Shower In The Rain Extended Remix) ----- Aurora On Planet Rahu (Extended Version)

Electronic Artist ROB ASTOR Releases BEYOND MARSTROPOLIS, A Follow Up Look At A Bright Future Of Space Exploration & Colonization Through Music ----- BEYOND MARSTROPOLIS By ROB ASTOR Is More Than MARSTROPOLIS Part II ----- Fusion is the word of the day when talking about Rob Astor’s newest double CD, BEYOND MARSTROPOLIS. Successfully, he blends New Age, Dance, Power Pop, Jazz, World, and Rock & Roll, creating an album that is not just a continuation of MARSTROPOLIS, but also surpasses it in every possible way. Rob says, “It’s more than just Marstropolis Part II.” ----- BEYOND MARSTROPOLIS picks up where its predecessor left off, then moves with warp speed into unexplored territory. As with the former, BEYOND MARSTROPOLIS was inspired by video games and the musical soundtracks accompanying them. As you would expect from Rob Astor, he steers clear of the norm, driving full force into the future of instrumental music. His best works have a mainstream sound and feel. ----- Listing the combined influences packed into BEYOND MARSTROPOLIS is no easy task. There’s a wide variety of styles, much more so than on any of Rob Astor’s previous albums. From New Age, Meditation, Acoustic Guitar, and even Rock & Roll, look for shades of Tangerine Dream, Heart, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin. Alternative Rock at it’s very best also lends a hand in shaping some of the faster tracks. The musical shades of Biosphere blend seamlessly with the European Club Scene. Smoking Jazz and World Fusion take center stage in spots where the Saxophone is present. Dance makes the perfect partner to 1980s Power Pop. Even John Williams echoes through a combination of Spencer Nilsen, James Horner, and Norm Orenstein, masterfully crafted and mixed to become the sound of Rob Astor. ----- BEYOND MARSTROPOLIS is packed with 28 tracks, two co-written by Rob’s musical friend and partner Harry Grillo of The Lovesick (“1.21 Jiggowatts [Remix]”, “Dream Of The Amber Guitar”) who also created the very Journey-like cover graphic of the album. “I really wanted to collaborate with Harry on this album and see what we could put together with music. He’s got a lot of vibes going on inside and it’s time the world knew what he can do!” ----- Two and half hours of escape awaits the listener. Thoughtful and reflective, BEYOND MARSTROPOLIS has what Rob calls “bookend tracks”, a connecting New Age thread to MARSTROPOLIS. “The first and last title (‘Red Awakening’ and ‘A Dream For The Sake Of Dreaming’ respectively) were constructed and played in the same way as ‘Trappings Of Time’.” Everything else in between follows its own set of rules. ----- Playing on the sound of Acoustic Guitars from the 1970s, “Project Delphinus” goes on to weave New Age flavor through its structure. “Flight In Ursa Minor” is simply an Acoustic dream to behold. “Scorpio Inversion” begins with a chiming Acoustic intro reminiscent of early Heart before turning into a mid-tempo rocker. “Dream Of The Amber Guitar” flows in that same kind of direction, turning back on itself following a rock solo. “Endor-9 Aviary” combines Acoustic Guitar to a tribal beat and grinding Bass. ----- For listeners expecting Power Pop, look for connections to fictional superstar Janet Jetson (a track from MARSTROPOLIS) through the anathematic groove of “Rikku” and the pounding overlays of “Monkey Down”, paying tribute to Janet Jackson’s late 1980s and early 1990s body of work. “Janet is one of my favorite characters. She’s almost the whole backbone of this musical place I’ve created on both albums.” ----- “BEYOND MARSTROPOLIS has a lot more Rock & Roll on it than MARSTROPOLIS,” Rob says. “There were a lot of things I wanted to explore, including how to create even more hip shaking, head bobbing, fist pumping tracks.” ----- Most of the second CD is filled with just such compositions. Driving Electric Guitar placed against a Dance Beat forms the backbone of “Monkey Down”, moving with the speed of a jungle hunt chase. The big Drums of Led Zeppelin combine with the dreamy Guitar of Pink Floyd to come up with the pounding “Raion Kapella”. “Get Vertical!” takes the best of Dance, Club Music, and Rock & Roll to bring it into soaring action. And if you’re ready to really rock, take on the wild buzz of “Skyboarding”, the convulsive “Reka Persei”, and total spastic jam of “Chocotopia”. ----- Never fear, BEYOND MARSTROPOLIS also includes a good sampling of video game music. Sit back, relax, and watch the world go by in fast forward while listening to “East Kinsei Kaigan”. Sample some World Fusion in “Aphrodite’s Belly Dance”, “Neon City”, and “Quadrahedron Matrix”. And, if you want drug induced, Rob has that, too! “I started working on ‘Candy Hearts Moon Kid’ right after having my appendix out while I was still on Vicodin.” ----- Whatever your pleasure may be, BEYOND MARSTROPOLIS has them all. Be sure to pick up your copy of Rob Astor’s latest masterpiece! ----- Rob Astor’s new CD, BEYOND MARSTROPOLIS, is now available at CDBaby.com, Apple’s iTunes, Mood.MyRealTalent.com, Electronic.MyRealTalent.com, and MyRealTalent.com. ----- Visit Rob Astor on the Internet at: ----- http://www.myspace.com/soloartistrobastor ----- BEYOND MARSTROPOLIS Track List --- -- CD 1 ----- Red Awakening ----- Scorpio Inversion ----- 694 Beta Central ----- Tau Kinematic ----- Glyph Obelisk ----- Aphrodite’s Belly Dance ----- Halcyon Dreams ----- East Kinsei Kaigan ----- Neon City ----- Candy Hearts Moon Kid ----- 1.21 Jiggowatts (Remix) ----- Radial Cybernet 3 (Remix) ----- Wet Socks Dance ----- Project Delphinus ----- Ocean Of Red --- -- CD 2 ----- Monkey Down ----- Rikku ----- Endor-9 Aviary ----- Flight In Ursa Minor ----- Quadrahedron Matrix ----- Dream Of The Amber Guitar ----- Sagittarius Proxima ----- Chocotopia ----- Reka Persei ----- Skyboarding ----- Raion Kapella ----- Get Vertical! ----- A Dream For The Sake Of Dreaming